Gov. Rick Scott spared the wrath of his veto pen and will let state funding for a University of Central Florida campus in downtown Orlando stay in the budget. The governor vetoed funding last year, but he called Orlando’s mayor to deliver the good news this year.
This means the project has $20 million of state funding, another $20 million out of UCF’s pocket, and now just needs to close the gap on a needed $20 million in private donations.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he thinks this shared approach to funding is one reason why the governor held off on another veto.
“It’s a scaled-back approach to a single building versus an entire campus that would’ve been developed over a decade,” said Dyer. “More strategic in terms of exactly what programs are going to come there and more fully developed program.”
Dyer calls the downtown campus a catalyst for development of the Creative Village.
UCF will share the downtown campus with Valencia College, offering programs in digital media, healthcare and public service, among others.
The campus could open by the fall of 2018.
