Cooley Law School moves to Temple Terrace
By Henry Queen
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 9, 2024

Thomas M. Cooley Law School will relocate to Temple Terrace after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought its Riverview property for $20.5 million.

The law school will lease about 52,000 square feet from ESF Properties 22-01 LLC at the Tampa Oaks II office building. The Riverview property was 131,000 square feet. Renovations to the new space should be complete in time for the start of the school’s January 2025 semester.

“As part of our mission of being a law school of access, it was important to find a location that is accessible and functional for the students we serve,” Cooley President and Dean James McGrath said in a statement. “We have worked with students, faculty and staff to identify aspects important for a law school campus as Cooley continues to educate lawyers who are future ready.”

Cooley is based in Michigan and typically has 300 to 400 students enrolled in Florida. The Riverview campus, which will be leased back to Cooley as renovations in Temple Terrace occur, has the capacity to hold up to 1,000 students.

“The current facility was purchased at a time when the national law school enrollment trend was at a high point and has since declined,” a spokesperson said. “The most expedient way to address the immediate community needs was to lease.”

Lisa Coulter and Lee Winter at JLL represented Cooley in the sale of the current campus and the lease at Tampa Oaks II. The new location is in close proximity to the University of South Florida.

In addition to classrooms, the new campus will eventually have appellate and trial courtrooms, a law library and space for the school’s legal clinics.