Junior Achievement of North Florida (JANFL) and Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) recently announced a landmark partnership to establish the Junior Achievement Experiential Learning Center (ELC) on FSCJ’s Downtown Campus through a 50-year land lease agreement. The collaboration represents a long-term investment in Jacksonville’s students, workforce and regional economy.

Planned as a state-of-the-art, immersive facility, the JA Experiential Learning Center is projected to serve more than 30,000 students annually across the Northeast Florida region. Located in the heart of Downtown Jacksonville, the ELC will bring career-connected learning to life and will allow students to run businesses, earn paychecks, manage budgets and explore career pathways through hands-on simulations that bridge classroom learning with real-world application.

The ELC will build on JA’s Florida state-aligned curriculum and nationally proven model. Through signature experiences such as JA BizTown and JA Finance Park, students will develop financial capability, workforce readiness skills and career confidence in an engaging,
experiential environment. FSCJ’s Downtown Campus provides a unique setting for this opportunity. The ELC will create a
continuum that connects elementary and secondary students to postsecondary education, career pathways and lifelong learning.

Design and engineer planning for the ELC are underway, with construction targeted to begin in 2026 and a soft opening projected for fall 2027. To learn more, visit janflelc.org.