Academic Village buildings repurposed locally

From a place of learning to a place of healing. Buildings at the Seaside Institute will soon be used at the new Alaqua Animal Refuge location in Freeport.

"You know, I hate to see a building be thrown out, I hate to see a building that's in perfectly good shape not be utilized," Laurie Hood, Founder, Alaqua Animal Refuge.

The buildings came at the right time since the coronavirus forced many of their building plans to stop, said Hood.

"Building stopped, the funding had stopped, and it’s just kind of a crazy time," said Hood.

Known as the Katrina cottages, because of their use as housing after the 2005 hurricane. The buildings were refurbished and brought to Seaside in 2013.

"Historically they were used by academia, professors, and students who came to study," said Aleis Tusa, Marketing Director, Seaside Institute.

Plans are in the works for a music hall and culinary hall to be built at the site.

There were seven cottages in the Academic Villages at the Seaside Institute, four of them were bought by Alaqua.

Plans for the other buildings have not been announced yet, but we're told they will remain local.