Downtown Ocala's redevelopment likely to be spread among several developers

In July, City Council members ended discussions with Gainesville developer Ken McGurn, who wanted to spearhead the entire redevelopment initiative, a more than $84 million venture that involves a mix of residential, retail and office space at the city- owned portion of the Sprint site, the Chamber o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inKnight Ridder Tribune Business News p. 1
Main Author Haberlin, Steven Ray
Format Newsletter
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Tribune Content Agency LLC 09.10.2005
Subjects
Architects
Architecture
Central business districts
Redevelopment
Site planning
Ocala Florida
United States > US
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Summary:In July, City Council members ended discussions with Gainesville developer Ken McGurn, who wanted to spearhead the entire redevelopment initiative, a more than $84 million venture that involves a mix of residential, retail and office space at the city- owned portion of the Sprint site, the Chamber of Commerce building and the old Ocala public library. While at least one developer expressed interest in taking over the entire redevelopment, city officials said it was more likely that the initiative would now be completed by several developers working one of the three sites. If so, the change would mean that city staff would play a larger role in overseeing the work and ensuring that the redevelopment unfolds as planned. The redevelopment would also have to be consistent with the city's downtown master plan, noted Councilman [Mike Amsden]. He also said he could envision architectural themes or designs having to be approved by a board, much the same way changes to Ocala's historic district must go before a commission.