Community Description
Short Description: Gainesville is the county seat and largest city in Alachua County. The community is one hour west of Jacksonville and two hours northwest of Orlando, midway between Atlanta and Miami, 85 miles south of the Georgia border, 50 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico, and 67 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean on the I-75 corridor. Gainesville has 45 distinctive shopping centers including the 1 million square foot Oaks Mall.
Established in 1854 and incorporated in 1869 as part of a grant the King of Spain gave to Don Fernando Arredondo in 1817. Gainesville gets its name from General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, who led the capture of Aaron Burr. A list of past and present Gainesville residents includes: Bo Didley, Tom Petty, River Phoenix, Malcolm Gets, Harry Crews, Marty Liquori, Gabriel Schwartzman, Peter Taylor, Mary McCauley.
The city's Northeast Historic District is a 63-square-block area of 290 historic buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Hippodrome State Theatre, the Cox Furniture Building and Warehouse, the Bethel Gas Station, the Seagle Building, and the Baird Warehouse.
Gainesville's general fund budget is $83 million, with a total budget of $203 million. The City's millage rate is slightly under $5 per thousand dollars of assessable value.
Gainesville is home to the University of Florida (UF), the state's leading research institution, with over 48,000 students and a campus that occupies 2000 acres with 875 buildings. Campus highlights include the Florida Museum of Natural History, the University of Florida Center for Performing Arts Theater and the Harn Museum of Art. Gainesville is also home to Santa Fe Community College with 16,000 students and Shands Hospital at UF.
Other local attractions include the 120-ft deep, 500-ft wide Devil's Millhopper State Geological Site; the 20,000-acre Paynes Prairie State Preserve; the Ichetucknee Springs State Park; the 278-acre Morningside Nature Center and the second largest botanical garden in the state, Kanapaha.
Community events include the University of Florida's annual homecoming parade and the NHRA Drag racing Gatornationals held in early March.
Nearby communities include Micanopy (11.5 miles), Alachua (12.5 miles), Waldo (14.5 miles), Brooker (15.5 miles), Archer (15.5 miles), McIntosh (16 miles), Hawthorne (17 miles) and Newberry (19 miles).
Population: 117,754
Year of Incorporation: 1869
Location: North Central Florida
Median Home Price: $131,920
Tax Rate: 4.9416
Taxes Levied (per capita): $140.14
Total Area: 45.52 Square Miles
City Hall: City of Gainesville
200 E University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32602
352.334.5010; 352.334.3119 Fax
Email Contact
Chamber of Commerce: Gainesville Area Chamber
300 E University Ave, Ste 100, PO Box 1187
Gainesville, FL 32601
352.334.7100; 352.334.7141 Fax
Alachua County Convention & Visitors
30 East University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601
866.778.5002 (tollfree); 352.374.5231; 352.338.3213 Fax
Library: Headquarters Branch Library
401 East University Ave, Gainesville, FL
352.334.3900
Millhopper Branch Library
3145 NW 43rd St, Gainesville, FL 32606
352.334.1272
Tower Road Branch Library
3020 SW 75th St, Gainesville, FL 32607
352.333.2840
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