With a Nov. 12 vote, Jacksonville City Council approved the final land transaction for the proposed University of Florida graduate campus in LaVilla.
Council voted 17-0 on Ordinance 2025-0783, which initiates an exchange of city-owned property at 200 N. Lee St. to multifamily developer Vestcor Inc. for a 2.04-acre lot on West Bay Street near the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center. Council members Matt Carlucci and Terrance Freeman were not present for the vote.
In July, the Downtown Investment Authority board recommended approval of the swap, in which the city will provide the West Bay Street property to UF.
That property is owned by VC Cathedral LLC, a Vestcor Inc. entity, and is surrounded on three sides by the convention center’s grounds and parking lot. It is valued at $3.23 million, according to the legislation.
Apex Business Forms previously operated on the Lee Street property under a ground lease with the city.
In May 2025, with about two years remaining on the lease, the DIA board approved a buyout that returned fee-simple ownership of the parcel, along with improvements, to the city under control of the DIA.
The Lee Street lot’s value is listed in the legislation at $3.47 million.
Vestcor has agreed to demolish a building on the Lee Street site that was used by Apex for light manufacturing and printing.
In June, Council voted 16-0 to convey five properties to UF, including one the city is acquiring through an exchange of city-owned property at the former Jacksonville Landing, and contribute $105 million in Duval County taxpayer funding to the campus.
With the Bay Street parcel in hand, the city will reduce its maximum indebtedness under its agreement with UF from $105 million to $100 million.
Under the UF agreement, the city committed to provide $100 million to establish the campus in LaVilla, plus a potential $5 million to purchase the West Bay Street lot. The land swap would eliminate the city’s need to spend the potential $5 million commitment.
The Bay Street land swap would be the city’s second for the UF campus.
In the land swap for the Jacksonville Landing site, now called Riverfront Plaza, the city agreed to exchange that property plus an option on property adjacent to it for the former Interline Brands Inc. building at 801 W. Bay St.
The owner of the 801 W. Bay St. property, the Gateway Jax development partnership, agreed to build a 17-story tower with a hotel, condos, restaurants, retail and public spaces on the Riverfront Plaza site as part of the exchange.
In all, the city is providing UF with six properties totaling 25.28 acres and valued at $30.22 million to $31.62 million.
UF says it has amassed $245 million in state funding and private donations for the campus.
During a September site tour for prospective developers of the first phase of the campus, a consultant for UF said the university had set a benchmark cost of that phase at $1,000 per square foot, which would equal $200 million. The benchmark was based on costs of other major higher-education projects, said Eric Bram, managing director of the Rieth Jones Advisors consultancy.
UF says it plans to open the LaVilla campus in the fall 2026 semester.