The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) wants Gainesville to wait 90 days before moving forward with the demolition of the Thelma Boltin Center, but said it had no interest in owning the building.
The BOCC voted 4-1 on Tuesday to send a letter asking the city to pause and see if a community group would be able to take over the project. Alachua County approved $1.5 million for the city to use on the Thelma Boltin Center, matching the city’s $1.5 million.
County commissioners said they weren’t told that Gainesville planned to shift away from its December 2023 directive to use the money to reopen the building.
Commissioner Mary Alford said she was once again concerned about the lack of communication with the city.
“I really am disappointed that they would move to the point of demolition, since we were partners in the project, without talking to us about it,” Alford said.
Commissioner Ken Cornell said he hates getting involved in a city’s issues. He said the county stayed out of the restoration surrounding the Priest Theater in the city of High Springs. But he said the Thelma Boltin Center was a joint project.
He said for a joint project, county staff should at least be brought into the loop on a major change. He said he was surprised to see the item on the city’s agenda.
Cornell said he supports the county doing anything it can to save the building, even using its already allocated funding to repair the building and give it to an entity that can run programming there.
“From the county’s perspective, we’re not set up to do that,” Cornell said of operating the building. “The city is set up to do that, and we relied on them to actually do that.”
But Commissioner Anna Prizzia, the lone dissent on the vote, said any organization that is formed in the next 90 days will likely come to the county and city for program funding. She said it would be a long-term problem and stress for the county.
She said the building should be saved, but not for a $7.5 million price tag. Prizzia said there are other ways the city could honor Thelma Boltin.
She said the project is solidly a city issue, but agreed the county should have been informed because of its funding investment. She added that the county can’t be the appeal court for every city.
“It’s really frustrating that whenever somebody is not happy with what their city is doing, they come to us and ask us to put pressure on their city commissioners,” Prizzia said.
Chair Chuck Chestnut added that he feels like the county is made to look like the bad guy if it doesn’t step up to save the building. He said the county was just trying to help by allocating the money, part of dedicated Wild Spaces Public Places funding for joint projects with cities.
He agreed with Prizzia about the funding situation but said the history of the city, and thereby the county, needs to be saved. Otherwise, what do visitors have to see, Chestnut said.
The Gainesville City Commission considered turning the building over to an outside organization. However, city staff said the Thelma Boltin Center would need to meet building code before it could be sold, still requiring millions before selling.
The commission also pointed to other historic projects that it has funded over the years, including the Hippodrome Theatre, the Florida Theater, Boulware Springs and more.
Back in 2023, the county sent another letter asking Gainesville to choose a full restoration instead of the partial restoration option it had chosen. A few months later, the City Commission voted for another path, dedicating $1.5 million plus the county’s money to open the building and do whatever repairs fit the budget.
People – this continuing on again / off again love affair with a decrepit building ( having no historical significaance) is simply nauseating. The Duckies could only raise $20,000 to save it and it was then to be demolished (Halleluia!). Now the county wants to give $1,500,000.00 of our money at the 11th hour toward “restoration” of this dump? Please – stop this insanity and move on.Its not your personal piggy bank to waste BOCC.
Some of us have used this building in the past for events obviously you haven’t. We would like to see it restored and yes, I am also an Air Force veteran.
It has never had historical significance! I really don’t care if you are or am not an AF veteran who is in love with it but please tell me WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THAT BUILDING??? Crickets…crickets…crickets… .
“significaance”?
And, what or who are “the Duckies”?
I probably interpreted this story incorrectly. But it seemed to me that what the county commission did was vote to send a letter to the City of Gainesville asking for a 90-day moratorium on tearing down the Thelma Boltin Center. It seemed that the “$1,500,000.00 of our money” was something already involved in the deal, not given “at the 11th hour,” and that was the reason the County was asking for a hold.
As an eighth generation Alachua County resident, specifically Gainesville, I stand in complete support of saving the Thelma Bolton Center – many will know it by the name “the Rec Center”. Unless you have a history in this town, you’d have no idea of the significance of this historic building. So many are quick to offer their “two cents” worth with very little knowledge regarding what this building stands for to the true people of this community. During World War Two it was a service center for visiting GI’s many of whom were housed in nearby Camp Blanding. When my parents were at Gainesville High School, they and their friends, regularly went to dances there. It has been used for a theatre, family reunions, weddings, was a very well established location for the Recreation Center Bridge Groups. When my older sister and her friends were in Junior High, they planned their weeks around going to the Teen Time Dances each weekend. In fact two family friends parents met there, and were later engaged there.
From reading many of these defensive and bitter sounding comments, and I would think you all would be satisfied with most everything in Gainesville already having been torn down. You may say in the name of progress, I say in the name greed. With this inane, continued demolition, and the appearance of more ugly, cheaply built and empty high raises, Gainesville has lost its identity. What made it Gainesville is just about all gone. There are memories, families that built this town, traditions, and heartfelt connections that deserve to be honored. Not stripped away by decision makers who don’t understand that “value” is many things. Not just a dollar sign.
Further, rather than trying to change what was here long before ever drove into the city limits, if you don’t like it, feel free to leave. I-95 runs both North and South. This includes you Harvey Ward.
Amen! Excellent response, Mr. Davis. Thank you.
Save this building! Restore this building! More history than I am aware of regarding veterans and I would like to know more! I volunteered here 50 yrs ago, an after school program for the community. I took care of Ms Thelma in her final days, at the Bailey Retirement center, the oldest house in Gainesville. We need to rethink destroying historic places. We can’t erase history!
County Road 235A has become nearly impossible to drive without hitting potholes that are damaging vehicles. It is unacceptable that these conditions persist while Alachua County allocates time and taxpayer dollars to projects within the City of Gainesville. County tax revenue should first and foremost be directed toward core services, such as maintaining safe and reliable county roads. I urge the County Commission to make infrastructure maintenance a priority over discretionary spending.”
I would think that County tax revenue should, “first and foremost,” go toward the protection and health of the taxpayers; e.g., the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and the Alachua County Health Department.
County roads look wonderful in Haile Plantation.. but 83rd st in front of SFCC has been disgusting and damaging for years..! The intersection at the corner of my road is one big pothole.. for years!
Pretty sure I pay the same taxes as the next guy…
I concur with Commissioner Prizzia on all points as presented in this article. However, the City Commission made the right call to demolish the community center. Many opportunities were made available to save the building, but they were squandered by those unwilling to compromise. Now budget realities rule. Decisiveness is requested by the elected officials to conclude the quagmire.
An excellent alternative has been put forward to use this location to advance the Sweetwater Branch Greenway connecting many of the city’s assets. It is a project greater than the sum of its parts. Reference the Riverwalk in Tampa that transformed its downtown by linking the existing museums, sport facilities, parks into a pedestrian promenade.
Congratulations to our city and county commissioners for wanting to spend $3,000,000,000 of our money for nothing, when the city is facing a budget shortfall. It’s just stupid.
Thank you for putting a hold on the demolition. So many of the City and County residents have been working to save and restore this piece of our history for years now. I hope a satisfactory resolution will be found.
TEAR this eyesore down.
We appear to be on the verge of losing the historic Thelma Bolton Center due to lack of timely interventions when it could have been restored. Those dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings have an opportunity to contribute to the restoration of the nearby Matheson House in Sweetwater Branch Park. Built in 1857 the Matheson House is one of the three oldest surviving houses in Gainesville, along with the Bailey House and the Haile Plantation house. It is now part of the Matheson History Museum complex. Those interested in contributing to its restoration can find information on the website of the museum.
https://mathesonmuseum.org/matheson-house-rehabilitation-project/