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Downtown merchants urge Gainesville to ease pain from 2nd Street 'streetery' construction
Summary
Downtown business owners told the General Policy Committee that street closures and unclear signage from a new 'streetery' project have driven away customers and cut sales; owners asked the city for free garage parking, employee passes, prominent wayfinding and temporary rent relief; staff said signage is being designed and limited rent abatements are under consideration.
Business owners from downtown Gainesville urged city leaders on April 23 to take immediate steps to shore up customer access and visibility during a phased 2nd Street construction project.
"We're only days into the 2nd Street closure...customer counts are down," said Sita Mali, who identified herself as co-owner of Alpen Bistro and Café Voltaire. Mali told the General Policy Committee she and other tenants are already seeing customers assume businesses are closed, and that a recent weekend’s receipts were far below normal. She asked the city for six short-term measures, including free public parking in the downtown garage for the duration of the closure,…
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