Plans for a University of Florida campus in downtown West Palm Beach are in limbo, following a spat with developer Jeff Greene over naming rights.
UF hit the brakes on the graduate school, citing “regrettable divisions in the local community” in a statement on Tuesday, also adding that the university does not want to reap division, The Palm Beach Post reported.
The decision comes on the heels of an unraveling of a yearlong agreement between the university and Greene. Early last year, UF vowed to name the campus after Greene, in exchange for his donation of 5 acres toward the 12-acre project. Over the following months, Greene tacked on conditions to the agreement, such as enrollment thresholds, and a caveat that he can take back the land if some of his conditions aren’t met. The issue came to a head in January, when UF said naming the entire campus after Greene could dissuade other donors, and suggested naming a building after the developer.
“A deal’s a deal,” Greene told The Post.
UF planned to offer technology, innovation and finance programs at the campus — all growing fields amid the influx of out-of-state companies to South Florida. The campus was largely seen as a boon for downtown West Palm, and helped lure developers to the area.
Still, Stephen Ross, whose Related Companies is downtown’s biggest Class A office owner, isn’t losing hope. He told The Post he hopes the campus is “salvageable.”
New York-based Related’s hefty bet on the market includes the purchase of Phillips Point and CityPlace Tower, along with half of the interest in Esperanté Corporate Center, in 2021. Also that year, Related completed 360 Rosemary. It is now developing One Flagler, dubbed the “hedge fund tower” for the financial firms it’s expected to attract. Related is expected to start construction on its sixth office building, 515 Fern, this year.
In a joint statement, West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James and Palm Beach County Mayor Gregg Weiss said they are “cautiously optimistic” that UF will open the West Palm campus.
“As a growing and prospering city/county,” the mayors said in the statement, “this is the perfect location for the urban campus.”
–– Lidia Dinkova
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