Here is an Article I pulled off of the Independent Florda Alligator's Wepage:

Builders look to mixed-use plans to modernize city
By NICK WEIDENMILLER
Alligator Writer

Three projects at various stages of development mark the beginning of Gainesville’s transformation to a more modern city, housing ever-growing numbers of students and businesses in mixed-use buildings.

Mixed-use buildings are a concept with which students will become familiar as construction begins and the new buildings arise - all featuring greater heights and a multiplicity of functions.

Downtown Gainesville needs mixed-use developments to create a more modern city, said Mike Langton, project manager for The Lofts at West University Avenue.

“I think West University Avenue is really behind the times,” he said.

Cornerstone

University Corners is the largest project and also will be the closest to UF, situated at the corner of Northwest 13th Street and University Avenue.

In place of the current strip of shops, which includes Starbucks, Burrito Brothers Taco Co., August Moon, Target Copy and the Gator Plaza shopping center, will be a group of seven- and eight-story buildings. These will boast underground parking, retail stores and restaurants on the ground floors, with luxury condominiums and a hotel on the third floors and above.

Michael Conroy, University Corners project manager, said the development, set to break ground in April and open in Fall 2006, will maintain the two-block area’s staple businesses.

All existing businesses have been offered the opportunity to lease property in the finished project, Conroy said, and would be relocated to Gator Plaza, the current home of Maui Teriyaki and WYSIWYG Gaming, during construction.

A revival

The United Methodist Church and Student Center, situated across University Avenue from UF since the 1940s, also will benefit from the project.

The church’s trustee chairman, Jim Alexander, said United Methodist purchased Gator Plaza many years ago for its parking, but later offered it to University Corners in exchange for a fully funded renovation of their current facilities.

“We had a need to make our facilities more efficient,” Alexander said, adding termites and water damage are consuming the church.

Conroy said current plans call for construction of a state-of-the-art church and student center in exchange for the Gator Plaza property.

Selling a concept

UF’s demographic will help sell the 112 condos and 200 “condo-tel” units the Corners project offers, Conroy said.

Condo-tel units are privately owned condominiums rented to visitors while the owners are away.

“Half of UF students come from families who are in the top 5 percent of the national income scale, and half of those families are in the top half of the top 1 percent,” he said.

The project not only will bring a whole-foods or organic market to the ground floor alongside nationally established retail shops and fine dining, but it also will eliminate traffic on the Northwest First Avenue block connecting 13th and 14th streets - closing the street except to pedestrians.

The models, floor plans and projection sketches in Conroy’s office do not accurately depict the possibilities of mixed-use development, but City Commissioner Warren Nielsen said he saw the full potential of the concept in Gainesville’s peer cities Norfolk, Va., and New Haven, Conn., which both host major universities.

“If you look at the patterns in these other communities, you begin to see that we have all the pieces,” Nielsen said.

The snowball effect

Union Street Station, situated at 201 SE Second Ave., is a completed mixed-use building which places luxury condos above restaurants, such as Dragonfly and Hooters, and offices, which include those of the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee.

Nielsen said projects like Union Street Station and University Corners will have the snowball effect of improving the look of downtown Gainesville.

Gainesville’s mixed-use concept will gain steam when the University Lofts project begins construction this month at the corner of Southwest Sixth Street and West University Avenue.

Langton said the lofts will feature “high-end” retail and dining on the ground floor, with 29 luxury loft apartments and two townhouses on the two above floors.

There is room for improvement in the areas between downtown and UF, Langton said.

“In between the two, there are a lot of dilapidated, crappy buildings,” he said

Stores are packing up
Development plan temporarily displaces Burrito Brothers, others
By MARINA BLOMBERG
Sun staff writer

Several businesses and a church at the intersection of NW 13th Street and University Avenue will be temporarily displaced early next year while their buildings are demolished to make way for a planned high-rise mixed-use development.

The buildings housing Apartment Hunters, Starbucks, August Moon Chinese restaurant, Burrito Brothers Taco Co. and the Target Copy Center are slated to be torn down early next year and replaced by the the first phase of University Corners, a project that will transform three entire blocks into 230,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and restaurant outlets and apartments as well as 200 "condotels," which are condominiums that can be rented out as hotel units. The University United Methodist Church, student center and parsonage also will be razed and rebuilt.

Michael Conroy, president of University Corners LLC, the holding company for the project, said Friday the "new urbanist" style project is still moving ahead, and the available spaces in the eight-story buildings are quickly being reserved.

One of the eateries being moved is the popular Burrito Brothers Taco Co., which has operated out of the same 340 square feet at 16 NW 13th St. since 1976. It will temporarily move into the former Eckerd Drugs store, which anchored the Gator Plaza one block to the north.

Janet Akerson, who has co-owned the business with her husband, Randy, and Erik Dany, since 1977, said the move should go smoothly, and they plan to relocate to the new corner building about 18 months after the shift. "Of course, with construction sometimes taking more time than planned, it could be longer." Burrito Brothers will move inside about a third of the space left by Eckerds; the other part of that space is being utilized as the developers' offices and three smaller businesses. The renovation of the area into a restaurant will be done by the developers.

"I envision only being closed for a couple of days for the move," she said. One thing she is looking forward to is more parking, as well as tables and chairs. The plan for University Corners includes three square blocks of underground parking as well as a parking tower; 1,200 spaces will be available.

Her new digs will include "some stuff from the current restaurant. For instance, customers want to keep our old door and use it as a decoration somewhere to retain the ambience."

Akerson said she will be sad when she sees the old building go. "I will probably cry. I've been here all my adult life."

Morris Architects in Orlando is designing the buildings for University Corners.

Other principals in project are Frank Darabi, investor representative, and Michael Pellett, the in-house project architect.

Conroy said city officials have been "flawless in their accommodation" to the undertaking, saying it blends perfectly with the University Heights/College Park redevelopment plan. Changes from the current configuration of the collection of structures include much wider sidewalks, trees lining the roadways, courtyard areas and an overall "look" that complements the historical nature of the area.

But finding new spots for businesses and a church will take some doing.

Conroy said he is trying to find temporary "homes" for all affected parties that suit everyone. Some are moving into the Gator Plaza sites, others are undecided.

"In every case, the people who are being displaced get first dibs on the new retail spaces," he said.

In the case of the church, a brand new building will replace the worn-out structure.

Jerry Brewington, a member of the church building committee, said there hasn't been a decision on where the congregation will meet during construction, even though the now-empty Spec's Music building has been considered.

As for a new building, he couldn't be happier. "The church facility now is, on a physical scale, too large to meet our needs. The new building will be more suited to our needs as a church and a student center. And being connected with an exciting project is a win-win situation." The building is being designed by Gainesville architect Jay Reeves.

The church bought the Gator Plaza property initially for its parking facility, "but also with the forethought that something like this (University Corners) would eventually happen. And our ace in the hole (financially) has always been that we have a prime site in Gainesville."

Conroy said much of the usable building materials in all the structures will be salvaged for reuse elsewhere.

University Corners, which is expected to cost between $38 million and $40 million, is planned to be built in two phases and is schedule for completion in Fall 2006.

http://www.ucorners.com/typo3temp/7753897bc4.jpg

I hope to see what happens with gainsville over the next decade.

This is a great redevelopment. Gainesville is already a great town (one of the better small towns in the state) but projects like these are really going to benefit the town and university even moreso.

G-ville needs to densify because traffic is horrible in the city which just keeps expanding out farther.

I've been reading about these projects in the Sun. These particular projects, along with other residential projects being built in or near downtown and the university, are obviously a good thing. Gainesville will have a more urban look and feel. It also has it's practical purposes. Also, the architecture of these structures will fit in nicely with the area.

On a side note, a few weeks ago the developer the the three Midtown towers let approval for his project expire. The towers will not be built according to their old design (20 something floors), and may not get built at all. Because of newly approved height restrictions, if the project were to get re-approved, it could be no taller than 150'. However, no announcements have been made about the project, so its likely dead. I can't say I'm too sad, though. The more I thought about this project, and the more I saw renderings of it, the less I liked it. I think these new mixed use projects going up are more intuned with Gainesville. Buildings in the 5 to 10 story range fit in with the scale of the city's current buildings much better, and make better economic sense. I'm afraid a project the size of Midtown would probably have been a flop. Plus, it wasn't that attractive to look at.

sounds like gainsville is movin on up, sry, im a miamian and i had no idea this stuff was goin on in gainsville, as a loyal canes fan, it hurts me to hear it, lol, the gators r gettin a better home wit every new project that hpns, great to hear a small city is growing up instead of out, GO CANES! (sry, had to put that in)

This University Corners project is definately going to have a big impact on the city of Gainesville. I think it will provide a western anchor to central Gainesville, and the area of University Avenue between Main Street and W 13th Street will begin to fill in and/or be redeveloped in a more intense manner.

Actually, there are a good number of projects on the table in Gainesville -- proposed, approved and under construction. I like the direction the city is heading with the encouragement of dense development in town that's also in keeping with its small-city character. However, I think suburban development will continue its march to the west.

For all you CANES out there, I did my time in Gainesville in the late eighties/early nineties. I bleed ORANGE and BLUE. I got my fill of that town and couldn't wait to get the hell out. Gainesville SUCKED because I hate SMALL TOWNS.

HOWEVER, make no mistake about it, LOS GATORS don't need private developers around town to make their HOUSE better. IN FACT, since I've been gone, UF has constructed more NEW BUILDINGS on campus than all of U Miami's buildings put together. No BS. The above private development will only add to the college town atmosphere.

The biggest thing UM's campus has going for it is Coral Gables. I've been there many times. I suggest that ALL UM fans at some point in the future take a trip up the TURNPIKE and I-75 to help put things in perspective. The biggest thing UF's campus has going for it, simply put, is its campus. Don't take my word for it... Represent.

I tell South Florida haters the same thing. "Why do you hate Miami?" "When were you there last?" "Where did you go/ what did you see?" I say, you gotta go to those places to understand whats really going on... bada boom... bada bing...

Its good to see Gainesville finally develop. There's a similar urban housing boom beginning to occur in Tallahassee as well.

Gainesville is an awesome town, and the school is even better. It is the highest ranked school in the state for US News survey.

For all you CANES out there, I did my time in Gainesville in the late eighties/early nineties. I bleed ORANGE and BLUE. I got my fill of that town and couldn't wait to get the hell out. Gainesville SUCKED because I hate SMALL TOWNS.

HOWEVER, make no mistake about it, LOS GATORS don't need private developers around town to make their HOUSE better. IN FACT, since I've been gone, UF has constructed more NEW BUILDINGS on campus than all of U Miami's buildings put together. No BS. The above private development will only add to the college town atmosphere.

The biggest thing UM's campus has going for it is Coral Gables. I've been there many times. I suggest that ALL UM fans at some point in the future take a trip up the TURNPIKE and I-75 to help put things in perspective. The biggest thing UF's campus has going for it, simply put, is its campus. Don't take my word for it... Represent.

I tell South Florida haters the same thing. "Why do you hate Miami?" "When were you there last?" "Where did you go/ what did you see?" I say, you gotta go to those places to understand whats really going on... bada boom... bada bing...


i gotta agree wit u there, u of f's campus is amazing, and i believe was voted one of the top campuses in the nation, and they have built alot more than um, u no why, cause they are about 3 times the skol um is, as much as i luv luv my canes, were just a smaller skol, and i really never have understood why we are at the same level as skols that academically and by sheer size are better and larger than we are... ums school of music is one of the top three in the nation and its medical school is considered to be among the best, also its school of architecture is conisdered one of the better in the country, and its school of business is above par, besides that, and being among the best athletic schools in the country, it is not much more than a mediocre school

gainsville is a college town, so pretty much everything that goes on is gonna b related to the school somehow, therefore has much more goin on, um is in the middle of the one of the biggest cities in the nation, arguably in the middle of the biggest boom in the nation... development tied to um simply isnt the same

uf is just at a different level than um is, and cant really b compared