Some three months after the developers of Parkside on the Square abandoned their project on the south side of the downtown Gainesville Square, new developers have unveiled a project they call "Gainesville Renaissance."
Fred Roddy, the CEO of Roddy Properties, will develop the project on property purchased earlier in the summer by Douglas Ivester, the former Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company. Both men were in Gainesville Wednesday for an event with the Hall County School District, and Roddy took a few minutes to talk about the three-level mixed-use project.
"The plan is to bring something that will be part of the renaissance of the square," Roddy said. "It will be in a style that's in keeping with the area...the whole idea is the theme of renaissance."
While all of the elements are not firmly in place just yet, the idea is to incorporate retail, office and residential components into the project on the property that long-time Gainesville residents remember as "the old Belk lot."
Carroll Daniel Company has been secured as the general contractor for the project, while Robertson Loia Roof has been hired as the architect.
Roddy said groundbreaking for the project could happen as soon as 4th quarter of this year, noting that Ivester is committed to completion of the project.
"The previous developer did a tremendous amount of work, but capital markets being what they are, you can't always get a project off the ground," Roddy said. "But, I will tell you that this one has a 100-percent chance of happening."
Roddy said Ivester, who grew up in the New Holland community, wants to see the "fourth side of the square" as a vibrant part of his hometown.
"They [Doug and his wife Kay] are from the neighborhood and they wanted to give back to the neighborhood," Roddy said.
Roddy said the hope is that Gainesville Renaissance will spur other development and improvements to the downtown area.
