Florida State University is poised to land roughly $174 million in PECO project funding according to the latest budget docs.
The biggest project, which accounts for more than half of FSU’s total, is a $91.98 million investment in the joint Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering Building C project.
According to a funding request sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon and Rep. Tyler Sirois, the cash will be used to continue construction on the 163,867-square-foot facility, “provide renovation funds for the non-assignable spaces for the tie-in areas between the existing and new construction, and allow for upgrading and replacing signage and wayfinding (which is now done on paper).”
The Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) list includes another $82 million in funding spread across standalone FSU projects ranging from student recruitment infrastructure to research modernization and veteran services.
The largest solo FSU winner is the Middleton Center project, which is set to receive $20 million — half of the initial request, but still among the largest individual projects making the cut.
According to the request, sponsored by Rep. Jason Shoaf in the House, the appropriation would be used to “initiate planning and designing the remodel of the Middleton Center” while adding a new building for the Dedman College of Hospitality. The project received $5 million in the current-year budget.
The Moore Auditorium remodel also secured a sizable commitment at $15 million. The request shouldered by Sen. Jay Trumbull and Rep. Judson Sapp describes the project as a reimagining of the historic auditorium into a “central hub” adjacent to the student union, complete with classrooms, meeting space, a historical gallery and expanded recruiting infrastructure for prospective students touring campus.
The filing says the revamped facility would become the “primary starting and ending point” for campus visits while supporting lectures, conferences and academic programming. The university initially sought $28 million for the project after receiving a $5 million appropriation for it in the 2025-26 budget.
Another major item, the Kellogg Research Building renovation, landed at $11.5 million in the final list, or about a third of the $33.7 million initially sought for the Tallahassee campus project.
The 55-year-old facility houses FSU’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, which the university noted in a request sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters and Rep. Kaylee Tuck is consistently ranked among the nation’s Top 10 programs by U.S. News & World Report.
Funding would continue a long-running overhaul of the building’s aging infrastructure, including replacement of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. FSU’s appropriations request also included a blunt quality-of-life assessment, noting the building “currently has zero windows,” which university officials said negatively impacts the learning environment.
“If research funding is projected to increase, then the capacity and capability of the services necessary to support it must likewise be increased. Increases in operational performance, which can be achieved through improvements such as a major remodeling of an important academic building like the Kellogg Research Building make a building that is more efficient to operate,” the request states.
Another $13 million, meanwhile, will head to The Veterans Legacy Complex project. The planned 56,028-square-foot facility would consolidate the Student Veterans Center and FSU ROTC programs into a single four-story complex designed to serve veterans, active-duty military students and ROTC personnel.
In funding requests sponsored by Sen. Bryan Ávila and Rep. Jessica Baker, the university said the project is intended to create a centralized support hub addressing “deployment, re-enrollment, physical and mental concerns” affecting military-affiliated students while improving retention and graduation rates.
Other FSU items on the PECO funding list include $5 million for health facilities deferred maintenance, $10 million for the Rovetta Business Building renovation, $2.5 million each for the College of Nursing and Dental School planning and life safety upgrades.