Renovations to the Gainesville City Hall Plaza officially began Tuesday after the city commission’s initial approval of the reconstruction plan in 2023.
The main goal of the renovations is to address maintenance issues by removing the ponds in the front of the building. Built over 60 years ago, the raised pools have presented leakage and plumbing issues over time, according to City of Gainesville Public Information Officer Rossana Passaniti.
“The ponds, of course, were built in the ‘60s, and while it may have made sense to have that architectural component, it didn’t really make sense at this stage,” she said. “It certainly presented the opportunity to come before the commission and see about making the change, not just to how the pools would be addressed, but overall, to the vision of a more functional space.”
With the removal of the ponds, the outdoor space surrounding the plaza will soon accommodate up to 2,400 people and allow for improvements in green space, landscaping and lighting.
The project will begin in the southeast corner of the plaza at The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Garden. Passaniti said the garden’s redesign is part of a collaboration between city staff and local constituents of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Florida. The new garden should be ready in time for the federal holiday in January, when the city hosts its annual MLK Day celebration.
Additionally, the northeast garden, called the Sister Cities Monument Garden, will be redesigned in honor of Gainesville’s nine Sister City partnerships around the world.
Renovations are expected to be completed in the spring, but Passaniti said weather delays are always a consideration with outdoor projects.
More specifically, she said the city is aiming for a completion date in April or May, and the new space will hopefully be ready to host more attendees at the annual “Journey to Juneteenth” celebration in May.
Passaniti added the extra open and walkable space will also make for an ideal setting for other city ceremonies, like on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. This year’s event was held Monday night, and the ceremony is expected to expand by this time next year.
“The plaza will accommodate more neighbors, and they’ll be able to experience the various events and programs of cultural significance to our community,” she said.
In addition to creating more open space and easy access to City Hall, Mayor Harvey Ward said the project furthers the city’s sustainability efforts. The city’s department of parks, recreation and cultural affairs plans to reuse some of the removed chert stone.
“We’ll be able to use those for future projects to maintain the historic through line of everything we’re working on,” he said.
The funding for this $1.8 million project comes from a 2019 city-issued revenue note for public projects and the Wild Spaces and Public Places surtax that was voted on in November 2022.
“Wild Spaces and Public Places is the primary driver of the planning and construction of the project, and all of that is done with the input of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs to make sure that it’s a usable space and built toward a people-centered approach,” Ward said.
Public access to City Hall, the old library building and the nearby lot 5 parking will not be affected by construction, but Ward said foot traffic downtown may be impacted.
“It will affect the path of folks coming in and out of city offices primarily, but we are doing our best to keep it compartmentalized and do it piece by piece,” he said.
For nearby businesses, however, concerns arise as to how construction may inconvenience employees and potential customers.
“We usually at least get a warning, but we don’t get knowledge of the extent of the construction,” said Natalie Knostman, manager of KavaGator Coffee Shop in downtown Gainesville. “I’d say definitely we’re more left in the dark a little bit.”
KavaGator is located in Bo Diddley Plaza, which is across the street from City Hall. Knostman said employees and customers have already faced parking challenges, especially recently, and she is worried that construction may limit parking availability even more.
“For the past two or three years, we didn’t have to pay to park in Bo Diddley Plaza – it wasn’t enforced,” she said. “Within the past year, they started enforcing that more with the downtown ambassadors, so it just makes it a bit more difficult to get accessible parking to the venue.”
However, once renovations are complete, Knostman said she hopes the expected increase in foot traffic will attract more of the community to the area, promoting activity in downtown businesses.
“I think it would draw a lot more business just because the area around us would look a lot nicer and more inviting, and just be a lot more accessible for people,” she said.
Despite concerns regarding construction, city leaders and business owners agree that the increase in foot traffic due to increased walkability, improved functionality and enhanced visual appeal will bring liveliness to downtown Gainesville.
“One of the most important things is that it creates additional space downtown to gather,” said Ward. “The current City Hall Plaza has its positives, but with this renovation, I hope that we will have more opportunity for people together, for whatever purposes they wish, and to have more direct access to city offices, particularly to City Hall, in a more meaningful way.”