SAN MARCOS -- After just seven months in the city, a private medical university that offers graduate programs for physical and occupational therapists is expanding to keep up with a rapidly growing student population.

The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences opened in January in two buildings in the office park on the northwest corner of Borden Road and Windy Point Drive.

Wanda Nitsch, dean of the university's Institute of Physical Therapy, said Wednesday that campus officials and the office park's developer, Windy Point Partners, plan to break ground on a third building later this year.

Scheduled to be finished in July 2010, the new building will bring the campus's total square footage to about 57,000, compared to the 40,000 square feet it has now, she said.

"We started with 30 students," Nitsch said. "And now we're at 145 with the potential of adding 70 more this fall. So we're really ramping up."

City officials said the expansion underscores San Marcos' position as an "educational hub" for North County.

The description reflects the presence of Cal State San Marcos, Palomar Community College, High Tech High School, the University of Phoenix, Coleman University (formerly Coleman College) and the North County Regional Education Center in the city.

Mayor Jim Desmond said he toured St. Augustine when it opened.

"I definitely think it's an asset to our educational hub," he said. "And I'm glad to see it growing in San Marcos."

St. Augustine was founded in 1994 in St. Augustine, Fla. The university also has a campus in Boca Raton, Florida.

Nitsch said university officials could not have gotten a better reception from the city when they began eyeing San Marcos for their third campus.

"The very first time we talked with the city manager, Paul Malone, he said, 'We want to be the higher education location of North County. We want to work with you. Let us help you find space,'" Nitsch said.

Although a total of five buildings are planned for the office park, St. Augustine is its only tenant so far. Nitsch said Windy Point Partners built St. Augustine's two existing glass-front buildings for the university.

Nitsch said the university is leasing those buildings with the option to buy them later. One houses administration offices on its first floor, with lecture-hall-style classrooms on the second floor, she said.

The second building has a library, student lounge and rehabilitation labs that give St. Augustine's students a place to practice the skills they are learning, Nitsch said.

The planned building will look like the existing ones and house more classrooms and labs plus a gym-like wellness center where students will be able to work out, she said.

Because the university offers both graduate and post-professional programs, Nitsch said the university's students are all 23 or older, with 27 being the average. About half of those at the San Marcos campus come from San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties, while the rest come from other parts of California or other states, she said.

City Councilwoman Rebecca Jones said she was happy to hear about the expansion.

"I think that with the university (being in San Marcos), it makes perfect sense," she said. "And I'm glad to see in these tough economic times, people are out spending money to expand their business and helping people expand their careers."

Call staff writer Andrea Moss at 760-739-6654.