UF business incubator spurs peripheral projects

The University of Florida wants to further redevelop the former site of a Gainesville hospital as a hub of entrepreneurial activity, and private developers are investing nearby.

The university is promoting the former location of Alachua General Hospital, between the UF campus and downtown Gainesville, as “Innovation Square.”

UF has built a 48,000-square-foot business-
incubation facility there, called the Innovation Hub, and plans to double its size in the next few years.

So far, that is the sole development at Innovation Square. But private developers have started projects on the periphery of the UF property.

Signet Development has built a University of Florida residence hall nearby that caters to students with entrepreneurial inclinations, called Infinity Hall.

Developers also have converted buildings near Innovation Square to offices and have put up new apartments close to the UF property.

Lee Nelson, UF director of real estate, told the Gainesville Business Report that these private-sector investments “are indicative of a neighborhood that is being accepted in the business community, although they are at a lower price point than they type of new building envisioned for the [Innovation] Square.” [Gainesville Business Report] — Mike Seemuth