Gas South moved into a new Gainesville location on Tuesday, celebrating the change with a reception Thursday. The new location at 5001 Celebration Pointe Ave. is 16,500 square feet, more than twice the size of its former Gainesville office space. 

CEO Kevin Greiner said Gas South designed the workspace to encourage employees to spend more time in the office as they work their hybrid jobs. The facility, which Greiner said will serve about 150 employees, has no fixed office spaces, so employees can choose where they want to work, moving to more social or focused environments throughout the day. 

“It’s really designed to be a place where people want to come as opposed to where they feel they have to come,” Greiner said. “New world of work. You’ve got to give people every reason for why they want to come into an office as opposed to work from home and… that means really trying to find that optimal balance in office and at-home work and we think this space should help us accomplish that.” 

The office space is colored with vibrant reds and oranges, containing over 100 collaborative workspaces, several conference rooms, 26 offices, a gym, a training room, a call center and three working “neighborhoods” where employees can gravitate to work in the same area as others in their department. 

Gas South is one of the largest natural gas providers in the southeastern United States. Based in Atlanta, the company first established a presence in Gainesville after acquiring major Gainesville-based competitor Infinite Energy in 2020. Greiner said the acquisition when the two companies became one, the cultures were similar enough to blend together smoothly. 

“We merged together and have really worked together to create a better business than either of us had before the acquisition,” Greiner said. 

Eric Godet, president and CEO of the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce, said he was skeptical at first when he heard about the merger because Infinite Energy had been a strong presence in the community. In the three years since the acquisition, though, Godet said Gas South has impressed him. 

“You guys are amazing,” Godet said in a speech at the celebration. “The growth, the consistency, the reputation, what you’re doing, your commitment to our community. Everything that I was told, has happened and even more.” 

As part of its mission to “be a fuel for good,” Gas South gives 5% of its annual profits to help children in need, focusing specifically on education and health. Greiner said what starts as monetary contributions often extends into volunteer opportunities for the employees. 

Gas South has partnered with the YMCA, Junior Achievement, Food4Kids, Ronald McDonald House and SWAG, as well as many others. Margot DeConna, executive director of Food4Kids, told a crowd at the celebration that the largest single gift her organization has received came from Gas South. 

Angela Howard, president and CEO of the North Central Florida YMCA, said the Y would never have been able to open its first STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) lab without the company’s help. 

“I think at this moment, it’s endless,” Howard said, “on what we’d look to do to serve the community together as the community continues to evolve, what services will need to be needed, provided that we can together move forward in the community to make a lasting impact.”