Construction is scheduled to begin in July for a University of Florida research and academic center in the developing “medical city” in Lake Nona.

The UF College of Pharmacy’s academic program will be a principal occupant of the planned four-story, 115,000-square foot building.

The state Board of Governors on Wednesday designated the planned building a center, which means the facility will offer a limited range of courses.

The UF center will be located next to the Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research and near the University of Central Florida’s permanent medical school.

The center will support research in health fields such as pharmacy, dentistry, medicine, nursing and public health. It will include classrooms, administrative and faculty offices and a drug development center.

The state allocated $6 million for design and site preparation in 2008. Lake Nona Research I, LLC donated the more than 5-acre location in October.