Acquisition, Ownership, Operation, Maintenance and Transfer of Cross Creek Water and Wastewater Systems

Gainesville Regional Utilities - Water/Wastewater has issued invitation to negotiate, solicitation Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) 2026-081.

Gainesville Regional Utilities (“GRU”), a municipal utility owned by the City of Gainesville, Florida, and governed by the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority ("GRUA"), is soliciting proposals from qualified utility operators, utility authorities, investor-owned utilities, special districts, and other entities legally authorized to own and operate water and wastewater utility systems within the State of Florida. The purpose of this Invitation to Negotiate (“ITN”) is to identify and negotiate with one or more qualified Respondents for the acquisition, ownership, operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, regulatory compliance, and customer service responsibilities associated with the Cross Creek Mobile Home Park water and wastewater utility systems (“Cross Creek Systems”). Through this competitive negotiation process, GRU seeks to identify the proposal that provides the greatest overall value and best long-term solution for the Cross Creek Systems, while ensuring reliable utility service, regulatory compliance, operational sustainability, and protection of customer interests. GRU reserves the right to negotiate all aspects of the proposed transaction, including alternative transaction structures, terms, and conditions. Accordingly, GRU is not obligated to select the proposal offering the highest purchase price or financial consideration but may instead award to the Respondent whose proposal is determined to be in the best interest of GRU and the customers served by the Cross Creek Systems.

Responses are due November 3, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST.

Questions must be submitted by October 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM EDT.

A non-mandatory pre-proposal conference is scheduled for September 21, 2026 at 9:30 AM EDT at Cross Creek Mobile Home Park on SE 174th Place and State Road 325 in Hawthorne, FL. Coordinates 29.49324° N, 82.17121° W.

Commodity categories: Water Servicing Unit; Water and wastewater treatment supply and disposal; Inland water fishery resources; Watershed management; Forestry watershed management; Water resource development service; Water quality assessment services; Water resources planning services.

Contact: Derek Perry, Utilities Attorney (perrydd@gru.com, (352) 393-1015).

8 documents are attached to the notice: Attachment A - Water and Wastewater Facilities, Real Property, and Service Area; Attachment B - Water Treatment Facilities; Attachment C - Wastewater Facilities; Attachment D - Permits; Attachment E - Environmental Law Compliance; Attachment F - Customer Data (Redacted) – CCMHP Metered Water Consumption July 2023 to June 2026; Attachment G - Real Property Encroachments; Attachment H - GRU Terms & Conditions.

The full solicitation document, addenda and the question-and-answer thread are on the agency's OpenGov portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/gru/projects/271559. Responses are submitted electronically there, and a free vendor account is required before you can upload one.