Media Release

9:15 a.m.

ALACHUA COUNTY - The Florida Community Design Center, in partnership with the City of Gainesville, Alachua County, and the University of Florida, will conduct a public workshop on March 6, 2008 at 5:30 pm to seek input from the community regarding the redevelopment of Waldo Road. 

"The project will give our community more tools in the toolbox,"  Alachua County Commission Chairman Rodney Long, a key leader of the initiative, commented, "It will create economic development strategies and inevitably bring redevelopment to northeast Gainesville in the area surrounding the corridor." 

The Florida Community Design Center has spent the last year conducting research and design studios focused on new possibilities for target areas along Waldo Road.  The project team is currently analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to key locations along the corridor including the Waldo Road and NE 39th Ave. intersection, Citizen's Field, the NE 8th Ave. district, and the Waldo Road and SE 2nd Ave. intersection.

In speaking of the project, Florida Community Design Center Executive Martin Gold said, "The study will encourage redevelopment in accordance with Plan East Gainesville and past related studies and initiatives.  Through the engagement of citizens and community stakeholders, Gainesville and Alachua County will foster a citizen-endorsed, unified vision for the future of Waldo Road.  Community members will be integral to the development of specific implementation tools and tactics to enhance the urban design, promote sustainable planning, and support economic development in the Waldo Road Corridor."

The Waldo Road project invites the community to exchange ideas, collaborate, and influence design alternatives for Waldo Road at 5:30 pm on Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 5:30 pm at the Florida Community Design Center at 300 E. University Ave.

For more information, contact Program Manager Naomi Whiteley, naomi@flcdc.org or Executive Director Martin Gold, martin@flcdc.org at 334-7111.  

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