Around Town

New openings and local announcements around Ocala and Gainesville. Positive news only, refreshed weekly.

Week of November 9, 2026 — Ocala

Coldest air of the season arrives this weekend

A strong cold front drops lows into the low 40s on Saturday and Sunday mornings, with Saturday's high only around 63 and wind chills in the upper 30s early Saturday. Sunday warms back up to around 71. Bundle up for the outdoor events and markets this weekend.

AdventHealth is coming to Silver Springs Shores

The mystery building next to Aldi on SE Maricamp Road has its sign up: an AdventHealth Primary Care+ and an AdventHealth Centra Care Urgent Care is under construction in Silver Springs Shores. No opening date has been announced yet. A new AdventHealth medical office building is also under construction on East Silver Springs Boulevard.

Bravo Supermarket is coming to Silver Springs Shores

A new Bravo Supermarket is taking over the former Big Lots at Crystal Square, 6841 SE Maricamp Road. It will be Bravo's third Ocala location, with hot food, a cafeteria, deli, seafood, butcher and bakery. No official opening date has been announced yet; the center's leasing listing points to Q4 2026.

Chick-fil-A is coming to East Silver Springs Boulevard

A new Chick-fil-A is under construction at 4639 E Silver Springs Blvd, at SR 40 and NE 46th Ave across from Lowe's, and the Coming Soon banners are up. No opening date has been announced yet.

Resilient Ocala expands into a peer-support clubhouse

Resilient Ocala, home of the Ocala Clothing Swap free clothing boutique at 2324 NE 8th Rd, is growing into a peer-support clubhouse and community resource center. Members help run the nonprofit while practicing money management, cooking and other independent living skills.

Ocala Fire Rescue opens Station #8 in northwest Ocala

Ocala Fire Rescue opened its newest station, Station #8, with a ribbon cutting and apparatus push-in ceremony on Monday, Nov. 9 at 2251 NW 45th Terrace. The station adds three apparatus bays, an engine, a rescue unit and 15+ personnel serving Ocala's growing northwest corridor.

VOCAL plans major veterinary clinic expansion in southwest Ocala

VOCAL, Voices of Change Animal League, has filed plans to add nearly 8,700 square feet at its campus at 6393 SW 52nd St: a 6,187-square-foot Veterinary Clinic and additional dog housing. A $2 million capital campaign is underway for construction and the facility master plan, and the expansion is expected to increase animal-housing capacity by 60%.

Light Up Ocala returns to downtown Nov. 21

Light Up Ocala returns to downtown Ocala on Saturday, Nov. 21, with free family activities, live music and a parade featuring Santa, followed by the lighting ceremony at 6 PM. Festivities run 3–8 PM.

Downtown Ocala Trail would connect downtown to Silver Springs

The City of Ocala is designing the Downtown Ocala Trail, a roughly 6.2-mile route from the Osceola Avenue multimodal trail downtown to Silver Springs State Park, with an 8- to 12-foot paved path for walkers and cyclists where feasible. The city took public feedback on the design at a public meeting on October 28; construction funding has not yet been set.

First BJ's Wholesale Club in Ocala now open

BJ's Wholesale Club's first Ocala store opened on October 23 at 7351 SW 60th Ave, at the corner of State Road 200, and is now open. BJ's Gas opened next door on October 8.

Gainesville

HCA Florida North Florida Hospital announces $1.5M heart lab upgrades

HCA Florida North Florida Hospital in Gainesville announced $1.5 million in state-of-the-art upgrades to its electrophysiology lab, enhancing the technology used to diagnose and treat patients with heart rhythm disorders.

Crunch Fitness announces $5M Gainesville North gym for late 2026

Crunch Fitness announced October 5 that Crunch Gainesville North, a $5 million, 35,000-square-foot facility with the new Crunch 3.0 design, will open late 2026 at 2323 NW 13th St in Gainesville Plaza.

Winn-Dixie opens new Alachua store

Winn-Dixie opened its new Alachua store at 15560 NW US Highway 441 (the former Hitchcock's Markets), open 7 days a week, 7am to 10pm.

Self-serve vehicle registration kiosks coming to two Publix stores

The Alachua County Tax Collector will start offering self-serve vehicle registration renewal kiosks at two local Publix stores.

Updated November 12, 2026.