Downtown Gainesville is Looking Up

cline · February 27, 2012, 08:38:02 AM

There is an article in the Gainesville Sun from this weekend about downtown Gainesville and its revitalization.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120225/ARTICLES/120229652/1003/NEWS?p=1&tc=pg

urbanlibertarian · February 27, 2012, 12:01:53 PM

We've been using the downtown stop for our park and ride to the Gator football games for about 6 years now and have seen the changes. If I lived in G-ville that's where I'd be. The DT Jax bar scene is about where DT G-ville was 4 years ago only it's much more spread out here.

Captain Zissou · February 27, 2012, 02:02:19 PM

Gainesville has a great downtown, despite its lack of size. They have a good balance between open space and buildings, most parking is at the perimeter, all buildings interact with the street.... etc. As the downtown grows, they will run into some problems with some of the surrounding land uses, but as it is the downtown is doing very well.

I have heard of Billy Scheel and I have met his son a few times. For a while they had a home on Ortega Blvd on the river, but I know that it was recently on the market. I dug a little deeper and found a Gainesville Today article that basically names him as the current boss of downtown Gainesville.

Read more here: http://www.gainesvilletoday.com/2011-july/2011/06/28/billy-scheel%E2%80%99s-downtown/#comments

Both the Gainesville Sun article and the Gainesville today article mention Innovation Square. I wasn't familiar with the project, so I did more research and it absolutely blew my mind. Trimark properties is a company that has bought up most of the land east of campus and has put in some really great student housing in mid density apartment buildings, historic homes, and adaptive re-use multi family properties. Some of them are just genius. Anyway, from the looks of it they partnered with UF to masterplan a 40 acre office campus on land that used to be owned by shands. It has office, retail, residential, the works. They maintained the street grid throughout and have dedicated some blocks for green space. It will obviously have phased development. The first phase is complete I believe.

Read more here: http://www.trimarkproperties.com/commercial_rentals_gainesville/innovationsquareuf/

The entire second avenue corridor has been exploding since 2006 when Jefferson 2nd Ave was underway. If I had more time I could do a huge write up on the transformation of that corridor and the partnerships between UF and the City of Gainesville that made that happen.

urbanlibertarian · February 27, 2012, 02:49:11 PM

"The entire second avenue corridor has been exploding since 2006 when Jefferson 2nd Ave was underway. If I had more time I could do a huge write up on the transformation of that corridor and the partnerships between UF and the City of Gainesville that made that happen."

I'd love to read that.

tufsu1 · February 27, 2012, 06:58:41 PM

Innovation Square is going up on the former Alachua General Hospital site....when Shands took it over a few years ago, the decision was made the hospital was no longer needed

Ocklawaha · February 27, 2012, 10:55:22 PM

DENTON COUNTY TRANSIT AUTHORITY Just another little Texas cow town WAY AHEAD of Jacksonville!

Time to reestablish a passenger rail link with Gainesville. Track is still in place via: Jacksonville-Baldwin-Lawtey-Starke-Brooker-Alachua-Gainesville (to 23Rd Street close to Greyhound) The right-of-way is still in place from University Avenue and 6Th in downtown all the way out to 23Rd, clear and empty. In town the passenger station still stands, the platform still in place waits, but I suspect the Jurassic Period thinking in Tallahassee will hold this back.

BTW, Denton Texas recently established a very similar link with Dallas (or at least to the Dallas DART terminal nearest Denton). They are using exactly the cars I've been writing about here for the last 7 years or so. Refurbished 1950's era Budd RDC cars, what are called DMU's today.

Set this train up and strive to duplicate it between JAX - TALLAHASSEE, and JAX - ATLANTA.

We are, after all, the natural hub for all of these!

OCK

Tacachale · February 28, 2012, 12:18:41 PM

Downtown Gainesville made a lot of the right moves. I lived in Gainesville from 2001 to 2005, when downtown was still in what I'd call a "recovery" period. While all the cool people, such as yours truly, knew it was the place to be, it was really struggling while other areas like Midtown and the Archer Road nightmare saw huge crowds and new developments. But the city plugged on, encouraging infill, cleaning up the streets and facades, cracking down on panhandling, and embarking on a positive marketing campaign to change residents' image of their downtown.

As a college town utterly dominated by its college, Gainesville will always be fighting an uphill battle for urbanism, as so much of its population (and voters) only live there for a few years and then leave, only to return for football games and T-shirt buying expeditions. One thing I think their downtown has done well is moving away from the city's general dependence on catering to college students. As the article mentions, it helps that there are more and more companies starting up providing jobs for people who want to stay there.

I wouldn't say their downtown is quite there yet, but they're definitely starting to see the fruit of their labor, and I'd hope it can only get better from there.

mtraininjax · February 28, 2012, 04:38:01 PM

QuoteWAY AHEAD of Jacksonville!

Who isn't these days? I mean really?!

CityLife · February 28, 2012, 05:02:21 PM

Quote from: mtraininjax on February 28, 2012, 04:38:01 PM
QuoteWAY AHEAD of Jacksonville!

Who isn't these days? I mean really?!

Was just in Tally and its crazy how many "urban" or quasi urban projects are completed or proposed near downtown/Gaines St. corridor. The area between West Jefferson and Gaines is unrecognizable with several projects completed and several underway/proposed. In about 5-10 years there will be a continuous belt of urban development from Woodward to the All Saints neighborhood.

Gainesville and Tallahassee have both made great strides in urban development. Jacksonville not having a college campus like JU, UNF, or Florida Coastal in the urban core, imo has really hurt our ability to attract affordable new rental housing developers to the urban core. Rental housing geared towards college populations is a much safer investment in this economy and we are missing out on this hot spell of rental development.

mtraininjax · February 28, 2012, 11:55:57 PM

Back in 1905, Napolean Bonaparte Broward fought to have the University of Florida located in Jacksonville, would have been a great coup for Jacksonville. But the rest of the state was jealous over the success of Jacksonville, yeah it happened back then as if the rest of the state is hurting now-evil mouse, and a war of actions and words broke out between Lake City (go figure) and Jacksonville, so some farmer gave the state all those acres in Gainesville for the first state college. The rest is history.

FCCJ downtown could be so much more, but they never really look to expand that campus or build a downtown environment, almost as if they are afraid to take away from their other campus areas. It really is a shame, I don't know why Wallace created 4 year degrees but is so afraid to develop the downtown campus area as something more than a night school? Their HQ are downtown, there is great JTA access, where is that great idea that the downtown leaders have for making downtown great with a downtown campus?

I-10east · February 28, 2012, 11:57:49 PM

Yup, I'm really blown away with the uber megalopolis that is Gainesville! I'm really in awe of it's very impressive high-rise architecture, bustling nightlife, and world-renowned prominence. G-ville is quickly becoming one of the major tourist destinations in FL, esp for a glimpse of Timmy Tebow's statue at the Swamp, and Albert the Alligator. Someone said that G-ville is WAY ahead of J-ville, hell yeah, I couldn't 'agree' more! Miami, Tampa, and Orlando better watch out, here comes G-ville!!!!

Keith-N-Jax · February 29, 2012, 06:58:41 AM

^^ Knew this response was coming.

tufsu1 · February 29, 2012, 08:09:16 AM

Quote from: I-10east on February 28, 2012, 11:57:49 PM
Yup, I'm really blown away with the uber megalopolis that is Gainesville! I'm really in awe of it's very impressive high-rise architecture, bustling nightlife, and world-renowned prominence. G-ville is quickly becoming one of the major tourist destinations in FL, esp for a glimpse of Timmy Tebow's statue at the Swamp, and Albert the Alligator. Someone said that G-ville is WAY ahead of J-ville, hell yeah, I couldn't 'agree' more! Miami, Tampa, and Orlando better watch out, here comes G-ville!!!!

just close your eyes...that way you won't see others passing you by

duvaldude08 · February 29, 2012, 08:29:08 AM

Looks like Im moving to Gainesville

Tacachale · February 29, 2012, 09:08:54 AM

Quote from: mtraininjax on February 28, 2012, 11:55:57 PM
Back in 1905, Napolean Bonaparte Broward fought to have the University of Florida located in Jacksonville, would have been a great coup for Jacksonville. But the rest of the state was jealous over the success of Jacksonville, yeah it happened back then as if the rest of the state is hurting now-evil mouse, and a war of actions and words broke out between Lake City (go figure) and Jacksonville, so some farmer gave the state all those acres in Gainesville for the first state college. The rest is history.

Jacksonville was never seriously considered as the location for the University of Florida in 1905. The only two major contenders were Lake City and Gainesville, the homes of the modern UF's two primary predecessors. Lake City was home to the Florida Agricultural College, a land-grant university founded in 1884 (which was confusingly called the "University of Florida" from 1903-1904); Gainesville had the East Florida Seminary, which had been there since after the Civil War.

In 1905 the legislature voted to merge these two schools, as well as two others, into the modern University of Florida, and ultimately chose Gainesville over Lake City as the location.

Quote from: mtraininjax on February 28, 2012, 11:55:57 PM
FCCJ downtown could be so much more, but they never really look to expand that campus or build a downtown environment, almost as if they are afraid to take away from their other campus areas. It really is a shame, I don't know why Wallace created 4 year degrees but is so afraid to develop the downtown campus area as something more than a night school? Their HQ are downtown, there is great JTA access, where is that great idea that the downtown leaders have for making downtown great with a downtown campus?

I agree with that 100%. We definitely need to do more with the downtown campus. For what it's worth, FSCJ is expanding its food safety program and plans to open a new building for it downtown.