A big development is coming to Gainesville.
All American Truckers Paradise is working toward making the outlet mall, Thirty-Five and Liberty, into a one-stop shop for 18-wheeler and other large transport drivers.
“It’ll have more than just get fuel, truck wash and convenience stores,” said Steve Nasche, a realtor who is working with the project. “They’ll have restaurants, health services, laundry services … whatever they want there.”
One issue that truck drivers face on the road is being limited in where they can go when they’re off work and the truck is parked. Truckers Paradise is a way to bring basic amenities to them so they can have everything they need in one place.
“A lot of times you can drive through a city, but you can’t access the services in town, where you go to get your hair cut, the bank, things like that,” said Dean Ash, one of the leaders of the project. “Where are you going to park an 18-wheeler? What we’re trying to do is really bring the city to the trucker.”
The plan is to offer a location with basic amenities someone would need. While this will include places to eat, do laundry and other regular necessities, it will also include more specialty services like a bank, medical center, barbershop and more.
“You don’t want to do it when you get back home because you want to be with your family when you’re home; why not do it when you’ve got to be off the road anyway?” said Ash. “Truckers have to stop after 11 hours of being on the road, 14 hours of being on duty … Why not get your hair cut, do your laundry go to a medical center to get your Department of Transportation physical, all the stuff that you have been meaning to do but have been putting off?”
There’s also plans in the works to have multiple locations across the country with shared systems so things like medical records can be accessed by physicians no matter where the person is.
Having a location like this also gives more space for truck drivers to park where they can get the trucks refueled and washed.
“Oftentimes, if they’re on the road and they get to 11 o’ clock at night and their hours are up for that day, they’re not allowed to go any further,” said Ash. “If the truck stops are full and the rest areas are full, then oftentimes they have to park illegally, and they can be fined sometimes $500 or more.”
In addition to finding places to park in the first place, often times the places truck drivers find are not secure or well-maintained.
“If you walk back to where the diesel pumps are, it’s usually not kept up very well; that’s usually where they keep the dumpsters and there’s a lot of trash on the ground and it’s just an afterthought,” said Ash. “Even breaking into the trailer, stealing even pallets of stuff in the middle of the night while the trucker is sleeping in their cab. We’re going to have security that is second-to-none.”
While making it a place that truckers want to stop and rest, there is also a focus on making it somewhere that Gainesville can be proud of and its residents will want to visit.
“Sometimes truck stops bring a negative thought to people’s minds,” said Ash. “We’re going to have it nice and clean, it’s going to be well-lit and respectable.”
The idea came to Ash when he got to know more about the troubles truckers face through a friend who needed a hand.
“I have a friend that’s been hauling cars coast-to-coast for 25 years, and one of his front axles caught fire and the truck burned to the ground,” he said. “He and his wife travel together, and that’s their home that they live in; they don’t have any other property to their name … He came to live in part of my house for a few months, and I really got to know him.”
Right now, the locations in Gainesville and Houston are on the verge of opening, but the goal is to have locations all across the country. A soft opening will be held in the next few months with job positions currently being filled.
A job fair will be held at the outlet mall from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday looking to fill 75 to 100 positions. These positions include administration, food service, specialty skills and more. Applications will be accepted in the outlet mall food court.
The outlet mall is located at 4321 N. Interstate 35 on the north side of Gainesville. For more information, visit truckersparadise.com.
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