About the Eco-Industrial Park

Florida's Circular Economy is Shovel-Ready

Located in beautiful North Central Florida, the Alachua County Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) is a first of its kind class of waste-based industrial and research site for the southeastern United States. Shovel-ready parcels are available now for private sector entrepreneurs invested in recycling, reprocessing and remanufacturing.

Waste to Reuse Opportunity

Florida is home to nearly 21 million people and ranks third in state population in the U.S. Additionally, Florida is known for its robust tourism economy which attracts more than 120 million visitors each year.

As a result of both Florida's growing population and the annual tourism, significant amounts of waste are produced each year. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's 2017 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management Annual Report, more than 21 million tons of MSW were landfilled, 16.4 million tons were recycled, and 4.7 million tons were combusted. Between Florida and the Southeastern United States there are massive material flow opportunities for companies. North Central Florida provides an ideal crossroads for companies to access these materials and move them to markets.

A Strategic Hub

With public private partnerships and access to the best UF researchers the Eco-Industrial Park will be a national hub for sustainable material reuse-recycling-remanufacturing. Collaborative opportunities will be made available via our top seven, nationally ranked university with the engineers, scientist, and waste-related specialists to develop new sustainable materials and resilient manufacturing industry.

37 acres of shovel-ready parcels are available for long-term lease. Flexible terms and acreage sizes are open for negotiation. Horizontal infrastructure is already online including electric, water, waste water, data, connections with storm water retention.

Over and Above Industrial Parcels

The Eco-Industrial Park is located in North Central Florida roughly 15 minutes north of Gainesville and close to interstate, rail and airport connections. The site is immediately adjacent to the County's Leveda Brown Environmental Park and Transfer Station which includes a material recovery facility. A related 35,000 square foot UF affiliated Research Core is in architectural design for the Park. The Core will be dedicated to supporting industrial partner research and incubation needs turning waste into wealth through cutting-edge academic explorations.

Partnership with UF

The University of Florida is proud to support Alachua County's new Eco-Industrial Park through innovative research opportunities, educational connections and economic development partnerships.

The Park was designed with the help of UF students and faculty, and will continue to serve as a catalyst for strengthening campus-community connections. From engineering to the arts, researchers from UF will collaborate with industry partners to explore ideas for creating a more robust and sustainable circular economy.

About Alachua County

As the hub of North Central Florida, Alachua County offers world-class performing arts and museums, festivals, crystal blue springs, craft breweries, exceptional dining and shopping, a thriving live music scene, and more. Explore 8 state parks with more than 100 miles of trails for biking, birding and hiking or cool off in crystal-blue freshwater springs.

With the restaurant scene gaining national attention and new pints on tap at our local breweries, dozens of annual festivals and events, and the friendliest people in Florida, there is always more to explore in Alachua County.

Getting here is easy! Fly into Gainesville Regional Airport or drive into town via 7 exits along the I-75 corridor. Conveniently located less than two hours away from Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

Environmental Benefits

The Circular Economy Starts in Florida

In building the Eco-Industrial Park, our goal was to create a premier industrial, manufacturing and research hub that will help save the world from material pollution and waste. The world is in crisis, from plastic waste in our oceans to over-exploited primary resources. The best companies see this challenge and are scrambling to build sustainability into their industrial processes and brand. And the most competitive of those companies will need space at the Eco-Industrial Park to access materials, manufacture, and innovate their products.

Industrial Goes Green
In alignment with the overarching purpose of the site to benefit the environment, the EIP is surrounded by conservation lands, green space buffers and restored uplands habitat. Having a site intentionally designed to be visually connected to nature was just as important as finding the right mix of environmentally engaged companies to occupy parcels. We feel this natural element will give a competitive advantage to companies looking to recruit and retain the best talent.

A formal Request for Innovators challenge will be issued by Alachua County soon
Seeking solicitations from interested private sector firms. If interested, call (352) 264.6908
Space available for construction as early as January 2020

Local Economic Impact

Co-locating private sector reuse, recycling, and manufacturing in a dedicated space

Modeled on the success of UF Innovate | The Hub and the Sid Martin Biotech Park public-private partnerships, the Eco-Industrial Park is a hub for waste-related material research and business incubation as the best and brightest from UF develop new material reuse and manufacturing processes on site.

The Eco-Industrial Park supports the region's recycling/zero waste goals by co-locating private sector and research in the areas of reuse, recycling, and manufacturing. The new jobs at the site, primarily in manufacturing, are expected to pay family wages with benefits. Approximately 672 jobs are expected to be created by businesses occupying the park when it is complete. Many more jobs will be created during the infrastructure, building construction, and operation/maintenance phases.

The UF IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Department conducted an economic impact analyses to estimate the total economic impacts of the park's tenant buildouts:

Direct employment: 641- 672 jobs
Average labor income per employee: $49,000
State and local tax revenue impacts: $8.9 million- $9.3 million.