An omnibus-type ordinance to green-light the University of Florida’s proposed Jacksonville graduate campus cleared a Jacksonville City Council committee June 12, keeping it on a timeline for a final vote June 24.
The Council Committee of the Whole voted 15-0 in favor of Ordinance 2025-0396, which provides up to $105 million in city funding and properties valued at more than $30 million to UF to establish the campus.
A UF study said the campus would generate 3,940 jobs in construction and operations, including 144 full- and part-time faculty instructors and support staff by 2030. The campus will increase regional gross domestic product by $360 million and generate $80.6 million in local, state and federal taxes.
Lori Boyer, CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority, said the deal would revitalize five vacant acres and 20 underutilized acres in LaVilla and spur redevelopment of the surrounding properties as students and faculty filter in.
UF announced in December it had chosen LaVilla as the site for its Jacksonville campus on condition that the city provide property for it.
Council member Will Lahnen said a leading reason he supported the campus was that Jacksonville would be a primary beneficiary of the deal while being a minority investor. UF officials say the university has obtained $245 million in state funding and private donations for the campus.
“We use the word transformative a lot, I think this one actually is,” Lahnen said.
Jacksonville business executive Jed Davis, a member of the UF Board of Trustees, told committee members the campus would create a new professional pipeline to the Northeast Florida workforce and help retain high-achieving students in Jacksonville.
“Your action today will help create a world-class talent hub in the heart of our city,” he said, adding that graduates will launch careers, start businesses, buy homes and otherwise put down roots in the city.
The properties
The ordinance would convey the following properties to UF:
• The 2.85-acre former Interline Brands Inc. property, valued at $6.35 million to $6.52 million in appraisals obtained by the Downtown Investment Authority.
• A vacant 2.36-acre parcel immediately west of the Interline building, and referred to in city documents as Site A. That parcel has been appraised at $3.25 million.
• A 1.22-acre vacant lot neighboring Lot A to the west. That parcel, known as Site B, has appraised at $1.84 million.
• An option on the $1.68 million historic Jacksonville Terminal train station.
• An option on the portion of the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center that is attached to the train station, plus its grounds and parking lot. That 14.1-acre property, which stretches west to Interstate 95, is valued at $15.52 million.
The committee meeting came two days after Council approved a land swap to acquire the Interline property from the Gateway Jax development partnership, which purchased it in October 2024. The city will exchange a development pad at the former Jacksonville Landing site, now called Riverfront Plaza, and an option on an adjacent piece of property for the Interline building and grounds at 801 W. Bay St.
As part of an agreement on the swap, Gateway Jax committed to building a 17-story tower with a hotel, condominiums, restaurants and retail establishments, and public spaces.
The ordinance also includes up to $5 million that would be provided to UF if the city is not able to acquire a privately owned lot nestled into the Convention Center land. That property is owned by multifamily developer Vestcor, and the city is exploring options that include a land swap for acquiring it.
If the city fails to obtain the lot, the $5 million would go to UF to purchase it. The property was valued at $2.58 million in an appraisal obtained by the city.
The funding
The ordinance contains $100 million in funding, including $50 million approved by Council during Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration and $50 million committed by Mayor Donna Deegan.
A report from the Council Auditor’s Office said the $50 million approved under Curry will go toward construction on Site A and Site B, where UF is planning its first two buildings. Provided that the bill passes – a safe assumption, considering the committee’s vote – UF plans to spend $7 million retrofitting the Interline building for instructional purposes and launch classes there in the fall of 2025.
The second $50 million will be used for campus improvements after the initial tranche of funding runs out. It will be made in four equal installments of $12.5 million per year beginning in October 2027.
That funding was aimed at attracting the Florida Semiconductor Institute (FSI) to Jacksonville. A provision of the ordinance requires UF to repay the funding to the city if within 10 years it fails to invest at least $42 million of the $45 million it received from the state for the FSI.
Among other requirements, UF cannot exercise the option on the train station until it has spent $80 million in direct costs on construction of buildings on Sites A and B and built at least 60,000 square feet of classroom space.
UF is barred from exercising the option on the convention center property until it has spent $100 million in direct costs at sites A&B.
The properties would revert to the city if the following conditions are not met:
• For the Interline Brands building, UF must begin offering two degree programs with a combined 50 students by the end of 2027.
• For Site A, work must begin within five years. For Site B, the span is seven years.
• Work on the Jacksonville Terminal must begin within a year after it is conveyed to UF. For the convention center, the span is three years.
Council auditors noted that the city has not included funding for a new convention center in its Capital Improvement Plan and should consider the cost of building a replacement for Prime Osborn as an added expense of the project.