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

[Ken_FSU]

Curious where the state money is.

$50 million from the city and $50 million from the private sector. 

I think the South Florida campus got like $100 million from the state.

I also wonder how UNF and JU feel about this (e.g. additive vs. competitive).

I also wonder how UGA’s feeling about Jax as a neutral site for Fl/Ga if this things gets built.

[thelakelander]

Possibly Main Street between downtown and Spingfield:

In a Feb. 2 letter to the University of Florida, JEA Managing Director and CEO Jay Stowe said the utility would commit $10 million in in-kind services, including access to a trail through the Main Street Water Plant and Laboratory parcel through a purchase/lease/easement, to the project.

“It is our intent to support this project as it supports downtown revitalization, complemented with the Hogan’s Creek revitalization and Emerald Trail projects,” Stowe wrote.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2023/feb/07/university-of-florida-city-to-explore-campus-in-jacksonville/

[Ken_FSU]

Possibly Main Street between downtown and Spingfield:

In a Feb. 2 letter to the University of Florida, JEA Managing Director and CEO Jay Stowe said the utility would commit $10 million in in-kind services, including access to a trail through the Main Street Water Plant and Laboratory parcel through a purchase/lease/easement, to the project.

“It is our intent to support this project as it supports downtown revitalization, complemented with the Hogan’s Creek revitalization and Emerald Trail projects,” Stowe wrote.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2023/feb/07/university-of-florida-city-to-explore-campus-in-jacksonville/

Interesting.

Based on the above and the existing area, feels like this would have almost have to use some of FSCJ's land?

[jaxlongtimer]

Curious where the state money is.

$50 million from the city and $50 million from the private sector. 

I think the South Florida campus got like $100 million from the state.

I also wonder how UNF and JU feel about this (e.g. additive vs. competitive).

I also wonder how UGA’s feeling about Jax as a neutral site for Fl/Ga if this things gets built.

Nate Monroe joins you in your skepticism and cynicism about this project, bringing up all your questions and more.  More questions than answers.

Definitely sounds rushed so Curry can take credit for it if it ever materializes.  If not, it will just be a faded memory.  Maybe he is going to argue only Daniel Davis is qualified to carry this ball forward.  Would be interesting to see how this proposal progresses if a Democrat wins the mayoral race given that DeSantis now tightly controls every move of UF and our other educational institutions.

Definitely has political overtones given how vague the announcement is today.  Keep in mind the new president of UF was the current Republican senator from Nebraska so political imports are definitely in his wheelhouse.  The UF board chair is the CEO of ICI Homes, a major homebuilder/developer in the state and you know the political leanings of most builders/developers.  You get the idea...

Nate Monroe: Jacksonville agrees to pay UF $50 million for ... something?

COMMENTARY | Lucky is the beggar-builder who finds themselves on the other end of the bargaining table from Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry....

....But Tuesday's much-touted announcement of a partnership between the city and the University of Florida over ... well, something ... feels like a new low.

What we know: the city is committing $50 million to UF, possibly for a new satellite campus — with a heavy emphasis on possibly....

....Get that? "Committing to explore opportunities." That's the kind of assurance you can take to the bank, as long as the bank is City Hall....

....No details, no due diligence, no commitments. No problem....

....But the nature of the actual announcement — specifically, that it turned out to be a non-announcement — was surprising. With so few details in hand, it felt rushed, slapdash, not ready for primetime.....

....What the lack of details do broadcast, to an unmistakable level of specificity, is a total lack of respect for Jacksonville taxpayers.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/columns/nate-monroe/2023/02/07/jacksonville-uf-and-the-amazing-disappearing-campus-nate-monroe/69881783007/

[marcuscnelson]

Curious where the state money is.

$50 million from the city and $50 million from the private sector. 

I think the South Florida campus got like $100 million from the state.

I also wonder how UNF and JU feel about this (e.g. additive vs. competitive).

I also wonder how UGA’s feeling about Jax as a neutral site for Fl/Ga if this things gets built.

Re: UNF and JU, I'm definitely noticing a sense of discontent on Twitter (at least) about the city chasing UF while UNF and JU are kind of just… here.

I think part of the problem is that UF, the state's flagship school, is just close enough that it feels attainable to get a presence here, while being the school that a number of the city's leadership (including Curry himself) comes from, while UNF and JU are not considered "big deal" schools in the same vein. In theory that should mean investing in growing those schools, but that brings you back to the question of doing that when the top school is already right there. Awkward position to be in, and I say this as someone who went to UF.

I don't know much about Tallahassee, but I'm curious how they handle as a city hosting two state universities.

Possibly Main Street between downtown and Spingfield:

In a Feb. 2 letter to the University of Florida, JEA Managing Director and CEO Jay Stowe said the utility would commit $10 million in in-kind services, including access to a trail through the Main Street Water Plant and Laboratory parcel through a purchase/lease/easement, to the project.

“It is our intent to support this project as it supports downtown revitalization, complemented with the Hogan’s Creek revitalization and Emerald Trail projects,” Stowe wrote.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2023/feb/07/university-of-florida-city-to-explore-campus-in-jacksonville/

I'm thinking about how JTA and even the DIA somewhat were so gung-ho about the idea of having a college campus on the Prime Osborn site. Funny how that goes.

[Jax_Developer]

Jacksonville needs to have a top university present in the area if they want to attract more well paying businesses. Our MSA ranks in the 30's around other cities like Virginia Beach, Milwaukee & Raleigh.

No knock to UNF, I think it is a great university but they rank a lot lower than the top schools in similarly sized metros. It also doesn't carry its name across the country like other universities in similarly sized cities.

Not that I agree with how its being done but a move like this seems somewhat necessary soon if JAX has the vision to be a Fin-tech capital & a large advance manufacturing hub. How would UNF or JU support these goals? Even with the $$, would the outcome be anywhere near a UF doing the same?

[Tacachale]

School rankings only matter in promotional brochures. UF's name alone isn't going to make this a success. There's definite risk of too much mission creep and too many cooks in the kitchen.

[thelakelander]

I don't know much about Tallahassee, but I'm curious how they handle as a city hosting two state universities.

FAMU gets the short end of the stick. At least that's how it felt in town when I attended. It's tradition likely keeps the CRT people from trying to seriously go after it. But FSU is also a significantly larger school.

[landfall]

Is the proposed West Palm Beach campus a new build or utilizing existing buildings?

[marcuscnelson]

Is the proposed West Palm Beach campus a new build or utilizing existing buildings?

New build, to my understanding.

I don't know much about Tallahassee, but I'm curious how they handle as a city hosting two state universities.

FAMU gets the short end of the stick. At least that's how it felt in town when I attended. It's tradition likely keeps the CRT people from trying to seriously go after it. But FSU is also a significantly larger school.

Sounds then like UNF would be in essentially FAMU's position if… whatever this is, happens.

[fsu813]

Of note, UF recently began a graduate level architecture program in Jax, based out of the Cathedral District.

https://dcp.ufl.edu/citylab/citylab-home-page/jaxlab/

[marcuscnelson]

Curry's office has filed legislation for the city's share of… whatever this is. $20 million now, $30 million more over the next two years.

https://twitter.com/NateMonroeTU/status/1625573899667705858?s=20&t=oZ9TYuggKCn1sJIj1n86dQ

[Charles Hunter]

Future Headline:
DeSantis, Sasse, and Curry announce new name for Jacksonville project: JAWS Campus - Jacksonville Anti Wokeness Satellite campus.

[jaxlongtimer]

Curry's office has filed legislation for the city's share of… whatever this is. $20 million now, $30 million more over the next two years.

https://twitter.com/NateMonroeTU/status/1625573899667705858?s=20&t=oZ9TYuggKCn1sJIj1n86dQ

Crazy!  City and state just throwing money at things without any accountability.

How about DeSantis's patronage lapdog, New College right-wing president Corcoran, who has no experience as a college president, getting DOUBLE the base salary of the prior president that everyone loved.  It comes to about $1,000 for each of the 700 students enrolled (if most don't leave now).  And, it could approach $1 million. 

How anyone can support this outright corruption is beyond me.

New College hires Richard Corcoran as interim president for $699,000 annually

.....The board hired former Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to serve as interim president at an annual salary of $699,000, more than double the previous president's compensation and an amount that drew concerns from trustees and the public....

.....With his retirement money and a maximum bonus, Corcoran would earn $908,850 annually.

New College has about 700 students, so Corcoran is earning about $1,000 per student in base salary. He makes nearly as much as Florida State University President Richard McCullough's $700,000 base salary when he was hired in 2021. McCullough's school has more than 45,000 students.

The University of Central Florida's president earns $600,000 in base pay at a school with 68,000 students, although he can earn an annual bonus of up to $300,000 and receives $120,000 annually in deferred compensation, or $1,020,000 combined.

New College's revamped board fired former President Patricia Okker on Jan. 31 as part of a major shakeup at the school. Okker earned $305,000 a year. She also had a $40,000 annual housing allowance and $8,000 annual car allowance.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/13/richard-corcoran-will-lead-desantis-overhaul-of-new-college-of-florida/69897573007/

[Ken_FSU]

This whole thing just reeks of desperation and political gamesmanship.

The mayor is essentially proposing that the city write UF a check for $50 million not even to build something, but to RESEARCH building something, with no assurances that anything actually gets built.

What does spending $20 million in Jacksonville taxpayer money over the next 12 months in “due diligence” even look like in reality?

What happens if we spend $50 million in soft costs upfront?

Who foots the bill for actual construction? The state? UF? Or Jacksonville?