Gainesville residents expressed their concerns of future gentrification and lack of affordable housing in the city at a public meeting with UF’s Strategic Development team.
Annette Gilley said she heard UF wanted to be a better partner to the community.
“I want them to pay their employees a living wage, because that money all stays right here in the Gainesville community,” Gilley, a Gainesville resident of 18 years, said.
About 60 people listened to members of the development team, who illustrated possible areas of growth with a map and gave ideas for the future.
The public meeting invited residents to share concerns about UF’s expansion within the city.
This “provides a framework of moving forward,” said project executive John Martin.
The development team discussed the possibilities of creating buildings near Newell Drive and requiring freshman and sophomore students to live on-campus to reduce off-campus student living.
Former City Commissioner Randy Wells said UF and Gainesville will need to collaborate to come up with successful plans for the community.
“The university, I think, has identified some very critical areas of opportunity, and what they want to do is to discover to what extent to have additional input for that,” Wells said.
