UF President Ben Sasse to announce university's new plans in Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

^That place was recently leased out to a number of small manufacturing businesses. The steel fabrication business over there seems to be quite active.

[Ken_FSU]

$10 million from CSX!

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2023/11/10/csx-donates-10-million-to-uf-for-graduate-campus-in-jacksonville/71481295007/

[iMarvin]

I still don't see what will be so "transformative" about a small graduate campus, but it's nice to see the support this is getting. Just important to keep expectations in check.

[Ken_FSU]

I still don't see what will be so "transformative" about a small graduate campus, but it's nice to see the support this is getting. Just important to keep expectations in check.

Despite all the weird politics and vague handouts, I do think this will a great thing for Jacksonville if it happens. Transformative, probably not, but a great building block, absolutely.

College rankings are subjective and arbitrary at times, but living so close to Gainesville, I think we forget that most consider the University of Florida to be one of the 5 to 10 best public universities in the country (No. 1, per the Wall Street Journal). This would be the equivalent of a UCLA, Georgia Tech, or University of Michigan setting up shop in urban Jacksonville.

Having a steady pipeline of students and graduates coming out of a Jacksonville-based UF grad school should attract more companies to Jax. And having local companies partner with the school should help keep many of those graduates in Jacksonville advancing our local economy and pushing the city forward into the future.

You just can't underestimate how important education is toward building vibrancy and attracting business. Even if it's only 1,000 students, it's filling a gap in the local market on the high-end and making us slightly more competitive with cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, etc. that are eating our lunch in terms of higher-ed presence.

Not a silver bullet on its own, but a great part of the larger whole if it comes to fruition.

[Tacachale]

I still don't see what will be so "transformative" about a small graduate campus, but it's nice to see the support this is getting. Just important to keep expectations in check.

Despite all the weird politics and vague handouts, I do think this will a great thing for Jacksonville if it happens. Transformative, probably not, but a great building block, absolutely.

College rankings are subjective and arbitrary at times, but living so close to Gainesville, I think we forget that most consider the University of Florida to be one of the 5 to 10 best public universities in the country (No. 1, per the Wall Street Journal). This would be the equivalent of a UCLA, Georgia Tech, or University of Michigan setting up shop in urban Jacksonville.

Having a steady pipeline of students and graduates coming out of a Jacksonville-based UF grad school should attract more companies to Jax. And having local companies partner with the school should help keep many of those graduates in Jacksonville advancing our local economy and pushing the city forward into the future.

You just can't underestimate how important education is toward building vibrancy and attracting business. Even if it's only 1,000 students, it's filling a gap in the local market on the high-end and making us slightly more competitive with cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, etc. that are eating our lunch in terms of higher-ed presence.

Not a silver bullet on its own, but a great part of the larger whole if it comes to fruition.

Just want to note, UF is already in urban Jacksonville at UF Health.

[thelakelander]

The graduate archiecture program has a DT Jax prescence as well. An idea of the number of UF students enrolled in the Jax graduate schools?

[fsu813]

For the UF architecture program aka JaxLab, they'll only have about 10 students per semester to start off. Should grow.

[iMarvin]

I still don't see what will be so "transformative" about a small graduate campus, but it's nice to see the support this is getting. Just important to keep expectations in check.

Despite all the weird politics and vague handouts, I do think this will a great thing for Jacksonville if it happens. Transformative, probably not, but a great building block, absolutely.

College rankings are subjective and arbitrary at times, but living so close to Gainesville, I think we forget that most consider the University of Florida to be one of the 5 to 10 best public universities in the country (No. 1, per the Wall Street Journal). This would be the equivalent of a UCLA, Georgia Tech, or University of Michigan setting up shop in urban Jacksonville.

Having a steady pipeline of students and graduates coming out of a Jacksonville-based UF grad school should attract more companies to Jax. And having local companies partner with the school should help keep many of those graduates in Jacksonville advancing our local economy and pushing the city forward into the future.

You just can't underestimate how important education is toward building vibrancy and attracting business. Even if it's only 1,000 students, it's filling a gap in the local market on the high-end and making us slightly more competitive with cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, etc. that are eating our lunch in terms of higher-ed presence.

Not a silver bullet on its own, but a great part of the larger whole if it comes to fruition.

Oh yeah, it will definitely be better than nothing. I just think graduate schools, while important, don't have as much of an impact on their cities as undergraduate schools do. Maybe not the best example but in the Bay Area, UCSF (graduate school only) is completely overshadowed by Berkeley and Stanford and their undergraduates in regards to how they've helped transform the city.

This will give the city an economic boost but I don't see a "university village" or something similar to Atlanta's Tech Square, Austin's The Drag, or Minneapolis' Dinkytown popping up anytime soon because of this.

[Ken_FSU]

From the T-U today.

First time I've heard Brooklyn mentioned as a possibility.

Stated cost of the Downtown UF Campus (what that includes remains nebulous to the taxpayers) has risen from $200 million to $250 million:

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2024/01/12/cost-rises-for-university-of-florida-grad-center-in-jacksonville/72032021007/

Per the mayor, the university's plans have gotten larger based on strong early support.

$185 million is already funded, including $75 million from the state, a $50 million commitment from the city, and a really impressive $60 million in local corporate pledges led by CSX ($10 million) and the Jags ($5 million).

Donna doesn't know if the city will be asked for additional funding.

Interesting, it seems Brooklyn may be out of the running, and LaVilla may be in.

In addition to the support from the city and private donors, UF also said it would need donated land for the future grad center. The city's financial support contains a requirement for the school to be in the downtown area.

The potential sites are in the LaVilla neighborhood that's home to the Prime Osborn Convention Center and Jacksonville Transportation Authority's regional transportation center, a second possible location north of downtown where the Florida State College of Jacksonville campus is located, and a third site in the sports complex.

[fsu813]

From the T-U today.

First time I've heard Brooklyn mentioned as a possibility.

Stated cost of the Downtown UF Campus (what that includes remains nebulous to the taxpayers) has risen from $200 million to $250 million:

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2024/01/12/cost-rises-for-university-of-florida-grad-center-in-jacksonville/72032021007/

Per the mayor, the university's plans have gotten larger based on strong early support.

$185 million is already funded, including $75 million from the state, a $50 million commitment from the city, and a really impressive $60 million in local corporate pledges led by CSX ($10 million) and the Jags ($5 million).

Donna doesn't know if the city will be asked for additional funding.

Interesting, it seems Brooklyn may be out of the running, and LaVilla may be in.

In addition to the support from the city and private donors, UF also said it would need donated land for the future grad center. The city's financial support contains a requirement for the school to be in the downtown area.

The potential sites are in the LaVilla neighborhood that's home to the Prime Osborn Convention Center and Jacksonville Transportation Authority's regional transportation center, a second possible location north of downtown where the Florida State College of Jacksonville campus is located, and a third site in the sports complex.

I don't believe the sports district is a serious contender any longer.

And different development groups are influencing where the location ends up - Lavilla or Downtown's north core.

[Charles Hunter]

If UF goes to the FSCJ/North Core area, could the Pearl Street development be a part of the mix? Is the Universal Marion (JEA) Building out of consideration as part of a NoCo campus? What about that vacant land surrounding the Rosa Parks Skyway station?

[thelakelander]

It's hard to figure out what UF is really doing. But combined, they'd help blend Springfield and Downtown together. That would be beneficial to the urban core overall than the other sites.

[Ken_FSU]

Florida universities are gonna have bigger problems than where to locate when faculty and staff see emails like this start to go out.

Horrifying.

It's one thing hearing about the laws, but seeing them in action, really does read like a prelude to fascism.

https://www.reddit.com/r/jacksonville/comments/19ey81n/got_this_email_today_from_unf/

[Charles Hunter]

My grandson in middle school is a few years away from making a college decision. If things don't change, I will be encouraging him, and his parents, to look outside the state of Florida, or to a private college if staying in-state is important.  Another grandson is attending a private college nearby.

As a UNF alumnus, I debate with myself whether to continue donating to the university. By doing so, am I supporting the fascist rules, or would I be helping students unfortunate enough to be there?

[Ken_FSU]

As a UNF alumnus, I debate with myself whether to continue donating to the university. By doing so, am I supporting the fascist rules, or would I be helping students unfortunate enough to be there?

I take solace in the fact that absolutely nobody that I've talked to at UNF supports this. I assume it's got to be the same at just about every other public university in Florida. I'm thinking and hoping that the universities will be around long, long after these insane, draconian laws are stricken down.