The new Office of Veteran Success at USFSP is expected to break ground next month in downtown St. pete | St. Pete Rising

The University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) is moving forward with a new 7,500-square-foot veterans center on its downtown waterfront campus, replacing a temporary office with a permanent home for one of Florida’s largest student veteran populations.

Construction is expected to begin in July, with the building scheduled to open in September 2027.

The $7.5 million project will rise at 100 5th Avenue South, the former site of USF's Family Studies Center, which was destroyed during the 2024 hurricanes.

The center will include private offices for staff, a student lounge, private study rooms, a training room, meeting spaces, and a dedicated veterans coffee area designed to give student vets a place to gather between classes.

"We call it wrap-around services," said Todd Post, Assistant Director of Veterans Success at USFSP, who is overseeing the project.

The center, he said, is designed to help veterans navigate GI Bill benefits, career counseling, wellness support, and the broader transition from military to civilian academic life, all under one roof.

USFSP currently serves 652 military-connected students, roughly 14-15% of the campus.

That share has been climbing in recent years and is one of the highest concentrations in the State University System.

Military-connected students include active-duty service members, veterans, reservists, National Guard members, and their spouses and dependents.

The $7.5 million Office of Veteran Success will be constructed at 100 5th Avenue South on the USFSP campus in downtown St. pete | Google Maps

"USF is home to one of the largest student veteran populations in the state," said Dr. Thomas Smith, who was named interim regional chancellor of USF St. Petersburg in November 2025. "Our new Office of Veteran Success facility will ensure these students feel a greater sense of community and belonging on campus while given the resources to ensure they succeed academically and find employment in high-demand fields."

That growth is part of a broader strategy. A few years ago, USF began working with the Florida Legislature to position the university as the state's flagship for veteran services, setting what Post described as a precedent for other universities to follow.

"The biggest barrier for veterans is imposter syndrome," Post said. Many student vets are older than the traditional college population, navigating questions of identity and belonging while also juggling families, jobs, and the lingering effects of service.

"The new veterans center will help them overcome these barriers," Post added.

The project came together through a combination of state and federal appropriations secured over several years.

Then-State Senator Jay Collins, who has since been appointed Lieutenant Governor of Florida, and Representative Danny Alvarez led the push in Tallahassee, securing $10 million in state funding for USF veteran services. Of that, $6 million went to USFSP.

In 2026, an additional $3 million in federal appropriations was secured by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and split between USFSP and USF Tampa.

The new veterans center will rise at the former site of USF's Family Studies Center, which was destroyed during the 2024 hurricanes | Google Maps

USFSP's office worked closely with Collins, a combat veteran, to bring legislators directly in front of student vets, a strategy Post credits with helping shape the funding outcome.

USF Tampa received a parallel allocation to renovate its existing veterans space, with longer-term plans for a new building of its own.

The new building will consolidate programming that has been growing inside the temporary space in the Student Life Center, where the office relocated after the hurricanes destroyed its previous home.

One of the office’s most successful programs is the Veteran Impact Program, which runs weekly workshops to help incoming student vets navigate campus resources.

The office is staffed by three full-time employees and 19 student workers funded through the VA work-study program.

USFSP also runs an internship pipeline through the Florida Veterans Coalition, connecting student vets with paid internships across the state, and works on post-graduation employment placement, a service Post said will expand significantly once the new center opens.

In 2024, USFSP was awarded the Florida Collegiate Purple Star Designation, a state recognition for universities that meet a specific set of benchmarks for veteran support including priority registration, a dedicated military liaison, and a formal transition program.

For Post, the building is the physical expression of work that started in 2022.

"This has been in the works for years," he said. "We're finally going to have a space that matches what these students have earned."