The University of South Florida broke ground today on a redevelopment project off of Fletcher Avenue that will be known as Uptown Landing.
USF officials and local leaders gathered on Sept. 8 to kick off the project’s construction.
The first phase of the multi-million-dollar public-private partnership will transform the area into a mixed-use district with student housing, retail spaces, a hotel and conference center and a major academic research building, according to a university press release.
At the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, USF Board of Trustees Chair Mike Griffin said the project has been a long time coming.
From a defunct golf course to mixed-use development
Standing under a big, white tent on the roughly 30-acre site, Griffin said he remembers what sparked the idea to redevelop the university’s now-defunct golf course, The Claw, into a more valuable asset.
"I looked around, and I realized that this golf course no longer represented the greatness of the University of South Florida,” he said. “Our standards had gone so much higher, but unfortunately, this incredible layout had not kept up with it."
To reimagine the site, the university is using the largest public-private partnership in the history of Florida’s State University System, according to a USF press release.
The first phase of development is estimated to cost nearly $500 million, with around $270 million coming from public and private partners and another $225 million tied to a new academic research building that will be known as the Translation Research Institute.
Earlier this year, the Hillsborough County Commission approved $24 million for key roadway infrastructure and public safety improvements related to the mixed-use development.
Late last year, the Florida Board of Governors approved the project and committed $8 million in state funds towards the research building and another $31 million for east campus infrastructure, according to a county commission presentation from February of 2026.
Initial conversations about developing the golf course site stoked concerns from environmentalists about stormwater runoff pollution into the nearby USF Forest Preserve.
Read more: Mixed-use development on USF's former golf course could break ground as soon as spring
USF president Moez Limayem said Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for Uptown Landing was the culmination of efforts from multiple university presidents who preceded him.
"This project would not have been possible without the incredible work of President Judy Genshaft, and then finished by President Rhea Law. I am here to really stand on their shoulders and to hopefully make this a reality, and bring it home,” Limayem said.
Looking ahead
On Tuesday, local leaders also touted other major developments that will coincide with the Uptown Landing redevelopment.
“Just imagine, less than a year from now the…[USF] on-campus stadium, which you can see if you haven't looked out that way, you can see the stadium, it's really pretty cool, is going to be rocking. Next summer, the county's MOSI redevelopment project opens, and then a few months later, the Fletcher District is bustling,” Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan said.
The first phase of Uptown Landing is expected to open by the fall of 2028.
