News & Insights

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

The proposed district will span 27 acres at the site of USF's former golf course.

The University of South Florida has selected a development partner for the mixed-use district planned on the former Claw golf course at its Tampa campus.

The future of the 138-acre site has been heavily debated for years. During Friday’s Board of Trustees finance committee meeting, Jennifer Condon, USF’s vice president of business and finance and chief financial officer, said USF has a master development agreement with ACE Fletcher LLC. The group is comprised of:

• Capstone Development Partners and Capstone Communities: In 2017 and 2018, Capstone delivered the largest campus housing project in USF’s history. The Village has 2,171 dorm rooms in five residence halls. Capstone Communities specializes in off-campus and new construction developments.
• Aureate Development: The company is linked to Tampa billionaire investor and entrepreneur Dr. Kiran Patel
• Ellison Development: One of Tampa Bay’s largest commercial real estate developers. Ellison is the master developer of The Central in downtown St.Petersburg, as well as the Tampa Heights redevelopment of the Central City YMCA.

The first phase of development at The Claw will transform 27 acres of the site into a mixed-use district. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2026, with an opening date for the first phase in summer 2028.

Phase One will include:

• Student housing: Approximately 335,000 square feet with 700 beds with a one-to-one bed and bath ratio in each unit. This is the first time this configuration has been built at USF.
• Multifamily housing development: Roughly 160,000 square feet with 150 units and 250 beds. The development will focus on faculty, staff, graduate students and what USF calls “lifelong learners and other community members.”
• Hotel and conference center: 78,000 square feet of hotel space with 150 rooms and 5,000 square feet of conference space could be built, but the estimates could change
• Academic research building: USF will develop a research building that Condon said could be 350,000 square feet
• Green space and recreational space are also planned
• Retail and restaurant space: Roughly 60,000 square feet of street-level retail is planned throughout the district

“To put that in perspective, the total retail space will be larger than the floor space of two USF campus Publix grocery stores,” Condon said. USF noted that all construction details were early estimates and could change.

Ground subleases will vary by the asset type. USF said they will range from 40 to 99 years and require approval from the USF BOT for the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, which holds the title for the land on behalf of the state of Florida. USF has a master ground lease that expires in 2073. Condon said USF will fund the academic research building and the infrastructure for its portion of the district. USF will not have a legal obligation to finance other district assets. The university will deliver and be reimbursed for any services supporting student housing. USF submitted information about the project to the Florida Board of Governors on Aug. 7. The BOG will vote on the project Nov. 6, and the USF BOT will review it Sept. 9.

“It will truly be a place to live, work, learn and play, and with the home football games and national performances at the on-campus stadium a short walkaway, the Fletcher District will undoubtedly become an integral part of the many exciting new experiences coming to the home of the Bulls,” Condon said.

This article originally appeared in the Tampa Bay Business Journal.