In 2002, Dr. Carl Kuttler, then president of St. Petersburg College, took part in a planning session with other Florida college presidents in Orlando, Florida. From that experience, he decided that Pinellas County and Tampa Bay needed a state-of-the-art meeting center that could serve as a think tank for area businesses, government, and educational institutions. Through a partnership with the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, that vision for the Collaborative Labs at SPC's EpiCenter