MediaUpdate

​At the September 8 meeting, the Alachua County Commission established their property tax rates and assessments for FY2027 and adopted a tentative budget; they also discussed reducing the jail population during Member Comment.

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​After four months of debate and concerns about risks to state funding, the Alachua County Commission passed a resolution Aug. 11 opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the county. 

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​​The Alachua County Commission unanimously approved allowing county staff to negotiate a proposed grant agreement with the Hutchinson Foundation to construct affordable and sustainable housing at the Legacy Project development in east Gainesville.

Located east of Southeast Eighth Avenue and Southeast 15th Street, the more than 13-acre site sits near the Lincoln Heights and Azalea Trails neighborhoods.

The Alachua County Legacy Project sought proposals from a single-family developer with a history of developing market-rate housing that the community would support and be “proud of,” according to county documents.

The county received two grant applications: one from Gainesville-based nonprofit the Hutchinson Foundation and another from PLAD Homes, a Hollywood, Florida-based steel-home construction company.

Both applicants requested financial assistance from the county. The Hutchinson Foundation requested $3.5 million, while PLAD Homes requested $2.2 million.​

​Hutchinson Foundation's Proposal

Under the Hutchinson Foundation's application, Executive Developer Kindrell L. Hutchinson told commissioners the project would include 55 for-sale homes, 24 age-restricted rental units for residents 62 and older, and five high-density duplex buildings totaling 10 units to provide “missing middle” housing diversity and optimize land use.

​Among the 55 for-sale homes, Hutchinson presented five housing models:

Model 1: Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,100 square feet, targeting first-time homebuyers and young professionals.

Model 2: Two bedrooms, two bathrooms plus a flex room, 1,255 square feet, designed for remote workers and growing families.

Model 3: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,400 square feet, designed as a standard family cottage.

Model 4: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,590 square feet, featuring expanded family space and traditional neighborhood design elements.

Model 5: Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, 1,900 square feet, serving as the largest market-rate option to promote income diversity throughout the development.

​Hutchinson said 17 units would be permanently preserved through a Community Land Trust “to ensure long-term affordability.”

To allow longtime East Gainesville residents to safely “age in place” without being priced out of their neighborhood, the 62-and-older component would feature a dedicated 24-unit senior rental community that is highly subsidized and protected by strict area median income limitations.

​Floor plans would include:

• ​An 800-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit designed for couples or residents needing a caregiver or additional flex space.
• A 750-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit with a flex room reserved for workforce senior housing.
• A 650-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit targeting seniors on fixed incomes.

Emphasizing the goal of creating a community-centered ecosystem rather than the “cookie-cutter character of conventional subdivisions,” the Hutchinson Foundation also proposes a 14,000-square-foot commercial space featuring a “Farmer’s Stop” hub and a 6,500-square-foot licensed daycare facility.

​Hutchinson said the “Farmer’s Stop” hub would provide residents with walkable access to fresh produce while creating a year-round sales outlet for Alachua County farmers and minority-owned agricultural businesses. The commercial space would also create opportunities for local entrepreneurs and neighborhood-serving businesses.

The foundation’s “missing middle” housing component would include affordable options for seniors raising children and military veterans, with two-bedroom, two-bathroom units measuring 800 square feet and three-bedroom, two-bathroom units measuring 1,200 square feet.

​Hutchinson said the project would take approximately 4½ to 5 years from the grant award through full stabilization.

​PLAD Homes' proposal

PLAD CEO Eli Rouimi also presented to the dais and said the steel construction company can produce 22 single-family homes, 32 double-stacked duplexes structure for income generation and 90 low-rise multifamily units.

Compared with the Hutchinson proposal, PLAD's housing units would be considerably smaller. The multifamily portion would include one-bedroom, one-bathroom units measuring 442 square feet and two-bedroom, two-bathroom units measuring 884 square feet.

The 32 two-story duplex units would include two bedrooms and one bathroom on each floor, with 400 square feet per floor. The 22 single-family units would each feature two bedrooms and one bathroom in 460 square feet.

​Commissioners favor Hutchinson proposal

After both presentations, all five commissioners voiced strong support for the Hutchinson Foundation proposal.

Commissioner Charles “Chuck” Chestnut IV said he was impressed with the Hutchinson proposal and felt PLAD Homes “did not do their homework” regarding what east Gainesville residents want from the project.

​Addressing Rouimi, Chestnut criticized what he called a “weak proposal,” saying it looked plain and lacked many of the neighborhood features residents have requested for years.

"This does not look like a neighborhood. This looks like something you threw together and all the homes are the same color, there's not a lot decorations, they don't have garages," Chestnut said. "I'm just going to be frank with you sir, I don't like it. I don't think you spent the time in that area to really talk to the folks in that area of what they're looking for and it's something I'm not looking for."

Rouimi apologized if the site plan did not reflect the “local flavor,” explaining that the designs submitted to the county are similar to those the company builds in South Florida.

Vice Chair Anna Prizzia, who made the motion, agreed with Chestnut and said PLAD may provide a strong product for other projects, but it was not the right fit for the Legacy Project. She said the county must listen to the concerns of residents who would be most affected.

​"They lived there for decades. They've dealt with generational issues of racism and disinvestment and what they're asking for is government listen and bring something different to the table," Prizzia said. "In order to do that, you have to those conversations with these people about what they want in their backyard and I feel the Hutchinson Family has done that in this proposal."

​The commission’s decision drew strong support from attendees, including from recent District 3 County Commission candidate Dejeon Cain. Several speakers thanked commissioners for approving the Hutchinson Foundation proposal and said the decision reflected years of advocacy from East Gainesville residents seeking meaningful investment in their community.

​A lightning strike sparked a house fire on Sept. 7 in southwest Alachua County, but firefighters quickly contained the blaze and saved most of the home's contents, according to Alachua County Fire Rescue.

Just before 4:30 p.m., Alachua County Fire Rescue crews, assisted by Gainesville Fire Rescue, responded to a residential fire in the area of Southwest 91st Street. Firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the attic of the home.

​Crews brought the fire under control before it could spread through the residence, preserving the majority of the contents inside, ACFR said.

​No injuries were reported. Fire officials determined the cause of the fire was a lightning strike.

​At the September 8 meeting, the Alachua County Commission approved the purchase of office space in the Chamber of Commerce building, asked staff to look into recommendations for reducing bureaucracy in providing services to homeless people, and moved forward with conveying 13.11 acres to the Hutchinson Foundation to build a workforce/market-rate housing development in east Gainesville.

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​Alachua County commissioners announced a proclamation for Suicide Prevention Month at their meeting Monday morning.

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