Students and faculty may soon look down the hill on Newell Drive to see the Health Science Center's equivalent of Century Tower.
Under the UF&Shands label, UF hopes to build a $40 million, 100,000-square-foot building for the College of Medicine.
The building would be the architectural symbol of the medical campus, said David Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs and president of the UF&Shands Health System.
"It is a symbolic idea that would connect the two parts of campus," Guzick said.
The structure, tentatively called the UF Health Science Education building, would be built next to the Health Professions/Nursing/Pharmacy Complex on Newell Drive.
An official name will not be determined until the Board of Trustees approves the project.
The building would accommodate a new medical school curriculum, which emphasizes small group learning spaces, stimulation activities and technology learning.
The current building, which was built in the 1970s and contains large lecture halls and lab rooms, is inadequate for the new teaching concepts.
"We are creating the form that fits the function of the curriculum," Guzick said.
At least half of the funding for the project would come from donations. A number of people have already expressed interest in donating money, Guzick said.
"There has been a lot of enthusiastic support," Guzick said. "It's very encouraging, but we can't say we will definitely proceed."
Once there is enough funding, the building plans will go to the Board of Trustees for approval.
Construction on the building will hopefully begin this academic year, Guzick said.
Two other UF&Shands facilities are currently under construction.
The first is a primary practice office called UF&Shands Family Medicine on Main Street, which will replace the Family Medicine at Fourth Avenue practice.
The second will be a specialty care medical office on Northwest 39th Avenue, which will include specialists in dermatology, women's health and neurology.
The UF Health Science Education building will cost $40 million to build and will be 100,000 square feet. An official name will be determined when the Board of Trustees approves the project.
