A boon for eastern Alachua County?

Published: Friday, December 27, 2013 at 5:12 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, December 27, 2013 at 9:18 p.m.

All that preparation culminated in a long-term master plan the company submitted to the county Dec. 12 that calls for developing portions of the land with a balance of housing and commercial space big enough to lure large employers while putting large swaths of land in conservation with Plum Creek retaining timber rights.

The company is pitching the development portion of the plan as a way to address economic disparities on the east side of the county, while the conservation land would remove the ability to build one home with well and septic tank per every 5 acres, as allowed in the current agricultural land use.

The portions slated for development cover 11,000 acres of the 17,000-acre Windsor tract between Newnan's Lake and Hawthorne with a maximum of 15.5 million square feet of commercial space and 10,500 homes. The commercial space includes 8 million square feet for advanced manufacturing, 6 million square feet for research and development, office and institutional uses and 1.5 million square feet of retail and service space.

At least 30 percent of the developed areas must remain open space in the plan, leaving about 7,500 acres available for development.

The developed acreage would be reduced further if Plum Creek is allowed to concentrate homes and businesses over a smaller area.

The company is eyeing two areas in particular that make the most sense for development because of their proximity to Gainesville and Hawthorne with access to State Road 20.

However, developing the portion closest to Gainesville would affect wetlands, which is not currently allowed under the comp plan.

Tim Jackson, director of real estate for Plum Creek, said they could build out the maximum developed space without touching the 1,700 acres of wetlands within the 11,000 acres, but Plum Creek is asking to concentrate the development in smaller areas while affecting a few wetlands in the southern portions in return for greater wetlands protections on land to the north.

Jackson pointed out the areas on a poster-sized map during a Dec. 19 press briefing.

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A boon for eastern Alachua County?