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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>A rendering of the <span id="docs-internal-guid-6e47b1e4-71fa-1073-4c7d-7b255318e490"><span>Northwest First Avenue construction, which is projected to finish in <span id="docs-internal-guid-6e47b1e4-71fa-6afb-4065-873dc18d7ed8"><span>Fall 2017.</span></span></span></span></p>

A rendering of the Northwest First Avenue construction, which is projected to finish in Fall 2017.

Midtown businesses like Study Edge and Grill Fresh may see fewer customers as the city begins an eight-month-long construction project.

The Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency announced its More in Midtown project Wednesday. Starting next week, Northwest First Avenue will be under construction until Fall 2017.

The renovation will include improvements to street lighting, infrastructure and increased on-street parking, wrote Tricia Lopez, a project manager for CRA, in an email.

The project is expected to finish in September, and businesses will still be open during construction, she said.

“At times some businesses may only be accessible to pedestrians if the road in front of the business is closed,” Lopez said.

Funding will come from the property-tax increases in the CRA district, she said.

Sarit Sela, the CRA project manager for More in Midtown, said the purpose of the project is to make the street more pedestrian-friendly.

“We want to make it an example of how a pedestrian street in Gainesville could work,” she said.

Celine Bautista, a 21-year-old UF psychology senior, lives in College Park and did not know about the planned construction.

She said she’s not looking forward to more building, but she’s interested in the improvements CRA plans to make.

“As a resident living in the area, it’s not too desirable, but as somebody in Gainesville and somebody attending the university, being able to potentially purchase access to that parking — that would be great,” she said.

@Mary-Lou_W

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A rendering of the Northwest First Avenue construction, which is projected to finish in Fall 2017.

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