Plans for the University of Florida Jacksonville graduate campus are moving forward – and possibly expanding.
Mayor Donna Deegan met with UF President Ben Sasse over Florida-Georgia football weekend and came away with a positive impression.
“They’re very excited about the campus,” Deegan said. “In fact, it sounds like plans for that campus are actually getting bigger. So I’m excited to move forward with it.”
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UF announced their intent for a Jacksonville campus focused on medicine, technology and engineering in February before Deegan entered office. In the months since, City Council approved $20 million in spending for the campus – part of a $50 million allotment over three years.
City officials also committed to finding an additional $50 million from local donors. The state additionally included $75 million for the campus in its most recent budget.
UF officials told City Council in March it did not know the expected buildout, but the campus should be able to serve more than 1,000 students.
Deegan did not know if an expanding plan meant UF would ask for more city dollars as they had not asked her for an increase.
“I’m not giving out any money ’til somebody asks me or shows me a justification, but this is something I think could be transformative for downtown Jacksonville,” Deegan said.
The university is currently considering three Jacksonville locations for the campus: near the fairgrounds, near Florida State College at Jacksonville and adjacent to the FIS campus. The term sheet UF agreed to outlined that it can be up to two miles from the outer boundaries of the community redevelopment area overseen by the Downtown Investment Authority.
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