What does a vote to deny a rezoning actually stop? On Depot Avenue, the honest answer is less than the headline suggests. In late September, the City Plan Board voted 4–3 to recommend denial of new land use and zoning for The Cottages at Depot Park. At the same meeting, board members acknowledged that the property's owners could redevelop it anyway.
That small contradiction explains the whole corridor. On the stretch of Depot Avenue south of the Innovation District, between the University of Florida and Depot Park, the rules already point toward density. The construction money for the west end is committed, and the owner of the biggest parcel on the east end has decided to sell. What is still undecided is timing and who the buyers will be.
The vote that kept the rules where they already were
The Cottages at Depot Park sits on about two acres with roughly 37 units. Mainstreet Daily News reported that its owners bought the parcel within the past few years and asked the city for Urban 6 land use and zoning. Sixteen people spoke against the change, and one resident said during public comment that his rent had stayed at $1,100 for three years.
The majority was Bobby Mermer, Jamie Bell, Jayne Moraski and Stephanie Sutton. Mermer, Bell and Moraski said that level of affordability is rare downtown. Sutton said the land "already has maneuverability to boost density" under current rules. She also pointed out that Urban 6 would allow a drive-thru by right, which she did not consider right for the location.
The three dissenters argued from the opposite direction. Joshua Ney said density is how the city increases affordability and that the site sits in the core, where density belongs. Robert Ackerman tied the parcel to the bigger picture. "This area of the city is going to change; there's little doubt about it," he said. "The impact of the redevelopment of the Power District alone is going to affect all of the properties around it." Jason Sanchez reminded the room that the owners could still redevelop under the existing land use and zoning.
According to the same report, an agent for the owners said the likely plan is a redevelopment that moves the property closer to market-rate housing. The Plan Board's vote is only a recommendation, and the Gainesville City Commission makes the final decision.
So the vote decides how much change the Cottages parcel gets and what kind. Whether it changes at all was settled by the zoning already on the land.
The west end already has its financing
A few blocks toward campus, nobody is debating whether to build. Two student-housing projects are under way, and the same lender is financing both.
| Rambler Gainesville | Chapter House UF | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 420 SW Eighth St. | 920 SW Depot Ave. |
| Developer | LV Collective with Peninsula Investments | 908 Group with Batson-Cook Development Co. |
| Size | 240 units, 659 beds, seven stories | 219 units, 684 beds |
| Construction financing | Pacific Life | Pacific Life |
| Builder | Juneau Construction Company | ARCO/Murray |
| Status as reported | Sitework began in April 2026 | Ground broken as of October 2026 |
| Target | Opening fall 2028 | Completion summer 2028 |
Together the two projects add 1,343 beds, and both are scheduled to be finished in 2028, with Rambler opening ahead of the 2028–29 academic year. Mainstreet Daily News reported that Rambler will offer floor plans from studios to five-bedroom units. Planned amenities include a rooftop pool, a fitness center with a sauna and cold plunge, and the second Gainesville location of Daydreamer Coffee. This is LV Collective's second project near UF, after Sweetwater, which was completed in 2023.
REBusinessOnline reported that Chapter House UF will include 9,000 square feet of shared amenity space. Asset Living will manage it, and Humphreys & Partners Architects designed it. An undisclosed Fortune 100 insurance company is also a partner.
These are the facts that are least likely to move. A seven-story building with a construction lender and a general contractor lined up is a far firmer commitment than a rezoning request. The west end of the corridor is effectively decided through 2028.
The east end is being cleared to sell
At the far end of Depot Avenue, the largest open question is getting smaller. The Power District covers about nine acres northeast of Depot Park and holds around 10 buildings once used by Gainesville Regional Utilities. It has sat empty since 2011, when the utility consolidated into its Eastside Operations Center.
On September 9, 2026, the GRU Authority voted 3–0 to hire SGLC for asbestos abatement and demolition. According to Mainstreet Daily News, the work was set to start at the end of September and finish by Thanksgiving. Most buildings will come down to their concrete pads, which the utility said makes the property more valuable to buyers. Alachua Chronicle reported that the utility received three bids for the job. A GRU notice from September 24 said five heritage live oaks on the site would get specific protection during demolition.
The sale numbers are modest for a site this close to Depot Park. A 2023 study valued the land at $8 million, minus $1.6 million for demolition and abatement. Mainstreet reported that rising land values and the lower demolition quote could bring in at least $7.5 million. GRU CEO Ed Bielarski said the utility would sell the land rather than pursue a partnership and that he sees no future strategic use for it. He added that any plan would go back to the Authority and could keep some land while selling the rest.
This shift matters more than any single demolition contract. The City Commission spent years trying to build momentum to redevelop the site, but that work never produced changes on the ground. The site is now held by a seller with a clear incentive to sell, and Bielarski said the city has long seen it as the link between Depot Park and the private development around it. Nearby, the old fire station lot is also for sale, and Lot 10 has had fits and starts toward development.
Three decisions still open, in rough order
The corridor's direction is set. These three decisions will set its pace and character:
- Power District demolition. The schedule set in September called for the buildings to be down by Thanksgiving, November 26. A cleared nine-acre pad is easier for buyers to price than a set of buildings no one has maintained since 2012.
- The Power District sale plan. Any disposition plan goes back to the GRU Authority, including whether some acreage stays with the utility. Whoever buys the land will decide what the east end of Depot Avenue becomes, and Ackerman expects that redevelopment to affect every property around it.
- The City Commission's Cottages decision. The Commission can follow the Plan Board's recommendation or depart from it. Either way, the owners' agent has described a move toward market-rate housing on the parcel.
What this means if you are comparing near-campus areas
For a relocating faculty member, a UF Health hire or anyone weighing homes within reach of campus and downtown, Depot Avenue changes the usual comparison. Most near-campus areas are judged on what is there today. This corridor is better judged on its 2028 calendar.
On the west end, the change is already set: more than 1,300 new student beds near the Innovation District, built by national operators with institutional financing and scheduled for summer and fall 2028. On the east end, the change has a clear trigger in the Power District sale, but no buyer or plan has been named. In between, parcels like The Cottages show that existing zoning already allows more than what stands today, and that owners are planning with that in mind.
A city-owned utility has decided to sell nine acres beside Depot Park, two developers are building for 2028 move-ins, and a Plan Board member put it plainly when he said the area "is going to change." For a buyer, the questions worth asking about any property on this corridor are which of these projects it sits closest to and when each one is scheduled to land.
FAQ
When are the new student-housing buildings near Depot Avenue scheduled to open? Rambler Gainesville at 420 SW Eighth St. is scheduled to open in fall 2028, and Chapter House UF at 920 SW Depot Ave. is scheduled for completion in summer 2028.
Is the Power District being turned into a park or a public project? GRU's CEO said the utility plans to sell the land rather than enter a partnership, with any plan returning to the GRU Authority. The 2023 study valued the site at $8 million before demolition costs.
Did the Plan Board vote block redevelopment of The Cottages at Depot Park? No. The vote was a recommendation to the City Commission, and board members noted that the owners could still redevelop under the existing land use and zoning.
If you're relocating for UF or UF Health and want to know how a specific address on or near Depot Avenue fits into this 2028 timeline, Anna Olcese can walk you through the corridor block by block, from the Innovation District to Depot Park. Let's find your place. Schedule a relocation consultation.
