The idea. In 2014, the then-president of University of Central Florida, John C. Hitt, announced plans to move forward with his crazy idea of a downtown campus. It was inspired after a 2014 visit with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to University of Arizona’s Phoenix campus, which was set in the center of the downtown community.

The vision. The idea was never to build a smaller version of the original UCF campus but instead to “ build an embedded university in the urban fabric”. The University of Arizona campus has long been praised for revitalizing an otherwise impoverished part of Phoenix, something that UCF wants to do in Parramore, one of Orlando’s poorest communities. Hitt and Dyer said in addition to helping revitalize the area, it would also help to anchor and fuel Creative Village, a $1 billion 68-acre mixed-use, transit-oriented, urban infill neighborhood in the heart of downtown Orlando.

The plan. Hitt proposed the idea in 2014 to Central Florida partners, including the city of Orlando, Valencia College and Orange County Public Schools. Dyer said this would be “an absolute game-changer for our urban core.”  But the proposal to the Florida Board of Governors was shot down in 2015 for being too ambitious and costly. That’s when Hitt’s team worked to scale down the proposal. In 2016, Hitt won approval for the construction of the first academic building to anchor what will become a larger joint campus for UCF and Valencia College and as of last month, the Board of Trustees also gave their blessing.

By the numbers. The campus aims to enroll 7,700 students – 5,400 from UCF and 2,300 from Valencia. There will be more than a dozen programs offered at the downtown campus including digital media, non-profit management, culinary management and urban and regional planning. More than 1,000 internships will be available for students at downtown Orlando-based government agencies and over 100 local businesses have promised to support the campus. After four years of hard work and planning, the 68-acre campus is slated to open next fall.

A changing downtown. The influx of 7,700 students won’t be the only change that you’ll notice when downtown. There will be an increase in public transit ridership, more pedestrian traffic, more needs for safer bike lanes, and likely a dramatic increase of barely legal co-eds at your favorite watering hole. Plus, with the campus being built up vertically to maximize the space available on the compact site, our downtown skyline will change drastically.

Follow along this week as we continue our conversations on the arrival of the UCF and Valencia College downtown campus and talk to a few key stakeholders about what significant changes this will have on the local community of Parramore.

It’s been a week since Election Day, and things are still not settled in the Sunshine State. Three statewide races—for governor, U.S. Senate, and commissioner of agriculture—are in the middle of machine recounts because the races were too close to call. That means the difference between the number of votes for each candidate were so slim that it automatically triggered the recounts.

Sounds simple enough, right? But there’s actually a lot more to know about this process, like logic tests, county canvassing boards and more. So we want to know what questions you have about the Florida recount.

Submit your questions here.

And in case you need a quick refresher, head here for a breakdown by our sister publication The New Tropic of where things stand and how we got here.

Sophisticated skimming. Technology is giving credit-card skimmers an edge when it comes to stealing consumer info at the gas station. Inspectors have found these tiny devices installed at 31 gas stations around Central Florida so far in 2018, and they say the best thing consumers can do is keep an eye on their card statements. (Orlando Sentinel)

‘Fatally flawed.’ Last week’s news that the state of Florida would drop all charges against death-row inmate Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin was shocking to many. But as the Sentinel’s Scott Maxwell points out, life-saving exonerations are all but routine in the Sunshine State, where 28 capital punishment sentences have been reversed in the past 45 years. (Orlando Sentinel)

Haters gonna hate. UCF football is heading to ESPN primetime this weekend, despite some pointed criticism from network analyst Kirk Herbstreit. The undefeated Knights will take on Cincinnati on Saturday, bringing ESPN College GameDay to Orlando for the first time ever. (Orlando Sentinel)

To infinity and beyond. A group of Central Floridians will send tiny pieces of their muscle tissue into space as part of an experiment to analyze how microgravity affects human health. The cells will launch Thursday aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket from a NASA facility in Virginia and spend a week orbiting Earth. (Orlando Sentinel)

What are you hoarding? If the answer is something old and potentially valuable, “American Pickers” wants to hear from you. The History Channel documentary series is coming to Florida next January, and they’re looking for antique collectors to feature on the show. (Orlando Weekly)

What’s brewing in Sanford? Today, the city of Sanford kicks off its 4th Annual Sanford Beer Week and the boozy lineup includes more than a dozen events, ranging from beer-paired dinners to tastings at one of their countless taprooms. (Orlando Date Night Guide)

RIP STAN LEE

Remember back in 2016 when Universal Orlando took a flat Stan Lee on the newly reopened Incredible Hulk ride and shared it for all to see? Rest in peace to the guy who inspired the last 20 years worth of summer blockbusters, gave us more than half of The Avengers, and filled our childhood Saturday mornings with heated debates on which Marvel character was better.

Excelsior!
— Pulptown