Dear Supporters of UVS and Maguire Village,

We wanted to alert you to a rare opportunity to weigh in on the UF Graduate Housing situation.  Tomorrow, 12/13/22, starting at 11:30am, the Alachua County Commission will be hearing Item 8 on their regular agenda, a proposal by a private apartment management firm to bond over $185 million to acquire and renovate Varsity House apartments and The Continuum, and we are asking that you ask the Commission to postpone approval of that plan at this time.

The main reason we do not recommend approval is that, in its current form, there are no guarantees for future residents at all for renter's rights, representation, or affordability (as is the ostensive goal).  These promises might come later, but that is not good enough.  Scheduling this vote during finals week also is unfair to all those students who wish to weigh in.

Secondly, we want to reemphasize to UF that the best solution to helping the graduate housing situation is to not tear down Maguire Village and UVS.  The proposed resolution for Item 8 does nothing to add to the Alachua housing market, and indeed, if UF ends up using this proposal as cover to remove the (much nicer and more affordable) on-campus options, voting for this would have a net negative impact on housing inventory in the county. 

What needs to happen first is for UF to ask for bonds (as they did for undergrad housing) to fund all necessary maintenance of Maguire Village and UVS.  That would be the much better option, as it would be just a fraction of the cost, while simultaneously preserving the community, history, spacious rooms, and nature that students actually want.  UF's own numbers say it should cost at most $35 million to fully renovate the 44 buildings that make up Maguire/UVS, but we believe the actual number to be much lower since most of the buildings are in good shape, and we are not asking for fancy, just livable, housing.

As was reported by the Alligator recently, our coalition is continuing to build, and if you'd like to join please email us at SaveUFGradHousing@gmail.com.

And in case you missed it earlier, please read the Gainesville Sun Op-Ed signed by several graduate student representative organizations published earlier this semester.  It explains how the plan to close Maguire/UVS goes against every one of UF's Core Values.

Thanks for your support, and please remember to contact the County Commission via email at bocc@alachuacounty.us (ask to table Item 8 until UF promises to keep Maguire/UVS) or by speaking during public comment at tomorrow's meeting.

Have a wonderful winter break!