Jacksonville is on the inside track to being chosen as the site of a University of Florida facility for high-tech research and education, Mayor Donna Deegan said.
Speaking at a JAXUSA Partnership luncheon March 28, Deegan said the city was a leading contender to land the Florida Semiconductor Institute, which she said would bring $80 million in state investment and additional federal funding to Northeast Florida.
“It’s going to be a competitive process … but I think we’re in a good position to win that and hopefully we’ll know something more about that in the next couple of weeks,” she said.
JAXUSA is the economic development division of JAX Chamber.
Deegan’s remarks at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront came after the UF Board of Trustees approved a UF graduate school to be located in Downtown Jacksonville.
Plans approved by the board included establishing a temporary site on the fifth floor of the JEA headquarters at Pearl and Adams streets for up to five years while a permanent facility is built.
In the 2024 legislative session, Florida lawmakers approved $75 million in state funding for the Jacksonville graduate school campus. That came on top of $75 million approved by lawmakers in 2023 and raised the total commitment of state, city and private funding for the school to $250 million.
Although that was the target amount of funding for the project when it was announced in early 2023, officials now say another $50 million is needed.