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Gainesville Housing Authority, planning team outline Choice Neighborhood vision and early-action items
Summary
Gainesville Housing Authority and consultants presented a Choice Neighborhood planning update covering resident engagement, a housing plan for Pine Meadows and Lake Terrace, early-action uses for funding and next steps toward a possible HUD implementation application.
The Gainesville Housing Authority and its planning team presented an update on the HUD Choice Neighborhoods planning grant on May 1, describing community engagement, draft housing concepts for Pine Meadows and Lake Terrace, early-action projects and the timeline for a final plan this fall.
Malcolm Kiner of the GHA and Adam Rosa of planning firm Calabo outlined the planning area and process. The Choice Neighborhoods approach pairs a site‑based housing plan with a broader neighborhood strategy and a “people plan” focused on services, employment and resident opportunity. GHA said the grant award was announced in September 2023 and the planning grant work has included resident surveys (reaching 60–70% of households at the two GHA sites) and almost 500 responses from the broader neighborhood.
Calabo presented a draft housing concept that includes about 516 rental units, roughly 30 for-sale homes, redesigned open space tied to Fred Cone Park and a mixed‑use frontage on East University Avenue. The plan envisions mixed‑income housing rather than solely public housing at the redevelopment sites and includes an off‑site lot a consultant said could be folded into the planning area.
GHA highlighted early‑action priorities using planning‑grant funds: plaza and public‑space improvements around the newly opened Elite Training Center at Pine Meadows, a small entrepreneur cohort and a pop‑up fresh‑food market tied to reuse of an adjacent building. GHA said it had issued an RFQ for development partners and planned to evaluate responses in the near term.
Consultants and housing staff emphasized partnerships — with Alachua County victim services, workforce and early‑learning providers, and other local nonprofits — and said the draft plan links housing strategies with workforce pathways, health and food‑access programs. The team noted HUD had appropriated $75 million for Choice Neighborhoods this year (less than some prior rounds) but did not announce a 2025 implementation competition schedule, and GHA said the implementation‑grant opportunity remained uncertain.
Commissioners asked about coordination with the Cornerstone development and about possible local funding matches; GHA and the city said they would continue working with partners and identify leverage opportunities to support final plan implementation if HUD funding arrives. The final plan is due to HUD in September 2025.
