By Chris Wilson

A once-quiet intersection in Jonesville has become a hotbed of activity and building and even more construction is going to take place once additional projects begin at Jonesville Park in the coming months. Engineering and design work already is being done for addtional features at Jonesville Park, located on C.R. 241 (NW 143rd. St.), just south of NW 39th Ave.

The area of Jonesville on C.R. 241 from NW 32nd Ave. north to NW 39th Ave. has changed and will continue to change dramatically during 2008. Already there is a new and much-needed traffic light at C.R. 241 &?NW 39th Ave. Construction also has started on both the First Baptist Church of Gainesville and the new Alachua County Fire Station #17.

Despite a feeling after last year’s property tax reform that additional features would not be added to Jonesville Park in the near future, Alachua County parks and recreation supervisor Robert Avery says things are going to move forward at a rapid pace. “We thought we were dead in the water,” Avery says about the feeling he had after the Florida legislature passed property tax reforms and the ensuing Amendment 1 referendum last summer.

All of a sudden a list of projects are in the works for Jonesville Park and some of them may be completed by the end of 2008.

There originally was $2.9-million earmarked for the Jonesville Park Aquatic Center. However, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, according to Avery, did not want to move forward with an aquatic center because of the cost of the engineering and construction and the post-construction operational costs of such a facility.

The BOCC instead voted in favor of re-appropriating the funds to an Animal Services facility project, which will get $1.5-million, and other projects at Jonesville Park, which will have about $1.4-million.

Several of the projects currently are in the engineering and design phase and are being worked on by the Gainesville engineering firm Casseaux, Hewitt and Walpole, Inc. Once completed, the construction of these facilities could begin by the end of 2008, if not sooner.

Avery says the first project to break ground at the park likely will be the tennis center. “The tennis center is just about ready to go,” says Avery. “There will be some clearing and rough grading that needs to be done first.” Avery says the tennis portion of the project was helped along by Dave Porter, who is a board member of the Gainesville Area Community Tennis Association. His company Jonesville Tennis, LLC. will donate the costs for six of the 14 planned tennis courts.

In addition, all of the tennis courts will be clay courts. “They will be the first clay courts at a public facility in Alachua County,”?says Avery.

The tennis center will be located on the opposite side of the parking lot (or the east side of the lot) from the soccer fields. A pro shop and restroom facility also will be constructed as part of the tennis complex. 

Aside from the tennis center, the other facilities that will be built include basketball courts, a jogging trail, four baseball/softball fields and the lights for the soccer complex.

Construction on the four ball fields is expected to begin in mid August 2008. The fields will be located to the northeast of the soccer fields, adjacent to the parking lot. Avery says the Rotary Clubs of Gainesville have donated $520,000, plus in-kind services to the ball fields and picnic area project. The in-kind services might include grading the land, construction of dugouts or certain other features, irrigation work and possibly more.

Avery says because two of the projects (the tennis center and ball fields) are being led by a “true community-wide effort,” the work could take a little longer than it normally would.

While there still is no word on when work might begin on the five outdoor basketball courts or the lights for the soccer field, Avery says those projects are in the engineering and design phase.

The other feature the park will have is the recreation center and Jonesville branch library. The rec center will be attached to the library and the Alachua County Library District is providing the infrastructure for the project. Currently, Avery says the design process has not been started.

“We are working with the library,” says Avery. “We’re going to find out what the (Library District) is proposing and then we’ll start desinging, so that we don’t have a duplication. For example, if they are going to have a computer room on the library side, we don’t have to waste the space for that type of facility (on the recreation side).”

The library and recreation center will be constructed at the end of NW 32nd Ave. Avery says the road will turn east toward an 11 or 12 acre parcel that will be used for the building.

For more information, contact Robert Avery at (352)374-5245 or via e-mail at ravery@co.alachua.fl.us.