The Gainesville City Commission will weigh the approval of $9.3 million for four projects at its regular meeting on Thursday, following prior greenlights for a busy construction year.  

The commissioners will also discuss giving their stamp of approval to loan agreements that the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority is seeking.  

The four projects on the agenda include a $1.8 million renovation of the Wilhelmina Johnson Center, a parking lot and generator site expansion for $1.7 million at the Catalyst Emergency Operations Center, a $545,000 rehabilitation of the Porters Community Center and a $5.1 million remodel of GTEC (Gainesville Technology and Entrepreneurial Center) off Hawthorne Road. 

Scherer Construction is already more than halfway through construction of the new City Hall Plaza, approved for $1.7 million. The MLK Jr. Memorial Gardens section in the southeast corner already opened for MLK Day earlier in January, and the remaining fenced-off sections are expected to open in April.  

The City Commission also approved a $19 million property and evidence building for the police department, with construction expected to start this year. For fire rescue, two new stations will start construction in 2026.  

Improvements to Tom Petty Park, worth $718,000, should finish in the coming months.  

In January, commissioners decided on a new way to develop Lot 10 downtown. Interim City Manager Andrew Persons said staff would push to allow construction to begin this year. That project also ties into a long-planned rehab of a block of SW First Avenue—the site of Gainesville Streatery that started during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The city of Gainesville is also waiting to finalize a contract with the School Board of Alachua County over Citizens Field. The City Commission said it would be willing to sell Citizens Field to allow the school district to build a new stadium.  

The sale would also allow Gainesville to move ahead on a rework of the entire Eighth Avenue and Waldo Road complex, including a new competition pool, community pool, multi-use fields, trails, parking and stormwater.  

The city has identified $30 million in funding so far for a project that, when last presented, cost $53 million, including a senior center and renovation of the multi-use center.  

The Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) Authority staff signaled in January that it would ask the City Commission to sign off on loan agreements that it wants to execute. 

While independent, the authority remains a unit of city government and outside banks want assurance that no matter who oversees the utility (city commissioners or the authority directors) the loan contracts are adhered to.  

The GRU Authority asked the City Commission to give approvals in 2023 as well. Those approvals concerned the sale of the trunked radio system to Alachua County and the renewal of cash access to backstop $105 million in bonds. 

Thursday’s discussion will come 10 days after lawyers for the City Commission and GRU Authority debated before the Florida First District Court of Appeal. Representing the authority, Sam Salario said the city is in open “rebellion” and “insurrection” against the state of Florida.  

In the litigation, the commission hopes to eliminate the authority through referendums passed in 2024 and 2025, while the authority seeks to keep its position given by the Florida Legislature.