After years of community engagement and advanced technical studies, the City of Gainesville is seeking partners to redevelop 17 acres of vacant, former industrial land in southeast Gainesville.
A request for qualifications was issued in April by Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). The property is located along the north side of Southeast Depot Avenue, adjacent to GRU’s Kelly Generating Station (power plant) and Depot Park.
Power District redevelopment goals include: attracting private investment into the area while maintaining community vision and encouraging economic growth; creating a distinctive “sense of place” by creatively celebrating the industrial character of the area by way of architecture, urban design, engineering, and place-making; and daylighting Sweetwater Branch Creek and activating public spaces.
Through this process, the City of Gainesville is seeking Statements of Qualifications from experienced developers and development teams. The primary purpose of this process is to pre-qualify private sector partners interested in transforming a series of underutilized parcels into an active, eclectic, pedestrian friendly and economically sustainable district. Based on the results of this RFQ process, the CRA anticipates announcing subsequent RFPs (request for proposals) that will trigger initial phases of redevelopment.
