Council approves rezoning for 8 condominiums on Riverside Drive

The Gainesville Mayor and Council voted unanimously to rezone a 1.09-acre tract on the northwest corner of Oaktree Drive and Riverside Drive (addresses including 1038 Riverside Terrace NE and adjacent parcels) from Residential 1 to Residential 2 to allow construction of eight for-sale condominium units.

Planning staff (Mister Tate) described the proposal as paired villas—eight units in four paired buildings—each with rear-entry two-car garages and two living levels above the garage. The site is in Ward 2 and lies within the gateway-corridor overlay; the Gainesville comprehensive plan designates the parcel as general mixed use in the traditional neighborhoods character area. Staff and the planning and appeals board recommended approval with seven conditions.

Bradley Dunkel, speaking for applicant Kelly Intown Properties, said the site has been vacant for years and described the project as an appropriate transition between single-family homes to the north and commercial uses to the south. "It will provide new housing opportunities in a highly desirable area of the city of Gainesville," Dunkel said, and added that the units were expected to "start in the 6 hundreds." Resident Benjie Hopkins, who lives at 1068 Riverside Drive directly across the street, said he supported the proposal and that it would "enhance the neighborhood."

Councilmembers asked about trash handling and container placement. A councilmember asked whether smaller trucks could pick up containers so they would not be lined along the road; planning staff responded that exact locations and service logistics would be worked out with Public Works and solid-waste staff during site design. The mayor noted the rezoning passed "with 7 conditions."

The council approved the rezoning with the seven conditions recommended by staff; the motion passed unanimously.