- Gainesville started construction on the $22.2 million Southwest Public Safety Center, housing Fire Station 9 and a new police precinct by 2027.
- The city cut down 521 regulated trees for the project and paid $959,582 to the Tree Mitigation Fund, planning to plant 124 native trees afterward.
- Residents protested the clearcutting of a 7.5-acre site, citing broken promises to preserve heritage oaks, while officials emphasize public safety improvements.
Gainesville broke ground Friday on its final infrastructure project for the Safe by Design initiative.
The forthcoming Southwest Public Safety Center will also mark a permanent home for Fire Station 9, the first public community space in that quadrant of the city, a storm-hardened operations center and a first-ever police precinct away from its main headquarters.
The Southwest Public Safety Center project will cost $22.2 million, minus the land purchase and design cost, and be supported through the full cent infrastructure surtax passed by Alachua County in 2022.
Gainesville’s southwest has expanded rapidly as new apartments and commercial facilities crop up along Archer Road, Williston Road, SW 34th Street and SW 62nd Boulevard. Officials said infrastructure is following but not always as quickly.
Gainesville Fire Rescue opened Station 9 at Butler Plaza in 2017, just across the road from Walmart. Fire Chief Joseph “Shawn” Hillhouse said “The Highwaymen,” who staff the station, operated from a hotel and then an apartment before moving into its double-wide trailer.
The trailer was supposed to be a two-year fix, but Hillhouse said nothing is permanent, like a temporary solution. After the 2027 ribbon cutting, the station will feature four bays for fire apparatus, sleeping facilities, exercise space and more. Plus, it’ll have solid floors.
The public safety progress comes with non-financial costs as well.
Two days before the groundbreaking, about a dozen neighbors toted neon protest signs along the sidewalk to decry a clearcutting of the 7.5-acre property.
The tree removal took place nearly overnight for the coming construction. Residents were upset by how the development has unfolded, and other recent city projects also drew scrutiny for their handling of trees.
“This was all heavy-duty woods,” said William Toreki. “They told us they’d clear the brush and leave the trees. We’re not against having the firehouse, but they wiped ‘em all out.”
According to residents who live beside the development, the city promised to leave many of the old heritage oak trees, providing a canopy and natural stormwater absorption.
“Her sign says it all,” said Kim Prins, who lives beside the development, gesturing towards a handwritten sign that said ‘Stop clear cutting the land.’
Gainesville told Mainstreet that 521 regulated trees (categorized by size and species) were cut down on the property. In accordance with city ordinance, the city paid a fee of $959,582 to the Tree Mitigation Fund for the losses. Those funds were included in the $22.2 million project cost.
Once completed, the city said the property will include the planting of 124 native trees.
Mayor Harvey Ward addressed the tree loss at the groundbreaking, speaking directly to residents in the crowd.
“I want to recognize that this has been a challenge for you; it’s personally difficult,” Ward said. “And I appreciate the sacrifice that you didn’t ask to make. Thank you for understanding and hearing what we’ve been working through.”
He assured the residents that their neighborhood would be safer because of the change.
On Thursday, after the protest and before the groundbreaking, former Alachua County Commissioner Robert Hutchinson took to Facebook to lament Gainesville’s recent tree cutting.
The post dealt with trees removed for the Fire Station 3 groundbreaking, the redevelopment of NE Ninth Avenue and Lot 13.
He pointed to each of these projects and then policy changes under former City Manager Cynthia Curry as a potential cause.
“Our current City Commission may not even realize that it is presiding over the dismantling of tree protection plans, policies, and programs painstakingly constructed over the past four decades,” Hutchinson said. “Their predecessors did more than talk about protecting the environment. They adopted enforceable programs, created public processes, relied on qualified professionals, and held their managers accountable for results.”
Gainesville spokesperson Rossana Passaniti responded to each of the project concerns in a press release later that day.
She said Gainesville admits that the tree removed from Lot 13 was a miscommunication and a mistake. The release said the lapse in communication had been addressed, and staff had been spoken to about the error.
The city said 15 trees were cut down for the NE Ninth Street project in order to make a continuous bike lane through two intersections. The decision passed through the Tree Advisory Board in December 2023 and City Commission in July 2024. The city said the project initially only impacted eight trees, but the scope widened and the impact to other trees was missed.
The NE Eighth Avenue project is the same as Fire Station 3. The city said the trees were removed to make room for the public safety project.
“This is a necessary public safety project to strengthen fire and emergency response services across the city,” the release said.
Trees and Gainesville’s urban forest remain a focus for residents and officials. After protests, the City Commission voted to find an alternative to removing oak trees next to Harry’s Bar and Grill in the city downtown.
The University of Florida is also dealing with pushback on a plan to cut down more than 1,000 trees from Graham Woods for a stormwater infrastructure project.
The city of Gainesville planted 1,463 trees in fiscal year 2025 and gave away another 2,200. Ward said in December 2025 that anyone familiar with Gainesville knows about its love of trees.
“Balancing places for both people and trees to live is always a challenge, but we manage it better than any community I know,” he said at the time.
At the groundbreaking, Commissioner Casey Willits said he’s glad to finally see city dollars invested into his district. He highlighted how the city has trouble hosting community events there because of the lack of space, forcing residents to drive further to attend.
The new 1,100-square-foot community space will solve that.
“This is really plugging a hole in, really, our social infrastructure, where we meet our community,” Willits said.
He also pointed out the strategic location next door to HCA Florida Gainesville Hospital. The Southwest Public Safety Center shows the nearby community that Gainesville invests in each area of the city, Willits said.
The other two projects in Gainesville’s Safe by Design initiative include a new Fire Station 3 to replace the facility built in 1960 and the Gainesville Police Department’s new property and evidence building.
The initiative is part of a backlog of infrastructure projects being financed through the expanded 2022 surtax, moving from half a cent for just Wild Spaces Public Places to a full cent that includes fire stations, roads, affordable housing and more.
Staff presented the state of city facilities in 2024, saying the maintenance and operations budgets had been funded at about half the industry target. At the time, staff anticipated $176 million in facility restoration and expansion.
Through the non-Wild Spaces Public Places half of the surtax, Gainesville expects to receive at least $78 million by 2032.
Editor’s note: Mainstreet photojournalist Walker Smith contributed to this story.