Why Downtown?
Reinventing the Future of Health at Water Street Tampa
The expansion of USF Health's Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute into downtown Tampa is about more than a physical building.
The University of South Florida is creating a future that will allow us to attract the brightest students and NIH-funded researchers to this state-of-the-art facility. It will be a key anchor in Water Street Tampa, planned to become one of the most vibrant urban environments in America and the world's first wellness district.
Even before the building plans are complete, medical student applications are skyrocketing, and USF's incoming MD students boast the highest MCAT scores of any Florida medical school. As new physician scientists are recruited for the Heart Institute, USF's national NIH research rankings have risen to the top 50.
This building will power an advanced educational environment that will better prepare your future doctors. It also will open space on USF's Tampa campus to grow other quality health programs to address critical shortages in our state.
Bringing the Morsani College of Medicine downtown will bring USF students and faculty closer to our primary teaching hospital, Tampa General Hospital. This closer proximity will increase the college's eligibility for federal research funding, which will in turn create new jobs and attract biotech companies to Tampa.
By uniting bench scientists and clinical researchers under one roof, this facility will help discoveries become more quickly realized into practical personalized treatments to combat our society's deadliest diseases.
The construction of the new downtown Tampa location for the Heart Institute and Morsani College of Medicine has enabled a series of once-in-a lifetime naming opportunities for founding donors in the world's first wellness district.
- A stronger and more vibrant regional economy
Sparking at least $2.35 in local economic activity for every $1 in NIH funding - Attracting the best students, residents and researchers
Elevating the prestige of USF and Tampa Bay, retaining more high-achieving physicians to care for you and your family - First-ever wellness district
Creating a healthier, more beautiful downtown community for all of us - Bridging the gap between research and patient care
Uniting bench scientists with exceptional doctors to discover new treatments and therapies for cardiovascular disease