True to its name, Wild Spaces and Public Places has given east Gainesville a new public place for residents to go wild.
City Commissioner David Arreola said Reserve Park, which has recently broken ground, is scheduled to finish construction in about 10 months. However, the plan for the park first came before the City Commission in 2016, and it has been an ongoing design process for at least the last year.
The park is funded by a half-cent sales tax, which was approved by voters in 2016. Wild Spaces and Public Places splits these funds between Alachua County and the city of Gainesville. In Gainesville, these funds have been allocated to projects that were on the original referendum, including Reserve Park, Arreola said.
“Really, it’s just a great addition to a neighborhood. We want to see more investment in our east side park system, so this is one of those major investments that were made,” Arreola said.
Notable features include a playground for small children, picnic areas and a trail.
“The park is going to be a beautiful green space for everyone to enjoy,” Arreola said.
Elijah George, 36, and his son Charlie, 3, are no strangers to the family-friendly atmosphere of Gainesville’s parks. A landscape architect from St. Augustine, George sometimes drives all the way to Gainesville to visit Depot Park.
“I love the community environment here because it feels very welcoming and friendly,” George said. “It seems like everybody's generally in a good mood, and I don't know if that's because of the people, the way that it's designed or a combination.”
Not only does George spend time at Gainesville’s parks during his leisure time, but he helped design Reserve Park.
Amenities such as a fitness obstacle course and community garden will provide visitors with an open space to enjoy the outdoors, but will not have as many structured activities and programs as a larger park like Depot Park, George said.
“To me, it seems like Depot Park was made for a larger community overall, but with Reserve Park, I imagine residents in that area will most likely be the main user group,” George said. “It just feels more like a community.”
