MARKET OVERVIEWS FOR GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA
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Located in the heart of North Central Florida, the city of Gainesville is home to Florida’s oldest and largest university, the beloved University of Florida. Gainesville is the educational, cultural, and economic center for the rapidly growing population of Alachua County and its surrounding 12 counties within North Central Florida. Centrally located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, Gainesville is easily accessible with less than 2 hours of travel time to the three major Florida cities of Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. The local climate consists of mild winters and warm to hot summers, with an average of 2,800 hours of sunshine annually and a 255 day growing season. Over time, Gainesville has progressively transformed into a melting pot of arts and culture, sports, education, technological innovation, and historic preservation. With over 20 hotels, highly-rated medical and research facilities, sporting venues, historic districts, new developments, cultural support, and a strong sense of community, Alachua County continues to annually rank among the top ten places to live within the United States.
University of Florida Health is the Southeast’s most comprehensive academic health center and includes the colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Health Professions, and Veterinary Medicine. The system encompasses nine research facilities and offers patient care services through its network of teaching hospitals, specialty hospitals, and clinical programs including:
UF Health Shands Hospital (Gainesville)
UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital
UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital
UF Health Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital (Gainesville)
UF Health Shands Rehab Hospital (Gainesville)
UF Health Florida Recovery Center
UF Health Shands HomeCare
Downtown Gainesville, also known as the heart of the city, refers to the area surrounding the intersection of Main Street and University Avenue. This area is an eclectic mix of quaint shops, restaurants, bars and clubs and is home to the Hippodrome State Theatre and Bo Diddley Plaza, a performance and event venue. With a mix of historic buildings, government offices, trendy nightlife and upscale restaurants, Downtown Gainesville caters to a broad range of consumers and offers newly integrated city zoning changes to increase development opportunities within the heart of Gainesville.
Midtown Gainesville’s close proximity to the UF campus awards it “oceanfront” status with proportionately high land values and high foot traffic. This area is the center of student life and is located directly north of the UF campus, extending from NW 22nd Street to NW 13th Street. Midtown is concentrated with student housing, bars, and restaurants and is usually buzzing with activity day and night. With close proximity to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, this area is a prime spot for tailgating during Gator football season.
Celebration Pointe is strategically positioned at the intersection of I-75 and Archer Road, just west of exit 384. With high visibility and impressive big box anchors, Celebration Pointe is comprised of more than one million square feet of beautifully landscaped grounds nestled next to a 700-acre conservation area. This community combines dining, entertainment, shopping, Class-A office space, luxury apartment homes and townhomes into a single unified lifestyle. The overall vision blends business, entertainment, and urban living together into a large-scale mixed use development.
Butler Plaza West first opened in the 1980s and is regarded as the first phase of the Butler Enterprises commercial development vision. Located in Gainesville’s highest traffic area on Archer Road between 34th Street and exit 384 from I-75, Butler Plaza is a well-established commercial retail and dining powerhouse with additional development projects currently underway.
Butler North opened in 2016 and is aptly named for the expansion north of Archer Road along the new S. Clark Butler Blvd. The second phase added over 750,00 square feet of commercial retail and dining space with visionary walking trails to provide easy access to Butler Plaza West, nearby hotel sites, and the University of Florida.
Butler Town Center is the most recent phase of the Butler vision and offers extraordinary open-air shopping and dining experiences with elegant architecture, interactive fountains, and upscale retail, dining, and entertainment options. The open-air concept of this project not only enhances the local sense of community but also effectively directs pedestrian traffic to the center’s commercial retail spaces. Plans for development of 202 residences will complete the vision of a walkable, urban living and entertainment complex.
Located on 39th Avenue at the intersection of I-75, this mixed-use development is comprised of ±504 acres. There are five different site areas, the first of which is comprised of ±313 acres zoned for mixed use, a second section is comprised with ±24.63 acres also zoned mixed use. The third area is comprised of ±116 acres zoned industrial/warehouse. The fourth section is comprised of ±50.28 acres of mixed use, and the last section is one acre zoned commercial. Newly added to this area is an apartment complex called “Park Avenue” this community features spectacular apartment homes with high-end amenities and a resort-inspired lifestyle. Immediately next door is a retail/office/restaurant space called “Parke Avenue at Santa Fe”, part of the mixed-use project this offers food options like Bangkok Square, Taco Del Mar, and a Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins duo, in addition to a fitness center, and electronics repair store. Already a verteran of this area, UF Health Shands have multiple services in this area. They are currently expanding with a $36 Million, 72,000 square foot addition which would house primary care specialists in internal medicine, family medicine, pain management and mental health services
13th Street is another major artery of Gainesville which stretches from the University of Florida into the City of Alachua. The 13th Street corridor has undergone a major economic revamp in recent years with the addition of key retailers such as: Burlington Coat Factory, Chipotle, Aldi Grocery Store, Rural King, and Lucky’s Market. In addition to the area’s existing older, well-established residential neighborhoods, 13th Street has shown an influx of luxury student housing offering students upgraded amenities such as resort-style rooftop pools, cabanas, computer lounges, and fitness centers. Mixed-use development projects blend residential, commercial, and entertainment uses with student living positioned above major retailers promoting enhanced pedestrian traffic and exciting commercial leasing opportunities.
Located directly east of exit 387 from I-75, this area is the location of the North Florida Regional Medical Center, Doctors Office Park, and The Oaks Mall. North Florida Regional Medical Center (NFRMC) serves the North Central Florida community with a 432-bed, full-service medical and surgical acute care center. The Doctors Office Park is located directly behind the NFRMC and extends to the area almost adjacent to I-75. The Oaks Mall sits directly across from NFRMC and accommodates name-brand retailers such as Dillard’s, Forever 21, American Eagle, and the GAP. The Oaks Mall has undergone revitalization efforts to strengthen its consumer base over the years and commonly has sites available for lease.
The northwest quadrant may be considered the financial district of Gainesville with a multitude of office space lining NW 43rd Street and NW 53rd Avenue. This area also has several strong inline retail centers with large big box anchors such as Publix and Fresh Market and exciting leasing opportunities for new businesses. Thornebrooke Village is also located along the northwest business corridor and features smaller, locally-owned businesses including retail shops, restaurants, and a branch of Gainesville Health and Fitness. The northwest quadrant is less student-oriented with more of a family demographic and tends to see less traffic density compared to the Archer Road and Downtown areas of Gainesville. However, this area still has a strong consumer base with one of the top-producing Publix locations in the Southeast.
The dividing line between West and East Gainesville meets along Main Street and it is an expanding and thriving thoroughfare. North Main Street consists of multiple industrial parks, auto dealerships such as BMW, Mercedes, Subaru, Honda and Toyota to name but a few, along with various
other automotive associated commercial properties. This car corridor is conveniently located near the Gainesville Regional Airport .South of car alley is the revitalized Northside shopping Center; this plaza sat mostly empty for the last few years, but now sits at 90% leased. With new additions of Ollies Bargain Outlet, Roses Discount Store, and Harbor Freight this area has seen an uptick in activity.
Roughly located at the intersection of 241 and Newberry Road, Jonesville is the informal name of the region situated between Gainesville and the city of Newberry. Jonesville has been showing steady growth in residential developments with a related increase in commercial development to meet the needs of the expanding area population. In addition to the area’s older neighborhoods, more recent subdivisions include Town of Tioga, Arbor Greens, Turnberry Lake, Belmont, Strawberry Fields, and Wydsong. Tioga Town Center is a large, upscale, mixed-use project designed as a livable community which features an amphitheater, boutique shops, restaurants, a premiere fitness center, and a neighboring18-hole golf course. The Jonesville Park provides local residents with baseball fields, tennis courts, soccer fields, and a recreation center.
Innovation District is a 40-acre tech-savvy urban district situated between downtown Gainesville and UF and has been described as the Silicon Valley of Gainesville. As a connection hub between research, development, and industry giants, Innovation District is the birthplace of many impressive up-and-coming start-up companies. The Innovation District is designed to allow students, faculty, and young business professionals to interact and innovate together. The district is comprised of a mix of state-of-the-art office space, luxury housing, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues.
Haile Plantation is a 1,700 acre prestigious community located in SW Gainesville and is identified as one of the most affluent areas within the county. The Haile Village Center is the heart of the community with an array of restaurants, cafes, boutiques, spas, and bars/pubs catering to its local population. With an old-fashioned sense of community, Haile Plantation is comprised of approximately 2.700 custom homes, townhouses, apartments and condominiums and readily attracts UF and UF Health employees due to its prime location.