WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Plans for a downtown West Palm Beach campus for the University of Florida have hit a stumbling block.
It's now tangled up in a situation where local developer Jeff Greene said he's having trouble just giving away the 5 acres he owns for the project.
"They said they wanted to name the whole school for us, and we were flattered and honored, and they put in writing, and we were all set to go," Greene said of the conversations he had with the university in 2021.
The 5 acres he donated are in an area located between Datura and Fern streets, just west of the Brightline rail station.
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Greene said the land was part of a 12-acre plan for the University of Florida's School of Innovation and Technology. The rest of the land for the project was coming from the city and the county.
"Probably about six months ago they said to us, 'Well, maybe we don't want to do this anymore, and now maybe we'd like to buy the land,'" Greene said.
The offer, he said, was for $45 million and left out any naming of the campus for Greene.
Greene said the property, one of the largest privately held parcels in West Palm Beach, is worth closer to $250 million if it's developed.
He said he's still willing to work out a deal of donating the land, along with recognizing his contribution.
"We want to donate the land," Greene said. "We want this school to be here."
The University of Florida released the following statement regarding the matter:
"The University of Florida is fully engaged in West Palm Beach and continues to move forward with plans for a campus there. We are currently conducting our due diligence with the city, the county and other parties and plan to return to the Board of Governors in March with an update."