Power District Neighbors / Gainesville, Florida

GRU is preparing to sell multiple acres of abandoned lots & buildings near Depot Park.

It's our Power District.
We should have a say in what it becomes.

This land is owned by the people of Gainesville, and what happens to it should be decided by them. Whether you live nearby, spend time at Depot Park or downtown, or just care how our public land gets used, add your name to get involved.

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Helps us show the Authority and the City who actually lives here. Never published.

What’s happening

The Power District is Gainesville Regional Utilities land northeast of Depot Park, along SE 5th Ave and Depot Ave east of SE 3rd St. GRU consolidated its operations into the Eastside Operations Center in 2011, leaving roughly ten buildings here vacant. [Alachua Chronicle, Feb 26, 2024]

Two bodies decide its future. The GRU Authority, a state-appointed board, controls the sale and its terms. The City of Gainesville controls what can be built on the land — zoning, the comprehensive plan, and site plan review — no matter who buys it.

On September 9, 2026, the Authority voted 3–0 to approve asbestos abatement and demolition of the ten vacant buildings, awarding a roughly $485,000 contract to SGLC. A 2023 appraisal valued the property at $22 million; staff now estimate net proceeds “well over $7.5 million” on the demolished parcels. [Alachua Chronicle, Sept 11, 2026]

Demolition is expected to begin at the end of September and finish by Thanksgiving. GRU’s CEO has said the utility will sell rather than pursue a partnership, and that any disposition plan will come back to the Authority. That plan is where conditions can be attached — which is why we’re organizing now. [Mainstreet Daily News, Sept 2026]

The site now

Photographs of the Power District taken before demolition. Ten of these buildings are scheduled to come down this fall.

Fly the district — five 360° views from above

Aerial view of a long vacant Power District building with sections of its roof collapsed, the GRU substation and downtown Gainesville behind it.
The deteriorating Electric Operations Center that has stood empty since GRU moved operations to the Eastside Operations Center in 2011. The substation, the Kelly plant, and downtown are behind it. Aerial photograph, September 28, 2025
A closed employee door between brick columns. A notice behind the wired glass reads “Employees only — no admittance — visitor’s pass available at dispatcher.” Ferns grow across the threshold.
The employee door at Electric Operations. September 12, 2026
A glassed-in entrance vestibule on a brick building, empty inside, weeds growing at the base of the glass.
Entrance to Electric Operations. September 12, 2026
A low flat-roofed building with blank panel walls and one glass door, plants rooted along its roofline, cracked asphalt in front.
Field Services building. September 12, 2026
A long low brick mid-century building with a flat roofline, palms and shrubs along its front, empty parking in front of it.
The Wastewater Administration building. September 12, 2026
A dark glass door in a brick wall with an intercom speaker beside it and a small engraved sign giving entry instructions and vendor hours.
Wastewater Admin entrance. September 12, 2026
A covered concrete walkway running alongside a brick wall, live oak limbs and Spanish moss hanging over it, palmetto at the edge.
The covered walk along Wastewater Admin, with the oaks leaning over it. September 12, 2026
Close view of a painted door with wired glass in a brick wall, an old doorbell plate mounted beside it and a worn lever handle.
Wastewater Admin employee entrance. September 12, 2026
Names scratched into a concrete walkway: Terry, Dennis, Pam, and a heart drawn around Ellen and Dickie, each marked 89.
Terry, Dennis, Pam, and a heart around Ellen and Dickie, scratched into the sidewalk here in 1989. September 12, 2026
A chain-link gate closed across an empty concrete lot, live oaks and Spanish moss beyond the fence line.
A gate closed to the Wastewater Warehouse. September 12, 2026
A broad live oak hung with Spanish moss and resurrection fern, its limbs spreading over a chain-link fence, the substation visible behind.
A live oak at Wastewater Admin. September 12, 2026
Two large live oaks arching over a driveway in front of a low building, their limbs meeting above the pavement.
Live oaks arching over the Wastewater Admin parking lot. September 12, 2026
White and yellow wildflowers growing up through the edge of a gutter, oaks and Spanish moss behind.
Wildflowers coming up along the Wastewater Admin gutters. September 12, 2026
Bare sand and torn-up pavement marked with traffic cones, a newer grey and white building standing beyond the cleared ground.
Expansion of Fire Rescue HQ parking lot currently underway. September 12, 2026
A green GRU Wellness Center sign with a directional arrow, mounted on a utility pole above a weathered concrete base, a low brick building behind it.
A sign points the way to the GRU Employee Wellness Center which is still operational. September 12, 2026
Aerial view of the John R. Kelly Generating Station with its green-banded siding, cooling towers to the right and Depot Park beyond.
The Kelly plant and its cooling towers, with Depot Park beyond. The plant itself is not part of the demolition. Aerial photograph, July 20, 2023
Metal lettering on the siding of the Kelly plant reading “The John R. Kelly Generating Station — owned by the people it serves.”
“Owned by the people it serves.” The lettering has been on the side of the John R. Kelly Generating Station for decades. It is still there. Detail from an aerial photograph, July 20, 2023
The mural wall 23 photographs · September 12, 2026 OpenClose
Mural of three large stylized faces in bright pattern, with lettering above them, on a concrete block wall.
Mural showing a row of people painted from the waist down — shorts, bare legs and sneakers — against a blue patterned ground.
Blue-grey wall painted with the word LOVE repeated and a heart containing the name Breonna Taylor.
Spray-painted lettering piece in orange and teal with a pyramid and sun motif.
Mural of a bright patterned cityscape with the words “Growing together”.
Mural of hands and leaves in reds and greens with the words “Stay connected”.
Mural of two clasped hands over a sunset and water, a palm frond in the foreground.
Mural of several painted portraits, one of a man holding a child, with the words “Dream on”.
Large painted portrait of a face in pinks and blues, a hand raised beside it.
Dark mural of a standing figure among pale orbs.
Purple wall with a painted portrait of a man in a blue jacket and the words “RIP Nipsey”.
Spray-painted character piece in greens and pinks with biomorphic shapes.
Wildstyle lettering piece in orange and blue across the block wall.
Wildstyle lettering piece in teal and pink across the block wall.
Spray-painted character in purple and green wearing a chain, beside lettering.
Lettering piece in orange, purple and green on the block wall.
Large blue and white lettering piece on the block wall.
Blue lettering piece with green foliage growing up in front of the wall.
Pink and red lettering piece with a pale outline on the block wall.
Painted character with mushrooms in greens and pinks on a dark green ground.
Purple and blue lettering piece with a small painted character at its edge.
Painted green character with boxing gloves raised, against a patterned ground.
Sharp red and white lettering piece on the block wall.

Have photographs of the Power District?

What's coming — how to show up

Demolition

Scheduled to begin September 28.

Next GRU Authority meeting

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.

City Commission

Two decisions, two bodies

The GRU Authority decides

Whether and how the land is sold.

  • The sale and its terms
  • The disposition plan
  • Conditions attached to the deal

The City of Gainesville decides

What can be built there, no matter who buys.

  • Zoning and the comprehensive plan
  • Land development code, site plan review
  • The Community Redevelopment Area

Timeline

The record runs left to right, oldest first.

Documents

GRU Authority agenda packet — September 9, 2026

Agenda and backup materials for the meeting at which demolition was approved.

Produced by GRU staff · Sept 2026

GRU Authority approves demolition of Power District buildings

News coverage of the September 9 vote.

Alachua Chronicle · Sept 11, 2026 · read

GRU Authority moves to demolish buildings, then sell part of Power District

News coverage of the demolition and sale plans.

Mainstreet Daily News · Sept 2026 · read