Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told KnightNews.com he was looking forward to moving ahead with the UCF Downtown Campus project and that funding was the only obstacle they had left to face at Rick Scott’s Economic Growth Summit.
Late Monday night, state leaders allocated $15 million of the nearly $60 million requested to move forward with the plans to build the $200+ million UCF Downtown Campus project.
Dyer told the Orlando Sentinel Tuesday that the awarded amount was a “home run.”
Senate President Andy Gardner, an Orlando native and big supporter of the downtown campus, told the Sentinel “I’ll take it” and that “it’s a great start.”
UCF officials said they will continue to plan for the downtown campus to open in the fall 2017 semester, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Dyer told the Sentinel the $15 million will pay for engineering, design, architecture and planning. He said $60 million would have funded the project’s entire first phase, but said he realistically never expected more than $10 million to $25 million this session.
UCF Spokesman Grant Heston said he expects shovels in the dirt by Summer 2016, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
“This is a great start for UCF Downtown and we are very appreciative of the Legislature’s decision to keep this project moving forward,” Heston told KnightNews.com
When asked about ways to speed up the funding process, Dyer, Gardiner, and UCF officials mentioned to the Sentinel about the importance of private donations and public-private partnerships as well as next year’s legislative session to request more state dollars.
