GAINESVILLE – The Gainesville City Council gave unanimous approval Tuesday evening to the sale of 6.8-acres across the street from City Hall and at the southeastern end of the pedestrian sky bridge.
Known by city leaders as the City View site, the fate of the vacant parcel along Jesse Jewell Parkway has been the topic of discussion for years, with some calling the undeveloped acreage and the stylish sky bridge connecting the site to Roosevelt Square “the bridge to nowhere.”
In September it was announced that Atlanta development firm Terwilliger Pappas had been selected as the city’s partner in developing the property.
Terwilliger Pappas also intends to purchase another vacant city-owned site, approximately one block away from the City View site, at the intersection of Parker and Main Streets: the 4-acre site that was once home to the Hall County Jail. While development plans for that site are similar to those for the City View property, that transaction will be handled separately and at a later date.
City Manager Bryan Lackey said plans for the City View site include, “…10,000-square feet of retail on the City View site along with 220-market rate apartment units. It incorporates the Highlands to Islands Trail through the site along with a gathering space or plaza…an estimated $44-million investment.”
(Lackey said Terwilliger Pappas plans additional 5,000-square feet of retail space and 170 apartment units at the former jail site worth an estimated $37-million.)
Lackey explained after the meeting that a total of eight investors had submitted proposals for the site, but the fact that Terwilliger Pappas also wanted the jail site for future development was a big factor in the firm’s selection.
“Terwilliger Pappas was the only firm, I do believe, that wanted both sites, which is a big bonus to their proposal,” Lackey said.
Lackey told council members the developer had already started a marketing program for the new development. “Actually this week Terwilliger started running ads in various publications showing what “Solis Gainesville” is going to be like, and they plan to be open for the fall of 2021 renting to people.”
“That shows their commitment to wanting to have this happen,” Lackey said, adding that he thinks ground breaking will happen by next summer.
Lackey then explained the finances involved in the transaction. “It does include a sales price of $5-million for the City View site, and an option at $3.6-million for the Midtown (former jail) site.”
That compares to the nearly $17-million paid by the city to acquire the two properties. “I think folks will note that those purchase prices are not what the city councils, both this one and the previous one, paid for those sites, but I don’t believe either of those city councils believed they would get that in return,” Lackey explained.
“I believe both knew it would be an investment in the community to make sure that we could get a quality redevelopment like what was shown at its highest and best use, and I believe that’s the case for both of these sites.”
Lackey said the deal does not include a Tax Allocation District (TAD) request even though the projects are both eligible for that designation. “We’re actually pleased with that,” he said, “because their incentive structure will allow our school system to start recouping revenue on this in just a few years, which we think is positive for Gainesville City Schools.”
When asked if adding as many as 1000 new residents to the downtown area might cause congestion, Lackey said, “One of our goals of our Downtown Master Plan is to get people living in downtown, so we believe this accomplishes that.”
“It’ll help activate our downtown area; help activate the midtown area; we believe this will start a trend of continuing growth…following the spine of the Highlands to Islands Trail System,” Lackey said.
“It’s going to be a first-class development,” Mayor Danny Dunagan said. “We’re excited to start seeing some dirt moved.”
Councilman Zach Thompson said, “I really that think this is going to be a catalyst project for our midtown area. I think this is an area that for decades has not had any growth. I think with these two projects combined it’s really going to take off.”
