The corridor of University Avenue between 13th Street and Main Street will undergo major reconstruction.
As plans are published for multistory buildings to go up in the next two years, local businesses are saying goodbye to the communities they founded.
Innovation Square, owned by UF, sold its property to build new office buildings, hotels and housing, said Lee Nelson, the director of the real estate office for Innovation Square.
The block that currently houses the Unified Training Center, The Jam and Addiction Tattoos — as well as the houses behind it — should undergo construction by the end of 2016, he said.
Some residents who see the buildings as community space are not happy about these changes.
Lilli Wiggins, the previous manager of the Unified Training Center, founded the center with her husband 17 years ago. The building has been in Gainesville since the ’50s and always served a purpose, she said.
“Every time I walked in there it just had this energy,” she said. “I hate to say it’s a building — it had a life of its own, and it touched so many people’s lives.”
Wiggins said her biggest complaint is the new building plans don’t offer anywhere for the community to play.
Although there is still no official notice to vacate, it’s been public knowledge that the building was eventually going to be torn down for two years, she said. She said the center lost a lot of business as a result. Last Saturday, the business closed its doors for good.
Steve Solomon, the owner of Leonardo’s By the Slice and Leonardo’s 706, said he is not closing, despite the rumors.
Although UF has purchased his property, there are no plans to demolish the buildings.
If they close, he said, it will be from people believing the rumor his buildings are shutting down and choosing to spend money elsewhere.
Ultimately it’s up to the customers, he said.
“I’ve done the arithmetic,” he said. “People going to Chipotle is not going to save local businesses.”
The Jam officially closed in May. When it opened in 2012, it was supposed to be open for only six months to run out a previous lease, said Eduardo “Eddy” Reyes, The Jam’s co-owner. He said the owners knew from the beginning the building would be demolished.
Reyes said the true loss was the houses behind The Jam, as they were some of the oldest and most historic in town.
“It’s hard to feel nostalgic about something that you knew was going to happen from the get-go,” he said, “but I will miss The Jam as a place for the community to enjoy live music.”
A picture of the Jam, a local music venue located on 817 W University Ave.
