A ceremony Monday will officially kick off construction on a new administrative building on UF's Eastside Campus.
Construction of the office building began last week and is scheduled to be completed in April, according to Ed Poppell, UF's vice president for business affairs.
The total cost for the three-story, 82,000-square-foot building will be about $15 million.
Poppell said the building will accommodate seven UF administrative departments, including the Florida Center for Library Automation, Division of Continuing Education and Public Health. In addition, it will provide about 300 new jobs within the departments housed in the building.
The new jobs will contribute to economic revitalization efforts in East Gainesville, Poppell said.
The structure is part of UF's plan to expand the Eastside Campus.
The building will also be Gold Certified, the second-highest sustainability standard set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, according to a press release.
Poppell said the College of Engineering and other workers developed ideas for the structure as early as 2001 after UF acquired the property. Actual construction planning didn't start until about six months ago.
President Bernie Machen will speak at the ceremony along with Poppell, City Commissioner Scherwin Henry and County Commissioner Rodney Long.
The ceremony will be held at the construction site, 2124 NE Waldo Road., at 9 a.m. Monday.
