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FLORIDA 78 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • August 2016 ita. According to developers in the area, it has been tough to get entitlements for new retail projects in year's past, even though the city's medical community and the University of Florida student popula- tion are ideal target markets for retailers. "Gainesville is more than just a college town," says Cory Presnick, chief financial officer of Butler Enterprises Inc., a Gaines- ville-based retail developer owned by the Butler family. "Students' buying power is always underestimated but also having six hospitals, and growing, in the immediate market is a significant driver of well-pay- ing jobs and discretionary income." Butler Enterprises is following up its successful Butler North development with the 350,000-square-foot Butler Town Center. Butler North is currently 90 per- cent leased and has been opening shops and restaurants throughout the year. Upon completion in 2018, the entire But- ler development will span nearly 2 million square feet on 267 acres. Presnick says the market was ready for another high-profile shopping center, which should answer the pent-up demand for upscale retail offerings. "Butler Town Center is targeting up- scale, lifestyle-type retailers," says Pres- nick. "Consumers in Gainesville have to travel for an hour or two to find certain specialty products, so providing an enve- lope to those types of retailers is the driv- ing force behind Butler Town Center." Butler Town Center made waves ear- lier this year when Whole Foods Market chose the new shopping center for its new low-price concept, 365 by Whole Foods. Set to open before the shopping center, the new store will be the first 365 on the East Coast. "We believe Whole Foods was im- pressed with the project's traffic, access and proven track record for outperform- ing sales expectations. The 365 concept came out at the perfect time for us; being the first unit of its kind in Florida to be signed and announced is a great story for Gainesville," says Presnick. "Whole Foods choosing Gainesville to be in the first tranche of its East Coast openings speaks volumes to the market as a premier retail destination and compelling option for re- tailers looking to grow market share while capturing the student population and ro- tational-based employment cohorts." In addition to the 365 store, Butler Town Center will feature 180 apartment units, a renovated Regal theater, hotel, restaurants and retail. The development is slated to open in 2018. Nearby, Celebration Pointe Develop- ment Partners LLC is developing Celebra- tion Pointe, a 125-acre, 1 million-square- foot mixed-use development fronting I-75 and Archer Road. The destination will include a Hotel Indigo, new 10-screen Regal theater, Bass Pro Shops and the only Class A office space in Gainesville, a 60,000-square-foot corporate campus for technology consulting and software firm Info Tech. Like Butler Town Center, Celebration Pointe will answer the need for more up- scale retail space in Gainesville. "What Gainesville has been craving is a town center, Main Street-type project that doesn't exist currently," says Ralph Conti, principal and managing member of RaCo Real Estate. "Celebration Pointe will also have an outlet component that doesn't ex- ist in Gainesville. The closest outlet mall is about 80 miles away." Celebration Pointe is a development that has been in the making for years. Svein Dyrkolbotn, principal of Gaines- ville-based Viking Cos. and managing member of Celebration Pointe's owner and sponsor Celebration Pointe Hold- ings LLC, has worked on assembling the properties and getting them entitled since the mid-2000s. Conti began the pre-devel- opment process with Dyrkolbotn in 2012, when they formed Celebration Pointe Development Partners LLC to act as the development manager for the project. The first phase of Celebration Pointe includes the opening of a five-lane, mul- timodal bridge in October, which will go over I-75 and act as a second major access point to the project. Also part of the first phase of development is Bass Pro Shops, which is set to open in November. Conti expects the store to be a regional draw. "Bass Pro has a loyal following and draws customers from a large trade area. This location will be the company's only north central Florida store," says Conti. "It's not unusual for them to draw custom- ers from 100 miles away or more." Celebration Pointe is situated adjacent to a 700-acre, open-space conservancy. After purchasing 325 acres for the proj- ect, Celebration Pointe Holdings donat- ed 200 acres to the conservancy, which includes access to Archer Bald Trail, a 6.2-mile walking and biking trail that runs between Archer, Florida, and Gainesville. Celebration Pointe will extend the trail in front of Bass Pro Shops and over the new bridge. "Celebration Pointe will bring Archer Braid Trail to the east side of I-75 where the city of Gainesville and University of Florida are," says Conti. "It was always a vision for Archer Braid Trail to connect to KGH International Development is underway on Metropica, a 65-acre mixed-use development that will span roughly 400,000 square feet of retail space, as well as multifamily residences, a hotel and 650,000 square feet of office space.