Uptown Landing, a $500 million mixed-use development replacing the university’s former golf course, is expected to be completed by fall 2028, though some students worry about the traffic it will bring to campus. ORACLE PHOTO/VIOLET VASQUEZ PIMENTEL

On Sept. 8, USF held a groundbreaking ceremony for “Uptown Landing,” the new mixed-use development that will replace the university’s former 138-acre golf course.

The project is expected to cost nearly $500 million and will include student housing, restaurants, retail spaces, a hotel, conference center and a major academic research building.

The development will be north of Fletcher Avenue and east of North 46th Street, which is within walking distance of USF’s new on-campus stadium.

The project is expected to open for fall 2028, only a year after the stadium is planned to be completed.

During the ceremony, USF announced the project’s new name — it will no longer be called “Fletcher District,” according to USF.

USF President Moez Limayem said at the groundbreaking event that the name means much more than a neighborhood.

“Uptown is a name this district has earned through decades of research, innovation, jobs and investment,” the president said. “We’re not creating an identity here. We’re helping write its next chapter.”

Aryan Vadlamudi, a sophomore majoring in biomedical sciences, said the development is a good thing for the university.

“I think it’s a good idea to expand the campus,” Vadlamudi said. “I feel like they can definitely make more new buildings for campus because a lot of the buildings are older.”  

Related: USF’s Fletcher District approved in Board of Governors meeting

The first phase is estimated to cost about $270 million to cover the public-private partnership and the other $225 million to go toward the academic research building, according to USF.

For the public-private partnership, the developer is ACE Fletcher and will finance and own the student housing, affiliate housing, hotel and retail components during the term of ground leases.

The development is designed to be a walkable area connected to campus, and the Bull Runner services are expected to provide additional access.

Parking will also be included in different parts of the development, but the final parking plan is still being developed.

During the project, USF is analyzing traffic patterns to reduce impacts on surrounding roads and said construction will create noise, but there are no plans for work during evening hours.

Some students were worried about the USF Forest Preserve around the development, but USF said the site is west of the preserve and no construction will take place within it.

Students said they are excited to have more places to eat and spend time around campus, but are concerned about how the construction will impact traffic.

Vadlamudi said he works for USF’s on-campus ambulance services, and is concerned about how traffic could get in the way of taking the ambulance across Fletcher Avenue.

“It would be hard to get across Fletcher sometimes, because I know that there’s always going to be a lot of traffic, and I don’t know what the traffic is going to look like for the Uptown Landing on top of all of campus,” Vadlamudi said.

For the construction period, Vadlamudi said he thinks the inside of campus will not be affected.

“I don’t think it’ll affect the campus itself, but I know a lot of people live around that area, like with apartments, so maybe it’ll affect them,” Vadlamudi said.

Even though Vadlamudi said he is excited about the project, he said he does not believe it will be completed by the expected date.

“A lot of the [time] they push things back, so I’m kind of skeptical of it being done by fall 2028,” Vadlamudi said.

Related: USF reveals vision for housing, retail on former golf course site

Opposite of Vadlamudi, Mikayla Shedrawy, a sophomore international business major, said she believes the development will be completed by fall 2028.

“Maybe if circumstances do come up, like weather and hurricanes, it might affect the construction; I feel like they’re pretty accurate with their plans and to stay on track,” Shedrawy said.

Yet, Shedrawy also said she thinks the development will bring a lot more traffic to campus and its surroundings.

“So I hope that they improve the parking and just traffic of it all. Like I think they might not be thinking too much about that,” Shedrawy said.

Despite this concern, she said she is excited about having restaurants, stores and other activities closer to campus.

“I am really excited to have a very close-by area to go to all the time,” Shedrawy said. “You know, instead of having to drive 30 minutes to go downtown, it’s like we have like a mini downtown right here.”