Seth Johnson
The University of Florida is poised to acquire 2,658 acres of land just west of Gainesville after a state appropriations list released this week included full funding for the purchase.
Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, and Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, both submitted matching requests to appropriate UF $19 million from both the House and Senate to buy the land known as Hickory Sink. This week, Legislature leaders approved the funds in their discretionary budgets.
Florida Politics reported Tuesday that the Senate had OK’d its $19 million share, and Mainstreet confirmed Thursday that the full $38,850,000 had been added to the budgets.
Steve Orlando, UF’s associate vice president of communications, said the university is very grateful for the financing to move forward.
The funding will still need approval by Gov. Ron DeSantis before it becomes a reality. Last year, the Legislature approved $1.75 million for a meat processing plant in Newberry, but DeSantis cut the funding with a line-item veto.
The land has appeared before the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) over the last couple of years for development. An initial proposal looked at building thousands of residential units, solar arrays and commercial space.
In 2023, UF and the landowner came before the BOCC and presented a new plan. The majority of the land would fall under a conservation easement while UF built a 36-hole golf course, clubhouse and guest cottages on 580 acres.
A major portion of the land falls under the Hickory Sink strategic ecosystem, and the county just finished conducting its special area study evaluating how development would need to occur on the land.
UF said at a BOCC meeting that it planned to pursue state funds to put the land under a conservation easement and move forward with the golf course.
According to Perry’s funding request, construction would begin in January 2025 and UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) would handle the land management. The funds would help “protect existing agricultural, environmental, educational, and community purposes.”
The request said the project would advance the mission of IFAS and lists the general public as the target population that will benefit. It makes no mention of the golf course planned for the other section of the property.
The development timeline remains in the hands of the developer, which is currently working on a special area plan to present to the BOCC. Once commissioners accept the plan, the developer could take steps toward construction.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information.
this is use of tax payers’ money to fund golf for golfers…we have seen this over and over again: I fish and do not expect an overworked and underpaid person to subsidize my purchase of shiners or wigglers for my next trip to catch my supper!
To me, this appears to be a multi-purpose project. Golfers certainly benefit, eco conservators “benefit” (though their will likely be some disagreement with that), UF benefits and the landowners benefit. I wonder if the Florida taxpayer will actually benefit when all is said and done?
Putting that much of the land into a conservation easement will certainly increase the value of the rest of the property and some of the area surrounding it, but the areas outside of that might see a different effect.
Previously, some attention was given in this area to a 4,000 acre project. I wonder what changed to bring it down to less than 2,700 acres? This was identified as an important part of the aquifer recharge system. Does making changes on a map alter that somehow? What kind of fertilizers will the golf course be using and where do they go after being broadcast to the special grasses of a golf course?