Florida Construction News staff writer
The University of South Florida has broken ground on a nearly $500-million mixed-use development that will combine student housing, restaurants, retail, hospitality and research facilities on the Tampa campus.
The project, now named Uptown Landing, was previously referred to during planning as the Fletcher District.
The first phase covers about 30 acres north of Fletcher Avenue and east of North 46th Street and is expected to open in time for the fall 2028 semester.
The development will include 700 student housing beds, four to six restaurants, retail space, a hotel and conference centre and a major academic research facility known as the Translational Research Institute.
The research building is expected to provide space for about 100 National Institutes of Health-funded investigators and approximately 1,000 additional researchers.
USF president Moez Limayem said the development is intended to create a new destination for students, alumni, Bulls fans and the broader Tampa Bay community.“Uptown Landing is much more than a new neighborhood,” Limayem said. “This will be a destination anchored by USF, but created for the entire community.”
Uptown Landing is designed to accommodate visitors during football games and other major events while providing a year-round gathering place.
The project is being delivered through a public-private partnership, or P3, described by USF as the largest such project in the history of Florida’s State University System.
Phase one has an estimated total cost of nearly $500 million, including approximately $270 million for the P3 portion and about $225 million for the academic research building.The university has entered into a Master Development Agreement with ACE Fletcher LLC, a partnership involving Capstone Development Partners, Aureate Development and Ellison Development.
USF Board of Trustees chair Mike Griffin said the project will transform the area surrounding the university.
“Uptown Landing will absolutely transform our area of the city and USF is proud to anchor this transformative development,” Griffin said.
Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners chair Ken Hagan said the university is an important economic driver for the county and that the development will contribute to continued growth in the area.
The project is part of a broader transformation of the USF campus and surrounding area that also includes the new on-campus stadium.
USF senior Helena Ardigo said she expects the development to become a destination she can return to after graduation.
“I cannot wait to come back as an alumna — to stay at our hotel, have dinner here, walk to a Bulls game in our new stadium and see another generation of students building their own lives in a place we helped begin today,” Ardigo said.
The first phase of Uptown Landing is expected to be completed and open in fall 2028.
