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

[thelakelander]

The station isn't a pipe dream! However, we'll screw up the opportunity if we treat and approach it like one.

[Jax_Developer]

The station isn't a pipe dream! However, we'll screw up the opportunity if we treat and approach it like one.

It makes me feel better to know you believe that! Genuinely.

[jaxlongtimer]

You ain't the only one!

I am guessing if they chose FSCJ's campus it would be a nice boost to your Gateway project .

Could the former Rivers Edge property on the Southbank be a dark horse in this race?  At 34 acres, it also has the land needed.  Doesn't look like much activity is happening otherwise either.

[thelakelander]

^Rivers Edge isn't in the picture.

[arb]

All three sites are +10 acres. Of the three, the fairgrounds is also the most isolated and disconnected from complimentary uses. All three locations have their pros and cons.

Yeah but I’d hope that the Convention Center can actually be used as a train station once again so I don’t feel like that’s a comparable option. FSCJ is a good option too.

The funny thing about the Convention Center site is if you want Brightline, having a $300 million college campus adjacent to it and in LaVilla helps. As of now, downtown and LaVilla could use all the new infill development they can get. The big question with that site is to work with the railroads first to identify and carve out what they'll need. That option also forces some real decision making regarding the future relocation of the convention center. The negative side is that if people are concerned about gentrification, it will present some real challenges in LaVilla, the remaining original Brooklyn community and North Riverside, considering it will be all connected with the McCoys Creek project.

The FSCJ site is also pretty intriguing. State and Union is a huge overlooked gold mine in the urban core. Filling in all those blocks between downtown and Springfield really pulls two urban core districts together. There is also some potential strong syerngy with that area being a dense district of higher learning, along with its proximity to UF Health Jacksonville.

This makes the most sense to me, combined with new developments on Main Street in Springfield (and potentially more housing along Main Street), the pending Gateway Jax district, and the skyway station. This could connect Springfield to Downtown nicely.

I think Toronto is a great example of how its downtown connects with the Yorkville area just to its north, with the University of Toronto straddling the two neighborhoods.

[Ken_FSU]

https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/education/2024/07/18/ben-sasse-resigns-after-less-than-two-years-as-uf-president/74463802007/

[thelakelander]

FAMU's president also resigned last week:

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/famu-news/2024/07/16/community-leaders-react-to-resignation-of-famu-president-larry-robinson/74381289007/

[tufsu1]

Governor Ron strikes again

[jaxoNOLE]

Sasse's resignation is related to his wife's health deteriorating.
Robinson's is cited in the linked article as most likely due to the donation controversy, amid other recent scandals, that has strained his relationship with the board of trustees.

[jaxlongtimer]

 I wonder if the next UF president will be committed to completing the promised Jax campus.  I suppose with funding committed from the Governor and Legislature, there might be no turning back.  However, the mission of the campus has always been a bit ambiguous/murky so not sure someone else might see a reason to pull back from it and/or kill it.  Clearly, the president of UF, whoever it will be, needs to be all in or I don't see how it goes forward.

[Zac T]

I wonder if the next UF president will be committed to completing the promised Jax campus.  I suppose with funding committed from the Governor and Legislature, there might be no turning back.  However, the mission of the campus has always been a bit ambiguous/murky so not sure someone else might see a reason to pull back from it and/or kill it.  Clearly, the president of UF, whoever it will be, needs to be all in or I don't see how it goes forward.

Considering Mori Hosseini is the chair of the UF Board of Trustees and the Jax campus is his pet project, I'm sure maintaining current plans will play a big part in the selection process

[thelakelander]

The University of Florida board could make a long-awaited decision this week on selecting a site for a planned graduate campus in the downtown Jacksonville area.

UF and the city have been in talks over the past two years about the university building a graduate campus in Jacksonville financed by a mix of state, city and private funding.

When the UF board of trustees meets for a two-day meeting starting Thursday, the board's Committee on Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs will vote on making a recommendation to the full board for a final vote the following day on the site.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2024/12/09/university-of-florida-board-will-pick-jacksonville-grad-campus-site/76822873007/