The Gainesville City Commission advanced two significant development projects on Thursday, including selling the old RTS station to The Knot and amending a sixth sale agreement for Lot 10. 

The amended sale agreement for Lot 10 proved the most divisive after a split vote, that the developer said might kill the project, failed to pass. After the failed vote, a motion to approve staff’s recommendation and the sixth amendment passed 6-1, but commissioners said it might go a different way if a seventh amendment returns to them.  

The city of Gainesville sold Lot 10 (150 SW 2nd Ave.) in 2021 and executed the contract the following year. The project plans to have office space and some sort of food element on the bottom floor, perhaps a doctor’s office and a type of cafe or small grocery store. The other floors would have 173 apartments.  

Since the contract was signed, it’s been amended five times. The last one was in 2023 for a one-year extension, and the amendment before the commissioners on Thursday was another deadline extension.  

The new deadline means the developer must start construction by Feb. 1, 2026, and complete construction by Feb. 1, 2028. 

The city included these provisions to ensure the land gets developed and benefits the public, through housing, commerce or other uses. Claw back provisions allow the city to reacquire the land if the new owner never uses the property.  

But the City Commission said they don’t want to reacquire the land. The commissioners want the project to open and want to see Lot 10 break ground instead of remaining a vacant parking lot. 

Mayor Harvey Ward said he’s seen multiple projects try to develop on the site. The current plan, through AMJ Group who recently finished the downtown Hyatt Hotel, is the closest Lot 10 has been to development.  

Ward said downtown is poised to be vibrant and grow, but he said more people need to live there. City commissioners said this development could help—if it happens.  

“We have more people who want to live in our community than we have places for them to live. That drives up housing costs,” Ward said. 

AMJ Group President Mike Warren answered questions from commissioners and said he hopes the site will break ground in six to eight months.  

Besides finishing the Hyatt Hotel, he said one of the major holdups has been the city’s shifting plans with the streatery. The city closed SW 1st Street to vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many thought it would reopen as the pandemic ended, but the city began to envision a permanent closed space for pedestrians.  

In October, the commissioners OK’d a concept plan to build a permanent streatery and approved an initial concept plan.  

Warren noted that the Lot 10 project opens onto the streatery; it’s essentially the front door of the future apartment complex. Until AMJ Group knew the city’s plans, he said the company had difficulty moving forward with a site plan. Even the difference between having a curb and no curb changes the documents the engineers have to make, he said.  

Commissioner Reina Saco said she understands the challenges development is facing with supply chain issues and AMJ Group’s need to finish the Hyatt Hotel. But she said she was disappointed to see a projected finish date for Lot 10 of 2028.  

“I’m fine with this extension because it’s partially this commission’s fault that you need it,” Saco said, acknowledging the delays caused by back-and-forth streatery talks. 

A seventh amendment, Saco said, might have a different outcome—though she noted she’ll no longer be a commissioner if another amendment comes forward.  

However, Commissioner Casey Willits wanted more immediate public use from Lot 10.  

He advocated that AMJ Group allow the city to use Lot 10 as a public parking lot until construction is ready (around June 30, 2025).  

Willits said the city could open it as free parking to test Gainesville’s recent parking changes. If Lot 10 fills up, then maybe the city might need more free instead of paid parking. Or the city could just add Lot 10 as another paid spot.  

He said the city, on behalf of the public, sold the land in order for development to benefit the public. Instead, the developer had just used it as a private parking lot, with towing companies booting or towing unauthorized cars.  

Time is money, Willits said, and the city could have made money by not selling the lot and keeping it parking for the last few years.  

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut seconded his motion directing staff to work out an agreement with AMJ Group to use the lot as public parking until the development is ready.  

Saco said she agreed with the sentiment but not the approach.  

In recent years, she said the city has changed and rechanged parking. In August, Gainesville launched its new paid parking zones—largely switching the downtown core to paid parking while still having free parking around the fringes.  

Saco said those changes have been confusing for the public and adding Lot 10 to the mix for only six months wouldn’t help.  

Warren also opposed the idea. He said it might kill the entire project if the city used the lot as public parking.  

He said AMJ Group needs the space for safe employee parking for the Hyatt Hotel. He added that it’s confusing for the City Commission to want more free parking downtown when this is the same group of commissioners who just voted to make most of it paid. He added that the commission moved to paid parking, and closing the streatery, despite objections from businesses and community members who came and spoke on the topics. 

Willits’ motion failed 3-4 with Ward, Saco, Commissioner Ed Book and Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker rejecting it.  

Saco then made the motion to approve the sixth amendment, passing 6-1 with only Willits in dissent.  

The Knot—Climbing Gym purchases old RTS station 

The Knot, a climbing gym off S. Main Street, received final permission to purchase the city-owned RTS station next to Depot Park.  

The company will work through a year-long due diligence process, but co-founder Mike Palmer said they hope to have the new, expanded climbing gym open in two to three years.  

“We’ve got architects and engineers standing by ready,” Palmer told the commission. “We’ve been chomping at the bit for this for a few years now, so we’re super excited.”   

The Knot approached the city about purchasing the land, and the city opened a competitive bidding process to select a buyer. The Knot won the bid and has since negotiated the details of the contract with city staff.  

Palmer said the gym plans to renovate the 20,000-square-foot facility and expand it by 10,000 square feet. He said the new climbing space will meet Olympic regulations with walls up to 60 feet high.  

The Knot is already at capacity, and Palmer told Mainstreet in a 2023 interview that more space will allow the business to add programming for customers.  

Besides the climbing gym, later phases on the site could include a fast-casual restaurant, skate park (now a new Olympic sport) and even wave pool. He said the plans could include residential units at the very end depending on whether the company needs the extra income or thinks parking will be of more value.  

The city will sell the 5-acre property for $2.35 million. The contract has a claw-back clause and requires The Knot to operate as a climbing gym for at least 10 years after opening.