The Gainesville City Commission voted 6-1 to demolish the Thelma Boltin Center after years of struggling with how to move forward with the building that dates to World War II.
High construction costs to stabilize the building forced another reckoning before the City Commission, which already allocated $3 million for the project. Mainstreet reported in June that the issue would need revisiting because of updated budgets that represented a “worst case” scenario.
The motion passed at Thursday’s meeting and directs staff to hold community engagement to reimagine the site as a trailhead for the Sweetwater Trail Loop, connecting the Matheson History Museum with Depot Park and Tom Petty Park. The trailhead could include signage that gives the history of Thelma Boltin and remembers the soldiers that the building served…