By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

            The entrepreneur who purchased the old Williston Winn Dixie shopping center said Tuesday he plans to convert property and buildings into a high-end open-air attraction but also said he was surprised on his first tour of the site at the amount of junk inside.

            “It was very interesting going through the buildings before we purchased it to see that half the city was inside the building,” said Matt Crandell, president, CEO, and co-founder of Homestead Tiny House. “We’ve been taking that out. There were cars, golf carts, carpet, windows, and refrigerators. It was unbelievable, especially what was Sunshine Drugs. The building was actually filled to the gills. I mean I’ve never seen anything like it.”

            Crandell dispelled any rumors that he might be planning to manufacture tiny homes at the site of the old Winn Dixie. He said the property won’t be used for manufacturing tiny homes.

            Despite the current appearance, Crandell said he knows the existing buildings can be made part of the attraction he plans to build on the property.

            “I don’t like things going to waste. I hate the idea of something being torn down that can be useful,” said Crandell in a presentation to the Williston City Council. “So from the very start I’ve tried really hard to make sure we were able to maintain the buildings and that was a substantial undertaking.”

            After purchasing the property, Crandell said one of the first things he did was to hire Alachua Remediation Services to remove the asbestos from the former Winn Dixie and adjacent buildings. After that was finished, they started removing all the junk.

            Long ago, Crandell said, someone must have been living in what had been Sunshine Drugs.

            “There was actually a sign that said watch out for the man that lives here. In the back, there was an office room and there was a bed set up with a little old refrigerator,” he said.

            Crandell said he knows there has been a lot of talk about the old Winn Dixie since he bought it and he wanted to give a presentation to the city council to bring them up to speed on what he is doing with the property and how it will look in the future.

            He said his company brought a structural engineer to the site before they ever started removing junk to make sure they could keep the buildings.

            “There are things that will have to be done but it looks pretty good that we’ll be able to keep all six of the buildings,” he said.

            “When you say buildings, you mean the walls, the frames?” said Council President Debra Jones.

            “Yes, structurally they’re the frames,” Crandell said.

            He said the buildings are open-air at this point. It appears someone either knocked out all the windows or removed them.

            Jones said the shopping center was never completely “built out.” She said there were only walls and a roof in some areas of the shopping center.

———————-

City of Williston Regular Meeting June 8, 2021; Posted June 10, 2021