BACKGROUND
History and Background
Gainesville, FL is the largest city and county seat of Alachua County. It is home to the state’s flagship University of Florida (UF), the state’s 3rd largest enrollment and oldest university. Gainesville has been a center for business, education, government, and more for over a century, but not all residents have benefited from Gainesville’s growth in the same way.
Through the recent Imagine GNV Comprehensive Plan, the City and its residents have outlined a strategy, building on strengths within the community to overcome racial disparities. These deep and persistent disparities are closely linked to decades of economic discrimination, housing segregation, and neighborhood disinvestment that deprived Black Gainesville residents of the wealth-building opportunities that their white neighbors enjoyed.
Public housing was located far from resources, further worsening housing conditions for low-income residents. Older, predominantly minority neighborhoods such as the East University Avenue community have received less public investment in transit and other infrastructure.
Imagine GNV, through solidified recent City commitment, has helped to set the stage for this CN Plan as a means of preserving and enhancing mixed-income housing, developing neighborhood commercial and service opportunities, and creating a holistic strategy for education, health and economic development.
Target Housing Sites
GHA’s target housing are Pine Meadows, made up of 80 units built in 1970, and Lake Terrace with 100 unites built in 1968. The sites are sites are located across from each other on East University Avenue, a state road and major thoroughfare. The buildings at both properties will need significant rehabilitation to make the structures safe and sanitary for residents. Adjacent to Lake Terrace is GHA’s Caroline Manor, currently undergoing renovations. This high concentration of low-income housing has created an island of poverty within the heart of the city.
While the neighborhood faces significant challenges, many opportunities exist for transformation that will uplift residents. The area has been identified as a federally-designated Opportunity Zone. The western portion of the CN is also within a City-designated Enterprise Zone, allowing for a 50 percent discount on various development fees, along with local incentives to promote expansion of manufacturing operations. The City has designated the majority of the CN as Gainesville’s Community Reinvestment Area (GCRA), and has facilitated projects like the Eastside Gateway, establishment of Southern Charm Kitchen, the Hawthorne Road Visioning Project, and the $14 million Cornerstone Development which will include a Regional Transit System mobility hub and UF health center, and the Heartwood community, among other initiatives.