Editing Gainesville, Florida (section)

===Cityscape===
[[File:University Corners, Gainesville, FL.jpg|thumb|Mixed-use student housing (left side) along US 441, viewed from near the main entrance to the University of Florida (bottom left)]]
[[File:Downtown Gainesville, FL.jpg|thumb|Gainesville's downtown]]

Since the 1990s, suburban sprawl has been a concern for a majority of the city commissioners. The "New Urbanization" plan to gentrify the area between historic Downtown and the University of Florida may slow the growth of suburban sectors and spark a migration toward upper-level apartments in the inner city. The area immediately north of the university is also seeing active redevelopment. Many gentrification plans rely on tax incentives that have sparked controversy<ref name=Alligator_2007-12-05>{{cite web|url=http://www.alligator.org/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/article_beac9169-4faf-5979-b991-439ad4b073ee.html|title=City shouldn't pay for University Corners|author=Randy Jewett|website=Alligator.org|access-date=October 17, 2017}}</ref> and are sometimes unsuccessful. University Corners, which would not have been proposed without a $98 million tax incentive program by the city,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_383786a3-4801-5878-9a81-3ab231e4a738.html|title=Court case makes future uncertain for University Corners|author=KATIE GALLAGHER|website=Alligator.org|access-date=October 17, 2017}}</ref> was to be "a crowning jewel of the city's redevelopment efforts",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20071020/NEWS/71020005|title=Will University Corners see daylight?|author=JEFF ADELSON|website=Gainesville.com|access-date=October 17, 2017}}</ref> 450 condos and hotel units and {{convert|98,000|ft2|m2}} of retail space in eight stories covering three city blocks,<ref name=GVilleSun-2011-01-06>{{cite web|url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110106/ARTICLES/110109693|title=Work on Stadium Club to resume; University Corners still on hold|author=Anthony Clark |website=Gainesville.com|access-date=October 17, 2017}}</ref> on {{convert|3.4|acres|ha}} purchased for $15.5 million.<ref name=GVilleSun-2008-07-11>{{cite web|url=http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080711/NEWS/813519470|title=University Corners cleans up for church|author=Megan Rolland|website=Gainesville.com|access-date=October 17, 2017}}</ref> 19 thriving businesses<ref name=Alligator_2007-12-05/> were demolished in April 2007,<ref name=GVilleSun-2008-07-11/> but in May 2008 deposit checks were refunded to about 105 people who reserved units,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_13498303-fbde-588f-a022-5da58ec2971b.html|title=Developers of stalled University Corners complex return checks|author=APRIL DUDASH|website=Alligator.org|access-date=October 17, 2017}}</ref> and in July 2008 developers spent "$120,000 to beautify the site, so we won't have this ugly green fence".<ref name=GVilleSun-2008-07-11/>

Gainesville's east side houses the majority of the city's African-American community, while the west side consists of the mainly student and White resident communities. West of the city limits are large-scale planned communities, most notably [[Haile Plantation, Florida|Haile Plantation]], which was built on the site of its eponymous former plantation.

The destruction of the city's landmark [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] courthouse in the 1960s, which some considered unnecessary, brought the idea of historic preservation to the community's attention. The bland county building that replaced the grand courthouse became known to some locals as the "air conditioner". Additional destruction of the downtown area's historic buildings has left a small handful of older buildings, like the [[Hippodrome State Theatre]], at one time a federal building. However, revitalization of the city's core has picked up, and the city is replacing many parking lots and underutilized buildings with infill development and near-campus housing that blend with existing historic structures. There is a proposal to rebuild a replica of the old courthouse on a parking lot one block from the original location.

Helping in this effort are the number of areas and buildings added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Dozens of examples of restored Victorian and [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne style]] residences constructed in the city's agricultural heyday of the 1880s and 1890s can be found in the following districts:
* [[Northeast Gainesville Residential District]]
* [[Southeast Gainesville Residential District]]
* [[Pleasant Street Historic District (Gainesville, Florida)|Pleasant Street Historic District]]

Additionally, the [[University of Florida Campus Historic District]], consisting of 11 buildings and 14 contributing properties, lies within the city's boundaries. Most of the buildings in the Campus Historic District are constructed in variations of [[Collegiate Gothic]] architecture, which returned to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Historic structures on the Register in and around downtown are:
* [[Bailey House (Gainesville, Florida)|Bailey Plantation House]] (1854)
* [[Colson House#Colson House (Gainesville, Florida)|Colson House]] (1905)
* [[Matheson House (Gainesville, Florida)|Matheson House]] (1867)
* [[Hotel Thomas|Thomas Hotel]] (1910)
* The [[U.S. Post Office (Gainesville, Florida)|Old Post Office]] (now the [[Hippodrome State Theatre]]) (1911)
* [[Masonic Order Lodge No. 41 (Gainesville, Florida)|Masonic Temple]] (1908)
* [[Dixie Hotel (Gainesville, Florida)|Seagle Building]] (1926), downtown Gainesville's tallest building.
* [[Baird Hardware Company Warehouse]] (1890)
* [[Cox Furniture Store]] (1875)
* [[Cox Furniture Warehouse]] (c. 1890)
* [[Epworth Hall (Gainesville, Florida)|Epworth Hall]] (1884)
* [[Old Gainesville Depot]] (1907)
* [[Mary Phifer McKenzie House]] (1895)
* [[Star Garage]] (1902)
* [[A. Quinn Jones House]]