Title
SpringHills Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Substantial Deviation - Impacts on City of Gainesville (NB)
The proposed Substantial Deviation of the SpringHills DRI, located in unincorporated Alachua County will have a major impact on traffic and redevelopment effort in the City.
Explanation
The SpringHills DRI is a mixed-use development of approximately 601 acres that encompasses all four quadrants of the I-75 interchange with Northwest 39th Avenue (State Road 222). The current, approved DRI development order provides for 801,342 square feet of retail development, 495,000 square feet of office 459,471 square feet of warehouse/distribution, 748 hotel rooms, and 1,971 residential units. The proposed Substantial Deviation is for the addition of 754,158 square feet of retail, 529 square feet of industrial (warehouse/distribution), 317 residential units, and a decrease of 370,000 square feet of office development and 123 fewer hotel rooms. If the substantial deviation is approved, at build-out the mixed-use DRI will consist of 1,555,500 square feet of retail, 460,000 of industrial (warehouse/distribution), 125,000 square feet of office development, 2,228 residential units (1,772 multiple-family, 516 single-family), and 625 hotel rooms.
The proposed substantial deviation of the SpringHills DRI is counter to the City's continuing efforts to redevelop downtown and other community redevelopment areas, and is inconsistent with the long-term commitment to discourage sprawl and promote sustainable development that is embodied in the City of Gainesville's 2000-2010 Comprehensive Plan. Some pertinent goals, objectives and policies are: Future Land Use Element Objective 1.5 (Discourage sprawling, low-density dispersal of the urban population); Objective 2.1 (Redevelopment should be encouraged to promote compact, vibrant urbanism, improve the condition of blighted areas, discourage urban sprawl, and foster compact development patterns that promote tran...
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