The city of Jacksonville is providing 23 acres in its downtown area for a new University of Florida (UF) graduate campus, including land it acquired in a swap deal with a local developer.
The partnership between the Gainesville-based university and the city has been in the works since 2023, when then-UF President Ben Sasse announced the possibility of a graduate campus. In December 2024, Jacksonville's Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center area was announced as its new location.
WTLV-TV reported that the city will continue to operate the convention center for at least another five years as the work progresses.
Jacksonville municipal officials also will swap the Riverfront Plaza Development Pad and the East Landing Parking Lot for the 801 W. Bay Street parcel — currently a vacant office property — with Gateway Jax "to ensure similar value for land that is swapped."
The approval will go through Jacksonville's Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) process at two meetings of its Retail Enhancement and Property Disposition Committee.
Upon DIA approval, the proposals will move to the city council.
Besides the Convention Center parcel, four adjacent pieces of property also are planned to be used for the university's new graduate campus, including:
• Site A: this 2.36-acre parcel will include the design and construction of a minimum 60,000-sq.-ft. building and $80 million capital investment. The design process is anticipated to begin in late 2025.
• Site B: a 1.22-acre parcel that will include the design and construction of a minimum 20,000-sq.-ft. building and $20 million capital investment, with a publicly accessible ground floor retail space facing the Emerald Trail.
The University of Florida must have completed development on Site A and started construction on Site B to begin redevelopment of the 14.71-acre parcel that contains the Convention Center and its parking lot.
A 2.13-acre parcel containing a historic building attached to the convention center, and which previously served as a train station, also will be redeveloped by UF. The inspiration for the redesign is Denver's Union Station, according to the university, and will include a publicly accessible restaurant, bar and retail space.
In addition, these plans were created to support the Jacksonville's efforts to return passenger rail to its downtown. A ticketing area will be maintained in the renovated building, and the city will retain the rail lines and land in between to build a train platform.
At 801 W. Bay Street, the university's graduate classes are expected to begin in the existing building on this 2.85-acre parcel later this year, with more added in 2026. It is owned by 801 Bay Street LLC, a subsidiary of Gateway Jax. In negotiations with the development firm to acquire the property for the UF graduate campus, it made a proposal to build on the pad along the northeast corner of Riverfront Plaza.
This proposal mirrored the original Perkins & Will design that went through a public review process, according to the city. It includes a public sky garden terrace, two floors of podium parking and lobbies, one floor of public food and beverage space, five floors of hotel rooms and 11 floors of residences.
Opportunity to Learn, Thrive
In December, Mori Hosseini, chair of the UF Board of Trustees' Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs Committee, announced that the body had approved a recommendation to select the area around Jacksonville's convention center as the site of its new campus, close to dozens of corporate headquarters and offices.
The future campus will amplify investments being made in the city's historic LaVilla community, be within walking distance to the growing Brooklyn neighborhood and benefit from its proximity to McCoys Creek and the Emerald Trail more broadly.
"UF has a bold vision for our campus in Jacksonville," Hosseini said in a statement released by the university. "This will be a site that will give our students an opportunity to learn and thrive in a fast-growing city with incredible job opportunities. Our goal is to create a national center of excellence and to bring our bright students to this forward-thinking city. We are grateful for our strong partnerships with the state, city and community leaders — we are going to do big things together."
Interim UF President Kent Fuchs said he is excited about expanding in Jacksonville, "especially as new companies continue to move to the area and look to hire outstanding talent. The workforce-oriented graduate programs we'll be offering will help build tomorrow's leaders and positively impact the state's economy."
The proposed campus will build on UF Health's offerings through advanced graduate and professional degree programs and related research efforts. University officials said they plan to launch graduate degree programs by the fall of 2026, which will offer several Masters programs in business, management (with a newly created concentration in artificial intelligence), computer science (including AI and cybersecurity), engineering management (including data analytics), law, architecture and AI in biomedical and health sciences
In addition to the campus's academic offerings, UF will establish a world-class research presence in the city through the Florida Semiconductor Institute (FSI).
Fueled by a vision for global leadership in specialty electronics, FSI looks to build partnerships, accelerate research and development and expand the workforce pipeline to support the semiconductor industry in the state.
"[The University of Florida] is excited about the opportunities to uniquely expand the UF research enterprise in the Jacksonville region," said David Norton, the school's vice president for research.
