In today's Scoop:
🏈 School board votes 3-2 to buy Citizens Field
🏘️ $25 million heads to East Gainesville housing
🚗 Gainesville ends roam towing Jan. 1
📚 Children's Trust sets a $13.6 million budget
🏢 Infotech building sells for $11 million
🍔 Burgers and Sweet Potato Tots on SW 4th
At 412 SW 4th Avenue, Dick Mondell's serves burgers and fries at Gainesville's 4th Avenue Food Park. Its menu includes Florida-raised beef burgers, a house-made veggie burger, and a chicken burger.
Order sweet potato tots with your burger and grab a table outside. For dessert, the restaurant makes ice cream for its cookie sandwiches with milk from Wainwright Dairy in Suwannee County.
Read more here.
🏈 School board votes to buy Citizens Field
The Gist: The Alachua County School Board voted 3-2 Tuesday to move ahead with buying Citizens Field and building a stadium at Buchholz High School. The board also asked staff to study other stadium projects, totaling up to about $12 million.
Why It Matters: Buchholz, Eastside, and Gainesville High currently share Citizens Field. A separate Buchholz stadium would change that arrangement and add a major construction expense for the district.
Read more here.
🏘️ $25 million grant targets East Gainesville housing
The Gist: Gainesville and the Gainesville Housing Authority won a $25 million federal Choice Neighborhoods grant to transform the Lake Terrace and Pine Meadows properties and surrounding East University Avenue neighborhood. The redevelopment will replace 180 existing units with approximately 500 new townhomes and apartments for a mix of incomes.
Why It Matters: The grant gives the housing authority resources to redevelop public housing while creating new homes and supporting neighborhood improvements.
Read more here.
🚗 Gainesville votes to end roam towing Jan. 1
The Gist: The Gainesville City Commission gave final approval to a ban on roam towing and booting. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, a property owner must call or email a towing company to request removal or immobilization of a specific vehicle. The city also adopted a fixed fee schedule.
Why It Matters: Tow companies currently patrol contracted lots without a new request from the property owner. During parts of March 2025, two companies booted 667 vehicles and companies towed 126 under trespass rules.
Read more here.
📚 Children's Trust approves $13.6 million budget
The Gist: The Children's Trust of Alachua County approved a $13.6 million budget for fiscal 2027 and held its property tax rate at 0.4500 mills. About $10.2 million is allocated to programs, grants and aid. The budget is 22.4% smaller than last year's.
Why It Matters: Its Alachua County Reads effort expects to reach 600 K-2 students at Rawlings, Williams, Lake Forest and Metcalfe elementary schools and involve 60 educators and 40 literacy coaches and administrators.
Read more here.
🏢 Infotech building sells for $11 million
The Gist: The 65,000-square-foot Infotech building at Celebration Pointe sold for $11 million to Southpark Investment Group, a subsidiary of Gainesville-based Trimark Properties. The building is about half occupied; Infotech and McClave + Associates will remain tenants.
Why It Matters: The sale keeps the building under local ownership while leaving roughly half its office space available for new tenants. Trimark says it plans to divide the space for companies that need smaller suites.
What's Next: Lee & Associates will handle leasing for the building's vacant space.
Read more here.
🌼 Kids' Fall Wildflower Walk | Morningside Nature Center | Gainesville | Fri, Oct 9, 10 AM | More
Follow a short trail through fall wildflowers, then try a wildflower-themed activity.
🎨 Design + Doodle Lab | Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention | Gainesville | Fri, Oct 9, 10 AM-4 PM | More
Try pop-up projects or make your own at the open art station.
🔬 Little Sparks | Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention | Gainesville | Sat, Oct 10, 10:15 AM | More
Kids ages 0-5 explore science through music, stories, crafts, and movement.
🎃 Laser Halloween | Kika Silva Pla Planetarium | Gainesville | Sat, Oct 10, 3 PM | More
Watch a 30-minute Halloween laser show at the planetarium. All ages are welcome.
🎭 Turn of the 20th Century: Actions Speak Louder Than Words | Thomas Center | Gainesville | Sun, Oct 11, 2-5 PM | More
Watch a play about early-1900s social change, hear ragtime, and try cross-stitching.
🎱 Bingo Loco | Vivid Music Hall | Gainesville | Fri, Oct 9, 6:30 PM (doors 5 PM) | More
Play bingo between DJ sets, dance-offs, and lip-sync battles. Ages 21+.
🎤 Plies: UF Black Homecoming Concert | Heartwood Soundstage | Gainesville | Fri, Oct 9, 8 PM | More
Plies headlines the UF Black Homecoming concert at Heartwood.
🖼️ The Art of Death: Plein Air Painting at Evergreen Cemetery | Evergreen Cemetery | Gainesville | Sat, Oct 10, 9 AM-5 PM | More
Paint the cemetery grounds. Bring supplies; free registration is limited to 50.
🪕 Béla Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart | Phillips Center | Gainesville | Wed, Oct 14, 7:30 PM | More
Béla Fleck brings his My Bluegrass Heart band, with Michael Cleveland on fiddle.
😂 Punk Hazard Stand Up Comedy Takeover | Heartwood Soundstage | Gainesville | Thu, Oct 15, 8 PM | More
See Jay Legend perform stand-up on Heartwood's seated indoor stage.
If you want to read any of our previous issues, check them out HERE on our website.
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