Words of Wisdom

Bustling downtown just the start

Ocala has captured more than its share of the national limelight over the past couple of years because of its tremendous growth, its quality of life, its equine industry and its emergence as a regional logistics center.

So, when I saw an article about the World Equestrian Center in the last month’s Travel & Leisure magazine, I was a little taken aback by the headline:

“There’s a Small Town in Florida You’ve Never Heard of…” it starts.

Never heard of? I mean, we’re no Atlanta or Miami, but never heard of? Good grief.

I mention T&L’s gross mischaracterization of Ocala because last month there was a big shakeup in City Hall. The City Council fired City Manager Sandra Wilson after 2½ years at the city’s helm.

The council named Assistant City Manager Pete Lee to be the interim city manager.

Now, you would think things must be a mess around Ocala for Wilson, who had been with the city for 22 years, to be fired. So, I sat down with Lee – another two-decade veteran of the city – to find out what’s wrong, what needs to be fixed, where are the failures.

Turns out, things are actually pretty good.

Downtown continues to add new businesses. Unemployment is at 3 percent. Houses can’t be built fast enough. A second downtown parking garage is in the works. A new hotel is open overlooking the downtown square.

There are condos and apartments going up downtown. The Mary Sue Rich Community Center on the westside is going to be a game-changer. There are more than 11,000 new housing units in the pipeline within the city limits. Development of the so-called “midtown” that would bring more restaurants, bars and shops north of Silver Springs Boulevard is gaining steam.

Residents of virtually every part of the city are seeing new and better all around them.

All this is a credit to the city staff and City Councils past and present. Early in the century the city implemented a downtown master plan, which was punctuated 12 years ago with the Vision 2035 plan that addressed the broader city. The plans emphasize a vibrant and diverse downtown and developing vacant land within the city to accommodate new growth rather than create more sprawl. The downtown, of course, is the focal point of both plans.

“People like our downtown,” Lee told me. “A lot of people from other places like our downtown.

“We’re moving in the right direction. State Road 40 has been called ‘The Great Divide.’ I think there’s some things you can do with traffic.” So much has changed about the community and the economy since Vision 2035 was written, and Lee believes it is time for an update of the plan with an eye toward making the business make-up of downtown more diverse. Specifically, more multi-family residential development, more hotels and more office space, all of which would bring more retail, as well as another parking lot north of Silver Springs Boulevard.

Lee, who worked his way up the city ladder by way of the Planning Department, said whoever succeeds Wilson – and he plans on applying – must also prepare Ocala for future growth. That means making sure the city’s services – from water and sewer to police and fire to recreation and even jobs – are adequate to handle the influx. If history is any guide, the city will meet that challenge, in no small part because the city staff has been following the plan and getting

BY BRAD ROGERS

it right for nearly a quarter century.

“We’ve been good at that,” Lee said. “The department heads here are really smart people and they’re good at what they do.”

Then he added, “The city, in general, has been important to me. To be able to take plans and implement them is exciting.”

So, there’s a small town in Florida you’ve never heard of? Well, you ought to get to know it. Because people who have heard of it, like it. A lot.