The cost for work on Southeast First Avenue in downtown Gainesville as part of a plan to save a 40-year-old heritage live oak came in at more than double a number floated last April.
A work order signed Dec. 13 by City Manager Cynthia Curry with Watson Construction Co. lists a total construction price not to exceed roughly $608,000.
Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward, in a social media post last April after the Gainesville City Commission unanimously voted to save the tree , estimated the total cost at $250,000. While unable to speak Tuesday morning to the specifics of the project, Ward said construction costs continue to rise considerably across the board.
“If you wait a couple of months before getting started, things become significantly more expensive on every project that we’ve looked at,” he said. “Whether it’s a home project or a city block.”
The majority of the construction costs will be paid through the city’s Tree Mitigation Fund, a pot of money paid into by developers when removing trees during construction. Ward estimated last April that the fund had more than $8 million available.