State lawmakers field big-dollar requests. Here are top 10 for Jacksonville area.

Mayor Donna Deegan's pursuit of $63 million for two riverfront parks in downtown Jacksonville tops the list of big-dollar requests that state lawmakers will consider in their upcoming session.

The University of North Florida also has a big ask. It's in the hunt for about $40 million in state money for a new student support and academic building.

Other multimillion dollar requests include operating expenses for UF Health Jacksonville to care for the poor, expansion of Jacksonville University's nursing program, a Hilliard sewer project, construction of a Northeast Florida Builders Association apprentice training facility, help with building the Museum of Science & History's planned new museum, and money for the OCEARCH research center slated for Mayport.

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In the case of Deegan's requests for riverfront parks, the city has not yet hired a firm to help with lobbying state lawmakers. The administration will ask the city's Professional Services Evaluation Committee to green-light negotiations with The Fiorentino Group to fill that role.

Member-sponsored projects face a tough path because they must win support from the Legislature for inclusion in the 2024-25 budget and then survive Gov. Ron DeSantis's veto pen. The state is in solid financial position, which will help such projects gets consideration during the 60-day session that will start Jan. 9.

State Rep. Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, who filed a number of requests on behalf of local governments and non-profits, said the state has been exceeding revenue projections and "absent some unusual circumstance, we are going to continue to have a healthy budget."

Here are the top 10 projects in the Jacksonville area based on dollar amounts requested by state House members for consideration in the 2024-25 budget.

Jacksonville Shipyards West Park

Deegan asked for $43 million in state dollars for development of the park whose estimated cost is $68 million. The site covers what used to be a shipyards and still has piers jutting into the St. Johns River on a stretch of the riverfront that stretches from the pier where the USS Orleck is docked as a floating museum out to where Hogans Creek flows into the St. Johns River near the sports complex.

The city has authorized $25 million in local taxpayer money for Shipyards West Park. Apart from funding for the park, the city also has set aside $10 million for extension of the Northbank Riverwalk along that part of the river.

Deegan's request says Shipyards West "will fill the missing link" between the city's office-tower district and the sports complex by providing outdoor recreation that supports "continued private investment in downtown."

University of North Florida student academic building

UNF is seeking $40.2 million for a 60,350 square foot building that would be built between the Thomas G. Carpenter Library and the University Green. UNF's application says the building will help make up for a shortfall in study space on campus to support students by providing "prime academic support space in the heart of the campus."

The student support and academic building will have study space, learning centers, tutoring, career development, and other academic enhancements.

"Our vision is to grow strategically in numbers and in quality because Northeast Florida is one of the fastest growing regions," UNF President Moez Limayem said. "So the only way for us to meet the demand for talent is to grow the number of students, but when you grow the number of students, you need to grow the infrastructure."

Duggan said that as a part of the state university system, UNF has been "under strength" in terms of its student enrollment and funding so it will require financial commitments from the state to raise the bar in those areas.

He said UNF under Limayem's leadership is making a "really concerted effort to enhance its position, and rightly so. I think for a metropolitan area like Jacksonville, UNF is a tremendous asset, along with all our other educational institutions."

Riverfront Plaza at former Jacksonville Landing site

Deegan is asking the state for $20 million for the construction of Riverfront Park Plaza on the site where the Jacksonville Landing used to stand in downtown. That state money would be on top of $25 million put up by the city for the park.

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The city's application says the park will bring more private investment into downtown and continue the site's historic role as a gathering place for Jacksonville residents by "activating the riverfront and laying the groundwork for smart and sustainable growth in Jacksonville."

Duggan said the location in downtown gives it a high profile for the city's image.

"For a park like that, it's kind of the centerpiece of downtown," Duggan said. "This is the heart of Jacksonville and it's in every shot that networks broadcast during Jaguars games of downtown Jacksonville. So it has a central role to play in the image of the city and economic activity of downtown."

UF Health Jacksonville support for treating poor patients

The University of Florida is seeking $15 million to help cover its cost for treating patients who are unable to pay for the medical care at UF Health Jacksonville.

"Currently, UF Health in Jacksonville runs at a significant deficit and requires additional resources to meet the uncompensated care needs for the benefit of the community," the application says.

State Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, sponsored the request.

Jacksonville University nursing program

JU is asking for $10 million that would go toward its GROW Florida Nurses programs that the school says will help fill Florida's "critical shortage of nurses. The application says that according to the Florida Hospital Association, 70% of hospitals in Florida says they are below the number of nurses they need on their staffs.

JU would use the state funding to expand its nurse education by hiring faculty and staff, purchase high-tech mannequins and virtual nurse and LPN certificate training programs, and construct and renovate campus buildings for the program.

Hilliard sewage overhaul

The town of Hilliard in Nassau County requests $9.6 million to rehabilitate 8.8 miles of sewer pipes along with other construction and repairs of sewer manholes, sewer lines and a sewer lift station. Hilliard's application, sponsored by Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, says the work will reduce the amount of water the goes into the sewage system through damaged manholes and pipes, and it also will cut down on the seepage of raw sewage from the sewage system.

Museum of Science & History's Genesis Project

Museum of Science & History Genesis ProjectMOSH requests $5 million from the state to help pay for planned construction of a new million museum on a riverfront site near the sports complex. MOSH has already won support from the city to use the site that will be between Jacksonville Shipyards West Park and the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences being built by Jaguars owner Shad Khan.

MOSH's application says the new museum will expand its ability to provide educational programs for all ages and attract a projected 154,000 visitors annually.

Wigmore Street vehicle overpass

Keystone Properties is seeking $5 million for the planning, design and construction of an overpass for vehicles at Wigmore Street spanning two existing railroad crossings where two more crossings are planned. Keystone Properties owns Keystone Terminals, located at 1915 Wigmore Street, which has riverfront access for ships bringing cargo to and from Jacksonville.

"Unless the overpass is constructed, these four railroad at-grade crossings will create both vehicular and pedestrian disruptions on Wigmore Street," Keystone's application says.

OCEARCH research center in Mayport

Jacksonville University is seeking another round of state support for OCEARCH to use Mayport as its base of operations for ships that track that movements of sharks and marine mammals. JU says it also will attract tourism to Mayport because OCEARCH has a large following on social media and online.

The OCEARCH center won $5 million in state support from the Legislature a year ago. JU says the additional $5 million will go toward construction of the center and purchase of a customized catamaran, plus the first year of operating costs.

NEFBA apprenticeship program

The Northeast Florida Builders Association is asking for $5 million to build a new center that will house its apprenticeship program in skilled building trades. The association started the tuition-free program in 1973 and offers apprenticeships in the filed of carpentry, electrical, HVAC, plumbing and sheet metal trades.

The association will build or renovate 35,000 square feet of space that will have 16 classrooms, four teaching labs and a large 4,500 square foot building construction lab.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida Legislature members get Jacksonville requests for money