The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted to move forward with a contract to purchase the Sunrise Residence Inn from St. Francis House on Tuesday. 

The county also approved six joint projects with the city of Waldo and heard from many public speakers about a Gaza cease-fire resolution and single-member districts returning to the November ballot. 

The Sunrise Inn purchase price is listed as $1.95 million, and County Manager Michele Lieberman said the transaction has followed an unusual process to get before the board and will have no appraisal.   

The property, 2120 SW 14th Street, has 35 units that are mostly occupied. The units are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The purchase comes as Alachua County aims to increase its number of permanent supportive housing units after years of planning. 

But Lieberman said purchasing Sunrise Inn wasn’t part of the county’s plans until early April.

At the BOCC’s April 9 meeting, Lieberman informed the board that a developer had approached St. Francis House about purchasing the Sunrise Inn and turning the property into student apartments. 

Lieberman said St. Francis House’s financial situation made the offer a real possibility, with a contract offer expected soon. 

St. Francis House stopped providing daily meals this month and told Mainstreet in February that it planned to sell its downtown shelter to bolster finances. 

“Because we’re aware of this, the question to you is ‘do you want us to do anything to pursue this,’” Lieberman asked at the April 9 meeting. 

The commissioners voted yes, asking staff to get involved in order to keep the units affordable housing. A chair letter to St. Francis House was included in the vote, asking the nonprofit to work with the county on the sale. The letter also requested that St. Francis House inform the county about other ways to support its shelter system.  

Commissioner Anna Prizzia said she never heard from St. Francis House as much as other nonprofits. She said she assumed that was because the nonprofit didn’t need anything.  

“The closing of that 35 units would be devastating,” Prizzia said. “I mean, we already have a list that’s so long. We need that affordable housing desperately.”    

Lauri Schiffbauer, executive director for the nonprofit, told the commission that St. Francis House would restart food services in the next two weeks as the sale proceeds.  

The agreement approved Tuesday by the BOCC gives a $150,000 non-refundable payment to St. Francis House when the parties enter the contract, preventing other parties from purchasing during that time. If the sale moves forward, the payment will be included in the purchase price.  

Closing on the property could come in the next three months. 

Alachua County and the Alachua County Housing Authority would take over management of the 35 units.  

The city of Waldo asked Alachua County to approve six projects to receive funds set aside from the infrastructure surtax. Alachua County has set aside $333,333 from each half of the surtax (Wild Spaces Public Places and the roads, housing and fire stations) for each of the nine municipalities.  

Waldo plans to use the Wild Spaces Public Places funds to renovate the Waldo Community Center, refresh the Veteran’s Park downtown and revamp Sid Martin Park.  

 
The other side of the funding would be used to install a fire suppression system in Constellation Charter School, install Advanced Metering Infrastructure for water meters and replace the generator at the city’s tower well.  

During public comment on Tuesday, 13 speakers opposed the BOCC’s plan to place single-member districts back on the ballot. Voters approved single-member districts in 2022—against the wishes of the BOCC.  

After public comment opposed to single-member districts in March, the commissioners voted to place the item back for another vote. 

Many public commenters also asked the BOCC to support a cease-fire resolution concerning the war in Gaza. The request came before the county in early 2024 but ended up not moving forward.  

However, on Tuesday, Commissioner Ken Cornell said he does support revisiting Alachua County’s financial investments—especially one into Lockheed Martin—and seeing if the county can legally pull that investment.