UF campus West Palm Beach is on hold due to 'regrettable division' in the community

Kimberly Miller and Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post
·7 min read
This Aug. 24, 2021 photo shows Datura Street, left and Evernia Street, right, in West Palm Beach, Fla. In back-to-back, unanimous votes, commissioners in Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach approved preliminary plans to have the University of Florida open a campus near downtown, a move supporters described as "historic" and "transformative."
This Aug. 24, 2021 photo shows Datura Street, left and Evernia Street, right, in West Palm Beach, Fla. In back-to-back, unanimous votes, commissioners in Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach approved preliminary plans to have the University of Florida open a campus near downtown, a move supporters described as "historic" and "transformative."

The University of Florida has “paused” its plans for a graduate program in downtown West Palm Beach saying it will look at other options after a disagreement over naming rights for the proposed 12-acre campus.

The announcement, made in a statement Tuesday, notes “regrettable divisions in the local community” as the reason for pursuing other options.

“UF is committed to being a unifying presence throughout the state and does not want to divide communities we aim to serve,” the statement said. “The university has an obligation to the public to take a fresh look at any possible South Florida graduate campus.”

Losing the proposed school, which was to focus on technology, innovation and finance, would be a blow to West Palm Beach and business leaders who have invested in the city anticipating a swarm of residential and economic activity to grow around a campus of the state’s flagship school.

Tuesday’s announcement came just days before a Friday get-together in Palm Beach County between UF donors and the school’s fundraising department.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that the University of Florida will choose West Palm Beach as the future location of an urban campus, and we – the City and County – will continue to work together to achieve that goal," West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James and County Mayor Gregg Weiss said in a joint statement issued late Tuesday. "The City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County stand firmly in support of this strategic partnership and believe that as a growing and prospering City/County, this is the perfect location for the urban campus.”

“We can do this without Jeff Greene. There is nothing finalized, but I think we can get to a deal there.”

— Developer Stephen Ross, who said he has been talking with the Palm Beach County School District for land near the Dreyfoos School of the Arts for the UF campus

Developer Jeff Greene said he was promised that the school would be named after him

The dustup over naming rights happened after billionaire developer Jeff Greene said he was promised in early 2022 that the West Palm Beach graduate school would be named after him in recognition of 5 acres of downtown land he planned to donate to the school. But that deal subsequently broke down after UF resisted some of Greene’s requirements.

Stephen Ross, the billionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins football team and chairman of the prolific West Palm Beach builder Related Cos., said he’s hopeful a deal with UF is “salvageable.”

Jeff Greene said he had a deal for naming rights for the UF campus in West Palm Beach.
Jeff Greene said he had a deal for naming rights for the UF campus in West Palm Beach.

“We can do this without Jeff Greene,” Ross said, noting that he has been in discussions with Palm Beach County School District officials about land near the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts. “There is nothing finalized, but I think we can get to a deal there.”

More:Jeff Greene: UF offered to name West Palm graduate school after me. 'A deal's a deal.'

More:Is University of Florida's grad school campus in West Palm Beach in peril?

Jeff Greene: UF offered to name West Palm graduate school after me. 'A deal's a deal.'

Ross said losing UF would not be a big hit to the city in the short term because businesses moving to West Palm Beach such as BlackRock, NewDay USA, Point72 Asset Management, Comvest Partners and Goldman Sachs had plans to put down roots regardless of the UF campus.

But in the long term, he said it would be “very helpful for it to happen.” Related Cos. is the largest owner of Class A office space downtown and has plans for more offices.

“I think this is the best place in the state for UF to have a graduate campus,” Ross said. “Everybody is interested in them coming here.”

Along with Green, the county and West Palm donated land to UF

In addition to the 5 acres that was to be donated by Greene, Palm Beach County also agreed to donate 5 acres of land it owns downtown. The city of West Palm Beach said it would donate 2 acres. The city said its donation is contingent on the Greene and the county donating the land.

"We are hopeful that this is a pause and not an end to negotiations," West Palm Beach said in a statement.

It was August 2021 when city and county leaders first revealed they had been in talks with UF about establishing a graduate campus downtown. The move was touted as a game-changer for the county that would bring thousands of highly-skilled graduate students to the area and attract more companies and jobs.

But the 5 acres of land from Greene has remained a sticking point.

Developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he still believes a UF campus can happen in West Palm Beach.
Developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he still believes a UF campus can happen in West Palm Beach.

A Feb. 16, 2022 letter from UF Foundation Vice President Thomas Mitchell to Greene outlined the naming promise, saying that “All divisions, departments, centers, institutes would be at the Jeff Greene School of Technology and Innovation.” A notice posted last week on UF's website said Mitchell was transitioning to be a senior advisor to new UF President Ben Sasse effective March 11.

The duo signed a non-binding letter of intent. Greene subsequently added conditions to the donation, including enrollment requirements to ensure the school would have at least 700 students. UF correspondence said Greene wanted “1,000 students forever.”

Greene also wanted the land to revert back to him if other standards weren’t met, including construction timelines and establishment of education programs.

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A Jan. 31 letter from former UF President Kent Fuchs said naming the UF campus after developer Jeff Greene would deter other private donations for the school and other naming opportunities. Fuchs suggested naming a building after Greene.
A Jan. 31 letter from former UF President Kent Fuchs said naming the UF campus after developer Jeff Greene would deter other private donations for the school and other naming opportunities. Fuchs suggested naming a building after Greene.

A Jan. 31 letter from former UF President Kent Fuchs said naming the UF campus after Greene would deter other private donations for the school and other naming opportunities. Fuchs suggested naming a building after Greene.

"I still just want to be a donor and make this happen for our wonderful community, and just do the deal that the University of Florida offered and we accepted," Greene said in an interview days before Tuesday’s announcement. "They offered it. We accepted it ... A deal's a deal."

Greene, who was an early supporter of the UF campus in West Palm Beach, hosted school officials in the Hamptons in 2021 and held private fundraising events in Palm Beach, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Millions in public and private money were riding on the UF campus

Millions of dollars in public and private money are riding on the UF campus in West Palm Beach, including $100 million Florida lawmakers gave the school last year to build the program. The money is contingent on getting the 12 acres of land donated and achieving $100 million in cash donations before July 1. 2027.

But the $100 million in state dollars isn’t tied to West Palm Beach. If the campus doesn’t materialize, UF could vote to use the money “in a location outside of Palm Beach County.”

Related Group CEO Jorge Perez said recently the UF campus is “extremely important for West Palm Beach.” His Miami-based company partnered with two other heavyweight investors last year to back a proposed $1.3 billion Transit Village that would be across the street from the campus.
Related Group CEO Jorge Perez said recently the UF campus is “extremely important for West Palm Beach.” His Miami-based company partnered with two other heavyweight investors last year to back a proposed $1.3 billion Transit Village that would be across the street from the campus.

Related Group CEO Jorge Perez, whose Miami-based company partnered with two other heavyweight investors last year to back a proposed $1.3 billion Transit Village that would be across the street from the campus, said in an interview last week that the campus is “extremely important for West Palm Beach.”

Related President Jon Paul Perez said Tuesday the city is still a market with potential.

“And while this latest update is not ideal, the area has many factors, and organizations propelling it forward,” he said. “We remain big fans of West Palm Beach and its long-term growth trajectory.”

Related Group, a Miami-based company, partnered with two other investors last year to back a proposed $1.3 billion Transit Village that was to be across the street from the UF campus in downtown West Palm Beach.
Related Group, a Miami-based company, partnered with two other investors last year to back a proposed $1.3 billion Transit Village that was to be across the street from the UF campus in downtown West Palm Beach.

If a UF campus in downtown West Palm Beach doesn’t happen, it won’t be the first time Palm Beach County had a substantial business deal fail to meet expectations.

Twenty years ago, the California-based Scripps Research Institute was supposed to create a thriving biotech hub in northern Palm Beach County. It did create about 500 jobs but an estimated 70 acres of land the county bought in Palm Beach Gardens to expand the Scripps campus in Jupiter remained empty.

Last year, UF bought the Scripps Florida campus with a renewed goal of creating a biotech corridor.

Dr. Dave Nelson, left, listens to Dr. Herbert Wertheim next to then-UF President Kent Fuchs and trustee Mori Hosseini during a ceremony announcing that the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation would be donating $100 million to the UF Scripps Biomedical Research in Jupiter in 2022.
Dr. Dave Nelson, left, listens to Dr. Herbert Wertheim next to then-UF President Kent Fuchs and trustee Mori Hosseini during a ceremony announcing that the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation would be donating $100 million to the UF Scripps Biomedical Research in Jupiter in 2022.

In 2010, West Palm Beach celebrated a deal with the now-closed Digital Domain arts and film company. City officials promised the company, which was partnered with Florida State University, $10 million in cash, downtown land valued at $10 million and a bond issue worth $15 million. The city paid $2 million before Digital Domain filed for bankruptcy and FSU closed the program’s West Palm Beach campus.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. 

Alexandra Clough is a business writer at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. Twitter: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: UF campus West Palm Beach on hold due to Jeff Greene conflict