The College of Florida Board of Trustees Governance Committee voted Thursday, December 12 on the placement of its proposed new graduate campus in Downtown Jacksonville. The chosen web site is the realm surrounding the Prime F. Osborn III Conference Middle in LaVilla, which is the Metropolis of Jacksonville’s beneficial location. Mayor Donna Deegan will work with metropolis management to supply 22 acres for the campus, which hopes to open its preliminary section in fall 2026.
Graduate course choices on the new campus haven’t been decided, however proposals embrace grasp’s levels in science and engineering fields. The Jacksonville campus will embrace the Florida Semiconductor Institute, funded by President Biden’s CHIPS act as a part of a nationwide effort to drive analysis and growth of semiconductor chips. Public funding within the undertaking contains $80 million in funding from the State of Florida, $50 million in metropolis funding already budgeted, one other $50 million metropolis contribution to be proposed quickly, and potential future federal funding.
Metropolis properties being provided by the town deal with the conference middle and surrounding tons. Considered one of a number of vital initiatives introduced for Downtown Jacksonville previously few months, the UF Jacksonville graduate campus is immediately throughout the road from the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Middle, the town’s major hub for metropolis buses, the Jacksonville Skyway and intercity buses. It can additionally join immediately with the Emerald Path’s LaVilla Hyperlink, which opened in Could. and will help Jacksonville’s long-held objective of returning passenger rail to Downtown on the Prime Osborn – a undertaking for which the Metropolis of Jacksonville obtained a $1.25 million capacity-building grant in September 2024.
Article by Ennis Davis. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com.