J Magazine Spring 2018

J PARTNER PROFILE
By Barbara Gavan
CYNTHIA BIOTEAU, President of
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Florida State College
at Jacksonville
Local college makes two-fold investment Downtown
hen she arrived in Jacksonville four years ago,
W Florida State College at Jacksonville President
Cynthia Bioteau was struck by the Downtown
area and its views of the St. Johns River.
“The quality of the water feature aligning
with the urban core set the city apart and a
bit above other comparable cities,” she said.
“There’s a wonderful energy to Downtown.
The city government understands its
importance and is striving to revitalize and
reinvigorate the area. I see great hope and
promise.”
Bioteau believes that more daily activity
— locally grown and engaged with the city
— is what is needed to dispel the feel of vacancy and
disrepair in some areas.
“It is very important for FSCJ to take part in bringing
people Downtown and keeping them there,” she
said. “I hope our project at 20 West Adams, which is a
historic building being repurposed as student housing,
can be a model for Downtown renovation. It has 58
beds that are all reserved, with a waiting list of 300! And
these students are Downtown 24/7.”
In addition to this project and FSCJ’s
Downtown campus, Bioteau says that, visioning
forward, the college could include
additional phases for student housing and
opening a culinary arts café, which she
sees as highlighting the promise of what is
to come for the area.
“When we bring in developers on a
project like that, not only are we helping
the students and giving people another
reason to come downtown, but we’re also putting the
buildings on city tax rolls,” she said. “The more student
facilities there are Downtown, the better it is for everyone.
The more development and renovation there is,
the better it is for everyone.”
QUICK
TAKES
TEAMWORK
VITAL FOR
DOWNTOWN
“I ask everyone
to look into
Downtown and
find your own
way to improve
it. Where there
is inactivity, let’s
leverage our
resources to bring
activity to the
Downtown core.
There’s room to
grow. To succeed,
it just takes a
collaboration
of the city, the
developers
and private
enterprise. FSCJ
is proud to have
such wonderful
partners in our
endeavors.”
SAVING
HISTORY
“I am a fan of
history, so I would
much rather see
historic buildings
renovated and
repurposed
as something
vibrant and vital
to Downtown
than to see them
torn down. That’s
what we are
doing with our
student housing
in Downtown.
Phase I at 20 West
Adams is only
the first of three
planned historic
renovations.”
BOB SELF
60
J MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018