Dec. 5, 2025, 2:01 p.m. ET
- The University of Florida Board of Trustees approved about $2.7 billion for over 700 campus construction and maintenance projects.
- The university’s 10-year housing plan aims to add 10,000 new beds by 2030, though the board chair is pushing for a faster timeline.
- UF’s Board of Trustees has initiated a search for a permanent president, with Interim President Dr. Donald Landry expected to apply.
The University of Florida Board of Trustees has greenlit the construction of more than 700 campus projects, many expected to be completed next year, with a price tag of about $2.7 billion.
UF’s major projects will cost over $2 billion, according to university officials. That number includes a $400 million renovation to Ben Griffin Hill Stadium to be completed by 2030 and $400 million for the construction of two new student residence halls on campus opening in 2028 and 2029.
Major projects include construction and renovation of the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Chemical Engineering and Basic Science facilities, the PK Yonge gymnasium, Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Flavet Outdoor Recreation Center and the Reitz Union Veterans Memorial among others.
UF also will undertake a $200 million expansion of the Dental Science Building, to be completed in three phases. Phase one will refurbish and repair the exterior, phase two will add a 100,000-square-foot, three-story facility for dental education and patient care, and phase three will renovate existing spaces. The project is expected to be complete by 2030. UF faculty and staff attended a groundbreaking for the new building Dec. 4.
Construction of UF’s Music Building are expected to cost $65 million and finish by fall 2028. The building will be designed by Oregon based Bora Architecture and Gainesville based Walker Architects and constructed by Barr and Barr Inc.
The Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education is expected to open in fall 2027. A mock-up of the renovated historic Infirmary Building presented at the Dec. 4 meeting showcased an exposed lower-level main entrance with ample outdoor lounging space and an indoor coffee shop.
Minor projects, including over 100 maintenance projects, will cost about $485 million.
New UF student housing
UF’s 10-year undergraduate housing plan aims to add 10,000 new beds by 2030. But, Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini has pushed for an accelerated timeline, suggesting a 5-year plan, assuring staff financing construction will not be an obstacle.
“I’ll be dead by 2029,” he said jokingly during the Dec. 4 Board of Trustees meeting. “We gotta move on this … you’re not going to have any issue with the finances. I guarantee it. You guys need to get going with the construction.”
Phase one, expected to be completed in 2028, includes the construction and renovation of more than 5,700 new beds and the demolition of Trusler, Simpson and Graham Halls.
As of June 2025, there were 27 undergraduate residence halls with 9,314 beds and three graduate and family housing facilities with 624 apartment-style units, according to a university report.
University leaders have not finalized plans for the expansion of graduate housing but are considering new construction or the acquisition of existing housing. UF Provost J. Scott Angle suggested increasing graduate student stipends so students could afford off-campus housing.
Permanent UF presidential search, tenure appointments
UF’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to initiate its search for a permanent president. Interim President Dr. Donald Landry plans to apply for the position, Hosseini said at the Dec. 4 board meeting.
Landry, a former professor of medicine at Columbia University, was appointed interim president Aug. 25 a week before former interim President Kent Fuchs’ extended contract was set to expire.
The board also approved nine faculty tenures upon hire, including Justice Charles Canady who announced he’d be stepping down from the Florida Supreme Court to serve as director of the new Hamilton School Nov. 14.
Upcoming changes to financial aid
Upcoming cuts to federal student aid next year will make it harder for UF to attract and retain graduate students in particular, who rely heavily on federal student loans and will no longer receive graduate PLUS loans, according to Mary Parker, UF’s vice president and chief enrollment strategist.
“Our professional students last year borrowed $105 million in student loans. Our grad students borrowed $67 million, and our undergrad borrowed $47 million,” she said. “So, we are talking about a significant impact to our new students that will be coming in … it’s not just about their tuition and fees it’s about their full living expenses. How do they support themselves through those four, five or six years that they are here.”
Federal legislation will also affect undergraduate students with the elimination of some Pell grants offered to low-income students. Parent PLUS loans will be capped at $20,000 per year and $65,000 overall.
UF’s financial aid team is working to identify ways to support students with financial need, anticipating that institutional and philanthropic contributions will play a larger role in bridging affordability gaps.
But even as students may bear more of the costs of earning a college degree, undergraduate applications are the highest they’ve been since 2022. The university received more than 70,000 applications for next school year, 5,000 more than last year, according to a university report.
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