File photo.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University’s footprint successful Arlington is expanding — and it’s interaction of Northeast Florida continues growing, too.

Some of the earthy features marque JU attractive, similar 240 acres with past oak trees, a waterfront presumption and, of course, 88 years of history.

The backstage instauration is besides actively progressive successful a strategy to pull caller students with acquisition offerings that marque sense.

“The assemblage has been hugely supportive,” said JU President Tim Cost, who is the lone JU alumnus to gain the title.

Under his leadership, JU has repeatedly made the U.S. News and World Report’s database of Best Colleges. This week’s announcement of a four-year medical schoolhouse being successful the works comes 9 months to the time after the announcement of a caller instrumentality school.

Cost said the plans aren’t random oregon disconnected.

“When we did our strategical planning, it looked similar determination was an eventual accidental successful the tech area. And you’ll perceive much from america connected that successful the spring, what the satellite calls fintech oregon cyber,” helium said. “It looked similar it had an eventual accidental successful the aesculapian schoolhouse field, looked similar it had 1 successful the instrumentality schoolhouse tract and respective much that we’ll beryllium talking astir implicit time.”

Cost says the instrumentality school, which opened successful August has, already been palmy successful his eyes. They chose lone 14 students retired of 350 applications.

That’s a measured favoritism from the erstwhile instrumentality schoolhouse successful the area, Florida Coastal.

“There’s a large quality betwixt a for-profit instrumentality school, which precise overmuch needs tons of people. That’s gross driven income … And a backstage instrumentality schoolhouse wherever our extremity is to beryllium precise good. And whether the instrumentality schoolhouse ends up having 300 students oregon 400 students oregon 500 students is not arsenic important to us. It’s important to the assemblage that you tin service the need,” Cost said.

Finding needs to service the acquisition assemblage has a fiscal interaction successful the area.

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) volition put $50 cardinal successful the JU campus. That volition beryllium portion of a aesculapian mall that includes the Health Sciences Complex.

“You enactment each those unneurotic successful this aesculapian promenade area, you’re going to make much than good much than $50 cardinal successful economical benefit,” Cost said. I deliberation yet LECOM and JU volition beryllium talking person to $100 million.”

Eight years ago, the metropolis of Jacksonville partnered with JU successful a program called “Renew Arlington.” Cost says hundreds of millions of dollars person been enactment into the initiative.

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About the Author:

Kent Justice co-anchors News4Jax's 5 p.m., 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts weeknights and reports connected authorities and politics. He besides hosts "This Week successful Jacksonville," Channel 4's blistery topics and authorities nationalist affairs amusement each Sunday greeting astatine 9 a.m.