Alachua County’s plans remain pending for a new animal resources facility and eastside housing development after a regular meeting on Tuesday. 

Alachua County officials called both projects priorities and said they want solid action in the near future.  

County Manager Michele Lieberman referenced a possible shift in direction on the animal resources project. Alachua County has negotiated with UF for over a year to locate the new facility just south of the main campus at the university’s former Swine Unit. Lieberman said UF has given assurances that a final deal is close, but the stretched-out negotiations have the county looking at alternatives. 

Lieberman mentioned a county-owned property off Waldo Road. She said the UF property remains the first option, but the other property is a backup, and she said the county is working with the governor’s office to remove a state exemption so the property could move forward. 

Lieberman said a meeting with state officials should happen in September, and commissioners said if the UF contract isn’t in its final form, the county might switch priorities. 

“I like having this hard deadline to sort of light a fire under UF a little bit because I think that if we don’t have an answer by September 16. . .then we need to go down path B, even though I don’t see that site as being as beneficial to the community,” Commissioner Mary Alford said. 

UF has reduced the price to use its property over the next 40 years, from $3 million to $1 million. But Lieberman said that reduction comes while bearing a larger portion of the operating cost that would even it out. 

Commissioners Anna Prizzia and Marihelen Wheeler noted that the county could save money using the land it already owns. Wheeler, who has voiced concerns about the UF location and agreement with the university, said she’s concerned about getting involved with UF and supported a motion for staff to continue the negotiations while preparing for the potential Waldo Road site, along with reevaluating any other properties that may have become available since the project started. 

The motion passed unanimously. 

Alachua County acquired 13 acres near Lincoln Middle School to prevent an affordable housing provider from building on the site after the county had previously given its support to the project. Commissioners said the reversed course came after hearing that surrounding neighborhoods didn’t want affordable housing in the area. 

After a settlement, the county decided to move forward with its own development, focusing instead on workforce and attainable housing. 

The county issued a request for proposals in 2024 and said it was open to creative projects on the property. But staff recommended rejecting all the proposals at the Tuesday meeting, calling the options too broad and without enough detail. 

Lieberman said the failure lay with no particular party, but that the request for proposals was the wrong method to move forward on the site. 

Following discussions, the commission agreed to reject the proposals and directed staff to find an alternative, potentially an invitation to negotiate. The vote sets the project back months. 

“I really hope that our team does an autopsy of what happened in the scenario so that we can understand how we got here and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Prizzia said.  

Assistant County Manager Tommy Crosby said staff could move forward with the top-ranked proposal and try to get to the level of detail that the commission and county attorney need. Staff said the recommendation came from a concern that the proposals lacked enough information for the board to make an informed decision.  

County staff will now return with a new scope that will be put out.  

The commissioners heard comments from three applicants who submitted. Rodney Long with the Long Foundation urged the commission to move forward with an application, and he highlighted how he tried to get more information from staff to provide details.  

Kessler Hutchinson with the Hutchinson Foundation supported the rebid opportunity. 

Several commissioners mentioned that the project may include commercial space as well.