The building at Tioga Town Center has been fast and furious, as the two additional buildings are being added to the Jonesville-area shopping plaza.

The two additional buildings will feature 40 apartments on the second and third stories and lower-level shopping, dining and other services.

According to Tioga Town Center president Gilbert Levy, contracts on the new space had not been signed by our press time. However, Levy says there have been ongoing discussions with a number of parties interested in leasing the space.

While he would not let us in on the names of any businesses, Levy says there have been discussions with additional restaurants for the plaza. He says there also is a spa interested in doing business in one of the spaces, as well as a dry cleaners and what he describes as a “high-end” bicycle shop.

In other news about the center, Levy says construction finally will begin inside the space across the parking lot from Starbucks, after some delays in the permitting process. Chef Steve Williams is expecting to open his Oceans restaurant in that space by August.

In addition, the space that formerly belonged to Jonesberry Books, which went out of business in December 2007, has been leased to Salon 119. The salon originally had leased “suite 119” in the plaza, which last fall was supposed to be Great Clips. However, when the larger Jonesberry Books suite 115 became available, the salon decided to move a few doors down.

The original Town Center buildings also have another upstairs tenant with the addition of Tioga Dental (formerly Willow Walk Family Dentistry), which includes doctors Cynthia Haug, Michelle Orris and Britt Bovio.

For more information, visit www.tiogatowncenter.com.

Paul Addresses Newberry Chamber
The Newberry-Jonesville Chamber of Commerce recently featured Alachua County growth management staff member and impact fee administrator Jonathan Paul, who addressed transportation concurrency and the idea of “proportionate share,” where proportionate share mitigation is paid for transportation facilities by developers who are moving forward with their projects.

Paul discussed the “Long Term Concurrency Management System,” which will provide for the necessary capacity for traffic on Alachua County roadways. Paul also discussed the possibility of a bus rapid transit network. He says the county is “no where near ready for” such a system, but the county is trying to encourage mixed-use development to make a bus rapid transit system more feasible and realistic. For details on the long term concurrency management system, read past articles HERE.

Three Local Ribbon Cuttings
There were three local ribbon cuttings for new businesses in March, including the already-mentioned Tioga Dental opening.

Villagio Pizzerria in Newberry recently opened its doors on S.R. 45 in the space that used to be “DaBronx Pizza” at 179 N. Main St. Owner Paul Villagio says he makes traditional New York style pizza, plus strombolis, calzones and other favorites. For more information, call Villagio’s Pizzeria at 472-5855 or visit www.villagiospizzeria.com.

In addition, Edible Arrangements in the Tower Squareshopping plaza opened its doors recently. The franchise specializes in turning food, particularly fruit and dessert, into bouquets. The store is co-owned by Steve and Tricia Kapustka and Chris and Natalie Sims. Call 378-2400 or visit www.ediblearrangements.com.