A nearly 80,000-square food UF life science laboratory at the corner of Archer Road and Gale Lemerand Drive will be completed in 2010.
UF hired Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. to build the project, known as The Innovation Center, UF President Bernie Machen announced at a meeting of UF's Board of Trustees on Friday morning.
Alexandria specializes in building academic, medical and research institutions. UF's project will be the first small town-located facility the company has ever built, Machen said.
The company will own and operate the facility and has funded the project so far.
"In my mind, and I've had some discussion with the Legislature about this, this would be a good investment for the state of Florida," he said.
He said he would appeal to the state "quite unabashedly" for more funding.
If that doesn't work out, UF will look to other sources, such as royalty revenue, he said.
"I really believe this is a good buy," Machen added.
