- The core of Gainesville’s downtown has a 22% storefront vacancy rate with 28 vacant spaces among 98 active businesses as of March 2025.
- The Downtown Advisory Board plans to alter its business improvement grants to reduce vacancies and boost local economy while navigating which spaces are good investments.
Storefronts in downtown Gainesville are about 22% vacant, according to the city of Gainesville, but the Downtown Advisory Board (DAB) aims to help business owners set up shop through potential expansions of the business impact grant.
The staff report, presented in February, came from March 2025 data and focuses on the core downtown. In those approximately 20 city blocks, the report showed 98 active businesses with four coming soon and 28 vacancies.
But DAB member and realtor Teresa Callen said downtown is on an upward swing, with all the vacancies filled in the next couple of years…