When 80-year-old Judy Skinner arrived at Pofahl Studios one morning in February, she was surprised to see a construction company at her doorstep. Unbeknownst to her, the city was putting in a sidewalk on the front part of her property. Skinner later discovered through a WCJB TV20 article the project had been in the city’s plans for five years.
At the construction site, Skinner planted signs in the ground that read, “This chaos is caused by the City of Gainesville insisting upon a sidewalk that is not necessary or wanted by the owners.”
Pofahl Studios, a dance studio located on a 0.6-acre triangular lot, was bought by Skinner’s parents in the 1960s. At the time, the property sat behind an active railroad track, but that track is no longer in use. It has since been converted through the Rails to Trails program, a national initiative to convert old railroad tracks into public walking paths.
Skinner, who co-owns and directs the dance studio with her 76-year-old sister Kim Tuttle, said they weren’t notified before the construction began. Skinner was confused about why the sidewalk was necessary because of how close the Rails to Trails path is behind the studio, she said.
The new sidewalk is within 5 feet of the studio’s front door.
Yet, further down Northwest 2nd Street, from Northwest 14th Avenue to Northwest 16th Avenue, the sidewalks are much further away from properties, Skinner said.
Beyond logistics, the hardest part about the construction was watching the trees her parents planted nearly 60 years ago be cut down for a sidewalk, she said.
“This is our home,” Skinner said. “It just hurts.”
After feeling dissatisfied from calling and emailing City of Gainesville employees, Skinner spoke during public comment at the Feb. 20 City Commission meeting.
“The sidewalk is not even 5 feet from our front door, inviting strangers to walk across the sidewalk to stare at our children in their leotards and tights,” Skinner said.
Skinner’s issue isn’t with the sidewalk itself, but with its placement, she said. It could be positioned closer to the edge of the road, she said, similar to the other sidewalks down the street.
Part of Skinner’s disappointment with the city is due to the studio’s planned move, which she said the city commissioners knew about, leaving her to question why the construction couldn’t have been postponed until afterward.
The studio plans to move to a new location in 2026. The new space, located on 34th Street and 39th Avenue, will span five and a half acres as an art center for the community. It will feature three dance rooms, three studios, an art gallery and a 200-seat black box. It is projected to cost over $7 million, and the studio is halfway to its financing goal.
According to city spokesperson Rossana Passaniti, the sidewalk has been in the planning stages for five years, and Pofahl Studios was contacted during the design phase in 2022. At that time, the city said part of the studio’s parking lot encroaches on the public right-of-way.
The new sidewalk is meant to close a gap in the pedestrian network, improving walkability and safety, Passaniti said. City code also requires a 5-foot grass buffer between the road and sidewalk in the area.
While the city maintains property owners were contacted earlier, Passaniti said there was a “break in communication” before construction began. Representatives met with co-owner Kim Tuttle on-site to discuss potential options but ultimately decided to move forward with the current design, she said.
Local dancer and photographer, Ani Collier, originally from Bulgaria, said she is also frustrated with how the city has handled the sidewalk, among other pedestrian and traffic issues, such as parking downtown.
“The government keeps telling you, ‘It's good for you, suck it up,’” Collier said. “In the Communist regime, in Bulgaria, that’s what they used to tell you.”
Contact Olivia Shehadi at oshehadi@alligator.org. Follow her on X @OliviaSheh99960.
