Commercial real estate in Gainesville, FL is a university and hospital market. The University of Florida reported 63,148 students and 33,516 employees in fall 2025. UF Health Shands reported 1,145 licensed beds and 12,938 employees in fiscal year 2025.
I'm Makayla Richardson, and I handle leasing, sales and site selection for owners and tenants here. Every number on this page names its publisher. None of them is my estimate.
Downtown Gainesville, looking southwest from SE 1st Avenue, November 2021.
The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) estimated 151,275 residents in the City of Gainesville on April 1, 2025. By the same EDR estimate, Alachua County had 298,485 residents on that date.
Jobs are counted at the metro level. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 162.6 thousand nonfarm jobs in the Gainesville metro in August 2026, down from 168.6 in March 2026. BLS put the metro unemployment rate at 5.4 percent in August 2026.
Space follows those employers. Medical office sits near the hospitals, and lab and office users look near campus research. Small industrial and flex bays house the contractors and suppliers who work for both.
I start with the University of Florida. UF reported total enrollment of 63,148 as of fall 2025, including 41,109 undergraduates, 14,894 graduate students and 4,184 professional students. It reported 33,516 employees, including 6,195 faculty.
UF Health Shands is the second anchor. For fiscal year 2025 it reported 1,145 licensed beds, 58,643 admissions, 142,572 ER and trauma center visits and 12,938 employees. UF Health says the patient care programs of UF Health Shands and the UF College of Medicine in Gainesville have an annual combined economic impact of approximately $4.8 billion.
Campus research turns into tenants, too. UF Innovate reports 344+ startups launched by tech licensing and 7,900+ jobs created with startups. Those companies need lab, office and light industrial space as they grow.
I don't publish a citywide vacancy or rent number here. One average rarely tells you what a specific building will lease for. What matters is the space in front of you and the deals done nearby.
For a building or an area, I look at what is listed today, what similar space has leased for lately and how long it sat. If you are a landlord, ask what tenants in your size range are touring right now. If you are a tenant, ask what the space has cost the last tenant, all in.
Ask me for current asking rents, vacancy or recent leases for a specific property or part of town, and I'll pull what I can find for that address. The quarterly Gainesville market report collects the public figures I track.
One cost changed for every tenant. The Florida Department of Revenue says the state sales tax on commercial rent was repealed effective October 1, 2025.
The Hub at UF Innovate is a 96,947 square foot building at 747 SW 2nd Ave, according to UF Innovate. It holds 11 wet labs, 28 dry labs and 68 executive offices or suites, 7 blocks from main UF campus. See downtown Gainesville and the Innovation District.
UF Health reports that UF Health Shands Hospital is at 1600 SW Archer Road. It reported 1,145 licensed beds in fiscal year 2025. See commercial space along Archer Road.
Sid Martin Biotech sits at 12085 Research Dr in Alachua, according to UF Innovate. It reports 32,546 square feet, 25 wet labs and 13 active biotech companies. See Alachua and Progress Park.
For a landlord, my job is pricing the space, marketing it to tenants who fit and negotiating the lease. For a tenant, it runs the other way. I find the space, compare the real cost and negotiate terms before anything is signed.
A sale is a different job. I price the building, find the buyers and manage the deal to closing. Under section 201.02 of the 2026 Florida Statutes, documentary stamp tax on deeds is 70 cents on each $100 of consideration. That cost goes in the math on our first call.
Site selection is for users who need to know which part of the Gainesville market fits the business before they tour anything.
I'm Makayla Richardson, a Commercial Real Estate Advisor with Bosshardt Realty Services, Florida license SL3598503. I work with building owners, tenants and investors in Gainesville and Alachua County on leasing, sales, development sites and site selection. My background and how to verify the license are on the page about Makayla Richardson.
Every figure I quote links to the public source it came from.
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The University of Florida reported total enrollment of 63,148 as of fall 2025. UF also reported 33,516 employees, including 6,195 faculty, as of fall 2025. I take both figures from the UF Facts page published by UF News.
The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research estimated 151,275 residents in the City of Gainesville on April 1, 2025. The same EDR estimate put Alachua County at 298,485 residents on that date.
The Florida Department of Revenue says the state sales tax on commercial rent under section 212.031 is repealed effective October 1, 2025. No state sales tax or discretionary sales surtax applies to rent for rental periods beginning on or after that date. Periods through September 2025 remain taxable.
UF Health Shands reported 1,145 licensed beds and 12,938 employees for fiscal year 2025. The hospital also reported 58,643 admissions and 142,572 ER and trauma center visits that year. UF Health Shands Hospital is at 1600 SW Archer Road.