JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As lawmakers return home from a busy legislative session in Tallahassee, many made sure Jacksonville was a focus for new development.
Millions of dollars have been committed to new projects.
One of the biggest investments the state will make into Jacksonville is to bring a University of Florida graduate campus to downtown.
The state is committing $75 million to the project - to join with city and private investments for the major undertaking.
"The campus would build on UF's and Jacksonville's long standing connections in healthcare, providing new graduate education programs aimed at supporting the region's growing workforce need," said UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hossein during the announcement ceremony.
UF isn't the only school getting money from the state.
The budget has more than $26 million going to the University of North Florida Coggin College of Business remodel and more than $7 million set to remodel the Brooks College of Health.
Shark research is swimming its way into the budget - $5 million set to go to a new Ocearch Research and Operations Center at Mayport.
The ongoing battle against flooding in Atlantic Beach will get a boost - $500,000 will go to flood mitigation at Hopkins Creek in the Aquatic Gardens area off Atlantic Boulevard.
The USS Orleck's new home in the shipyards is due for some upgrades - half a million to repair the pier and retrofit the hanger.
Another half a million would go to renovating the Florida Casket Company in downtown into the Jacksonville Music History Museum.
Those are just a few of the projects that may come to fruition thanks to the state budget.
That may is a big one, because a caveat here is that this budget stills needs to be signed by the governor, and he can use his line item veto to axe any one of these when it comes down to crunch time.
For example, the Ocearch Research Center was budgeted for last year, but the governor vetoed it.