The city is reviewing site-clearing and foundation construction permits for the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine near Jacksonville University.
RH Constructors Inc. is shown as the contractor for the estimated $846,000 project to clear 9.87 acres at 5415 Dolphin Point Blvd., on land north of the JU riverfront campus in Arlington.
Danis Construction LLC is listed as the contractor for the estimated $2.7 million concrete foundations and structural steel required for the 72,000-square-foot medical school.
The permits are the latest in construction approvals needed for the project.
Civil engineer Taylor & White Inc. submitted plans to the city Oct. 16 for the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which announced a partnership with JU on Nov. 30, 2022, to establish a four-year medical school in Northeast Florida that will become LECOM at Jacksonville University.
The school is expected to begin classes in fall 2026.
“When we announced this historic partnership, in November of 2022, we estimated that LECOM would complete its necessary accreditation, select a site and break ground before mid-year 2025 — keeping them on track to welcome their first class in the fall of 2026. We continue to have confidence in that timeline and look forward to seeing their progress in the months ahead,” JU President Tim Cost said in an emailed statement March 3.
Previous plans show the three-story, 72,100-square-foot building is planned on about 9.9 acres north of Dolphin Pointe Health Care and west of the JU Health Sciences Complex.
City utility JEA issued a service availability determination letter Sept. 18 for “Lecom @ Jacksonville University.”
The project is described as construction of a classroom building with parking on the site at JU.
Project plans show the undeveloped site is owned by OLT II Inc. of Ohio.
The 55-acre JU Medical Mall is owned by Dayton, Ohio-based OLT II Inc., which was led by JU graduate Gregory Nelson, who died in February 2021 at the age of 71.
JU President Tim Cost said in November 2022 that LECOM plans to invest about $50 million to develop the location, including the acquisition of land and building construction.
Rimrock Devlin Development of Lake City is the developer, applicant and owner’s representative.
Kasper architects + associates is the architect.
In the November 2022 announcement, LECOM President and CEO John Ferretti said partnering with Jacksonville University to establish its fifth campus “will produce doctors and skilled health care workers that will serve northeast Florida and beyond.”
The announcement said the medical school will be supported by long-term clinical agreements with regional health care providers, including Baptist Health, Flagler Health+, AdventHealth, HCA Florida Memorial Hospital and Brooks Rehabilitation. Flagler Health+ has since become UF Health St. Johns.
Additional clinical partners include Island Doctors, Wekiva Springs Center and Angel Kids Pediatrics.
As the official clinical education partners for LECOM at Jacksonville University, those providers said they will accept third- and fourth-year medical students for training in their regional facilities.
LECOM said it officially filed its formal application with the industry’s governing accrediting body, the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, on Oct. 12, 2022, to establish its fifth campus.