UCF, FSU Will Add New Facilities

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

The University of Central Florida plans on building a new teaching hospital in Lake Nona, right next to its medical school. The Orlando Business Journal Reports that on January 26 the UCF board of trustees approved the purchase of the 25 acres needed for the new facility.

The board of trustees has set several guidelines for the land deal, including the price of $15.1 million; also, the deal includes the right to develop 253,000 square feet of hospital space and 115,000 square feet of clinic space, and the option to buy an additional 13 acres until Jan. 16, 2017 for $600,000 per acre. According to The Orlando Business Journal, the teaching facility will call for an investment of up to $143.4 million.

Florida State University also plans on moving forward with its plans for a new on-campus facility; Ocala businessman and past FSU financier Al Dunlap has made a considerable donation to Florida State, bringing the university one step closer to erecting the indoor practice facility head coach Jimbo Fisher had been pleading for. According to Charles Barnes, executive director and senior vice president of Seminole Boosters Inc., the $5 million donation came through within the last month.

Seminole Boosters is currently raising the rest of the amount needed for the facility through an online donation drive; according to the Orlando Sentinel, the estimated costs for the new facility are as high as $15 million. The indoor practice facility is planned for the surface currently devoted to FSU’s outdoor practice fields, and if the amount needed is raised, the facility would be scheduled for completion in spring 2013. The Sentinel reports that, due to Dunlap’s major financial contribution, the building will bear his name.