NW Florida's Business Climate 17th Annual Downtown Issue

Business Climate NW Florida’s

17th Annual Downtown Issue

ON DECK:

Up Next at Port of Pensacola

A Reimagined Waterfront

The Urban Core Redevelopment Area

WHAT’S NEW IN DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

BUILDING THE BRAND Women-Owned Agencies Shaping the Future of Business

www.nwflbusinessclimate.com

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A boutique firm serving the transactional and dispute resolution needs of businesses and individuals as trusted advisors with a commitment to excellence.

Our team of highly experienced attorneys is united by a vision to build our community and enhance Northwest Florida’s quality of life.

PENSACOLA OFFICE 127 Palafox Place, Suite 200 Pensacola, FL 32502 850.202.8522

Bill McEachern Attorney

Matthew Couch Attorney

BUSINESS LITIGATION

www.moorheadlaw.com

Jay Fraiser Partner

Steve Moorhead Managing Partner

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS

SANTA ROSA BEACH OFFICE 6757 US Highway 98, Suite 102 Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 850.608.0112

Robert Powell Partner

REAL ESTATE

Amelia Beard Attorney

Steve Walker Attorney

TRUSTS AND ESTATES

Go Blue

Even in the Dark

Be Storm Ready With Natural Gas

Typically, natural gas customers do not lose service at all during severe weather and no special storm prep is required. Natural gas lines are buried deeper than most utilities so outages are rare and typically caused by uprooted trees puncturing the line. Since there are so few outages, Pensacola Energy is very quick to respond.

Most natural gas appliances work even when the power is out, providing comfort for your family during and after the storm, when you need it most.

Natural gas ranges and ovens – cooking functions work normally, without power.

Natural gas grills – function normally, without power and without the worry of running out of gas.

Natural gas tank water heaters – function normally, without power.

Natural gas firepits and fireplaces – function normally, without power.

Natural gas outdoor lighting – functions normally, without power.

Natural gas whole house generators – restores electricity to the structure within 30 seconds after a power failure.

Learn more at PensacolaEnergy.com or call (850) 436-5050.

Note – Some appliances require that you manually light the pilot, and this should be done according to the appliance manufacturer’s instructions.

A Place for You

PENSACOLA DOWNTOWN

850-439-3330

850-432-0202

700 E. Chase Street

601 E. Chase Street

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PENSACOLA AIRPORT / CORDOVA MALL

850-478-1123

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2187 Airport Boulevard

5049 Corporate Woods Drive

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1144 Airport Boulevard

6000 Cobble Creek Road

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Business Vacation Extended Stay HIGHPOINTE.COM

BAPTIST HEALTH CARE

A History of Transforming for the Future

On October 17, 1951, Baptist Hospital provided care to its very first patient.

Since that time, Baptist Health Care has continuously transformed health care in our community, improving the quality of life for neighbors, friends and families.

We have evolved in ways our founders could have only imagined. As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, we are halfway through the construction of our new campus at Brent Lane and I-110. This next phase of our journey will again transform health care in our area so that we are equipped to better serve our community for the next 70 years and beyond.

Learn more about our history and our future at eBaptistHealthCare.org.

e BAPTIST HEA LT H C A R E.ORG

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MAIN STREET PROPERTIES

F INA L IST

Contents 14 Pensacola’s Community Redevelopment Agency The Pensacola CRA works to make the City’s Urban Core areas thrive.

16 A Reimagined Waterfront The CRA has continued its work toward the vision for the City’s Urban Core Redevelopment Area with four catalytic projects to improve waterfront accessibility and remove neighborhood blight.

23 On Deck: Up Next at Port of Pensacola Despite headwinds from the pandemic and recent hurricanes, the Port of Pensacola is going strong and was recently ranked the ninth most valuable deep-water port by the Florida Ports Council.

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28 Building the Brand: Women-Owned Agencies Shaping the Future of Business We spoke with six women-owned marketing agencies to learn about their origin stories, how they carved out a niche in the industry and how marketing impacts both local business and the Pensacola community at large.

38 What’s New in Downtown Development Multiple commercial and residential developments have broken ground or are slated to break ground in the coming year. Here’s an update on what’s new to the downtown Pensacola area.

28 46 Pensacola Placemaking After two years of visioning, master planning, design and construction, local real estate developer, Chad Henderson’s vision for downtown Pensacola’s new East Garden District is taking shape.

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50 Escambia County Community Data An at-a-glance look at the area’s growth, educational attainment, economic prospects and civic life.

54 Local Entrepreneurial Programs The Spring and gBETA are helping small businesses spring to life in downtown Pensacola and beyond.

58 Around the Region

54 10 | NWFL’s Business Climate

ON THE COVER: Veronique Zayas, HatchMark Studio; CC Milford, 3Sixty Marketing; Cheryl Murphy and Christine York, Vivid Bridge Studios; Briana Snellgrove, Social ICON; Dr. Mona Amodeo, idgroup; Caron Sjöberg, Ideawörks.

Photographed by Guy Stevens at Hellcat Hangar.

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Editor’s Note This time last year we were at the height of a global pandemic and it seemed like the world came to a sudden halt. Companies across the country were closed and many of us had to learn to adjust to a whole new way of conducting business.

Now almost a year later, things have drastically changed. The downtown streets are full of life and business is booming.

Despite many unprecedented challenges in 2020, downtown Pensacola has experienced significant growth and change.

Pensacola’s main attraction has long been its sugary white beaches and pristine Gulf waters, but now the downtown area is making a name for itself as a destination as well.

For this annual downtown issue of NW Florida Business Climate, we wanted to bring you up to speed on all of the new developments helping to drive the evolution of our growing city. From infrastructure improvements and streetscapes to multi-level waterfront housing complexes and new community parks, downtown’s urban core is thriving and there’s no sign of things slowing down.

The Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency has also been hard at work launching new programs and providing oversight for new developments throughout the City. In addition to new commercial and residential developments, local entrepreneurial hubs like The Spring and gBETA are helping to breathe new life into businesses and our growing downtown community.

Many of the new projects that have already broken ground or are scheduled to break ground within the coming year will help to compliment the influx of new downtown residents, making it an even better place for all of us to live, work and play.

OWNER Malcolm Ballinger PUBLISHER Malcolm Ballinger malcolm@ballingerpublishing.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Kelly Oden kelly@ballingerpublishing.com ART DIRECTOR Guy Stevens guy@ballingerpublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER | AD COORDINATOR Garrett Hallbauer garrett@ballingerpublishing.com EDITOR Morgan Cole morgan@ballingerpublishing.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Dakota Parks dakota@ballingerpublishing.com EDITORIAL INTERN Darien Hardy CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rebecca Ferguson Fiama Mastrangelo Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency SALES + MARKETING Paula Rode, Account Executive paula@ballingerpublishing.com Becky Hildebrand, Account Executive becky@ballingerpublishing.com

Morgan Cole, Editor

21 E GARDEN ST., STE. 205 PENSACOLA, FL 32502 NW Florida’s Business Climate Magazine and Pensacola Magazine is locally owned and operated. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction or use of the contents herein is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Comments and opinions expressed in this magazine represent the personal views of the individuals to whom they are attributed and/or the person identified as the author of the article, and they are not necessarily those of the publisher. This magazine accepts no responsibility for these opinions. The publisher reserves the right to edit all manuscripts. All advertising information is the responsibility of the individual advertiser. Appearance in this magazine does not necessarily reflect endorsement of any products or services by Ballinger Publishing. © 2021

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PENSACOLA COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY

Map indicating the Pensacola CRA’s three distinct districts targeted for redevelopment.

Working to Make Pensacola’s Core Urban Areas Thrive

While 2020 was a year of uncertainty in business, and the larger world as a whole, the Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) continued to build upon decades of progress in supporting the city’s at-risk core urban neighborhoods.

The Pensacola CRA was established by Pensacola City Council in 1984 to battle inner-city blight, enhance public safety, facilitate construction of affordable housing and encourage positive redevelopment.

Under Florida law, local governments may establish CRAs to address redevelopment goals in blighted areas.

In Pensacola, members of City Council also serve as the Community Redevelopment Agency, with the authority to set development standards, negotiate with property owners and undertake beautification projects, among other duties.

Since its creation, the Pensacola CRA has provided a means for the investment of public funds in tandem with private enterprise to carry out its mission.

Originally encompassing one Inner City Community Redevelopment Area–– Pensacola’s CRA now includes three defined areas of redevelopment including the Urban Core district and the Eastside and Westside redevelopment districts.

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HOW DOES THE CRA WORK? All of the work of the CRA is guided by a comprehensive master plan— which is the culmination of years of community feedback, public workshops, surveys, meetings, studies of traffic, engineering, habitat, density studies and more. Within the CRA’s Master Plan are individual plans for each Community Redevelopment Area.

These plans provide guidelines and strategies for removing physical and economic blight in neighborhoods throughout our community and provide a vision with specified goals and timetables for generating growth and new opportunities, according to Helen Gibson, who serves as CRA administrator.

The Community Redevelopment Agency’s staff of three works in collaboration with residents, property owners, businesses, developers and other community organizations to foster redevelopment within the CRA districts, executing the final, approved plans to re-energize and redefine Pensacola’s historically underserved areas and help them reach their full potential.

More than thirty-odd years ago, one of the most pressing of these areas was downtown Pensacola—though it would be virtually impossible to fully grasp that fact when walking around

the downtown district today. Evidence of the CRA’s efforts is all around.

“There’s been a remarkable transformation when you think of Palafox Street in the early 1980s compared to the beautiful, thriving, walkable downtown that we see now,” CRA Administrator, Helen Gibson said.

Gibson is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Cornell University.

The CRA Master Plan was a driving force behind the rehabilitation, which in turn was key to attracting private investment dollars. The plan envisioned pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, sidewalks, lighting, trees and plants, safety features, pavers, public benches, plazas, fountains and more. And now these same types of improvements are also moving forward on A Street, Reus Street and DeVilliers Street, where it is believed new private interest and investment will follow.

WHERE DOES THE FUNDING COME FROM? CRAs are not taxing districts, like some fire or library districts. Instead, CRAs are funded based on the growth in property values within the designated district—a funding system called “tax increment financing” or “TIF.”

In the TIF system, a baseline for property values within the district is calculated when the district is first established.

For Pensacola, the Urban Core district was founded in 1984, with the Eastside and Westside districts following in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

As the value of the property within the districts increases, an amount equal to the revenues in excess of the baseline are set aside in the CRA trust fund.

Municipal funds are subject to the CRA, but school district revenues are not.

The funds are used in pursuit of the detailed redevelopment plans that were painstakingly formulated for each district.

DOLLARS FOR SIDEWALKS, LIGHTING, SAFETY FEATURES AND HOUSING In the Urban Core, the CRA invested $5.5 million on 28 projects that were either underway or completed in FY2020. Chief among those are streetscape enhancements along DeVilliers and Reus Streets. There, a comprehensive project is bringing improvements to sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting, landscaping,disability access, curb-cuts and more. These corridors serve as critical neighborhood connections between the historic Belmont-DeVilliers, Tanyard and North Hill neighborhoods and the Pensacola Bay waterfront.

NEW BUILDING PERMITS SHOWED $11.5 MILLION IN CONSTRUCTION IN THE URBAN CORE IN 2020 For the Westside district, 2020 continued the trend of residential growth with 68 new residential units. In 2020, the value of building permits in the Westside district was $13.8 million.

In the Eastside district, building permits showed new construction valued at $2.29 million in 2020 and 18 new residences were built in the Eastside district.

PROTECTING THE CHARACTER OF LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS While growth and new construction are valuable to the community, so is maintaining a neighborhood’s traditional character and walkability, as Gibson emphasizes. To that end, the CRA has implemented the Urban Design Overlay District, which sets out certain standards that new development must meet.

“As new homes and commercial buildings are constructed, it’s important to be sure that what comes next will serve to enhance what was traditionally there,” Gibson said. “It’s vital for the neighborhoods

to retain the character that some of the residents remember as Pensacola.”

The Urban Design Overlay District standards are intended to promote the compatibility of new construction with the traditional urban form and walkable character of the Inner City, where a special design review district does not exist. The standards address elements like building use, height, setback, appearance from the street, etc.

OTHER CRA PROGRAMS Reducing crime is one of the stated purposes for CRAs. In Pensacola, the CRA funds two full-time police officers dedicated to patrolling the neighborhoods of the Urban Core district as part of a “community policing” effort.

This is intended to improve trust between the community and law enforcement, provide a more efficient approach for targeting criminal activity and result in a better understanding of the community’s needs and expectations. In 2020 alone, 1,201 calls for police service in the Urban Core district were handled by these two community patrol units.

Housing affordability is also a priority goal of the CRA. The CRA invests in individual residences through the Residential Property Improvement Program. Individuals that meet income requirements are eligible to receive up to $70,000 to help with painting or re-siding, porch repair or replacement, exterior lighting and more. The program aims to assist long-time residents with costly updates and home improvement projects on homes located in the city’s older and historic neighborhoods so they can remain in their homes.

Bird’s eye view of the Bruce Beach site.

Courtesy of the Pensacola CRA.

The CRA is also heavily involved in planning and programming public spaces for residents to enjoy.

In 2020, plans were underway for new and improved downtown waterfront access at Bruce Beach on Pensacola Bay, as well as a day-use marina at the Community Maritime Park. Design also started on the Garden Street Landscape Beautification project, which will bring an expertly curated variety of trees, shrubs and groundcover along the major corridor.

Another community project that is currently in its planning phase, is the Hollice T. Williams Urban Greenway and Stormwater Park. The project will create new amenities for our community for all groups of people to enjoy.

2020 was a challenging year, for sure, the Pensacola CRA didn’t miss a beat.

“Yes, the past year has presented many trials,” Gibson said, “But it has also been a time of progress and growth in each of the CRA’s redevelopment districts. We’ll keep carrying out our work because we know that the investment we make in the community today, will help us welcome a brighter future for Pensacola.”

For more information on the Pensacola CRA and other projects, visit cityofpensacola.com. ■

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A REIMAGINED WATERFRONT The Urban Core Redevelopment Area

PLAZA DE LUNA

INFILL DEVELOPMENT CEDAR SHARED STREET

PROTECTED BIKE LANE ACTIVE STREET FRONT

CUSTOM SEATING DISTINCT PAVING

by Morgan Cole

Despite many unprecedented challenges that impacted not only our local economy but our community as a whole in 2020, the Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has continued its work toward the vision for the City’s redevelopment areas, especially within the Urban Core district.

The Urban Core comprises a 256-block, 1,308-acre area that encompasses the City south of Cervantes Street, bounded to the west by A Street and to the east by 17th Avenue. It accounts for about 8.7 percent of the City’s total land area. Since its establishment in 1984, the district has experienced exponential growth.

The 2010 Community Redevelopment Plan serves as the guide for all projects undertaken by the CRA. In 2020 alone, the Urban Core district saw significant progress and growth, with a total of 28 projects that were either started, underway or have been completed, ranging from small-scale residential property improvements to larger-scale public-private partnership ventures. A total of $5.5 million was invested by the CRA to support projects within the Urban Core with a permitted value of $11.5 million.

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“Over the years, the CRA has worked to update the 2010 Community Redevelopment Plan for the Urban Core district to ensure the plan meets the changing needs of the growing downtown area,” Gibson said.

Some of the significant and most current projects identified in the 2010 Urban Core Pan include community policing, affordable housing, infill development, targeted residential rehabilitation assistance, commercial facade improvements and park and waterfront access initiatives.

Although the Urban Core has experienced many positive changes over the years, the CRA continues to work on more projects to help remove neighborhood blight and prevent its return through a series of initiatives which foster a diverse, inclusive and economically sustainable downtown district.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW DOWN PALAFOX STREET

The CRA’s Urban Core Plan identifies a multitude of strategic improvement projects aimed at preserving and enhancing the district’s neighborhoods, fostering a productive urban environment and maximizing public access to the waterfront. Major initiatives include waterfront accessibility projects, complete streets redevelopment, implementation of recently adopted urban design standards and affordable housing.

More recently, a bond refinancing plan was set-forth and approved by the CRA and City Council in order to gain additional revenue to support some of the larger projects outlined in the CRA’s 2010 Community Redevelopment Plan, specifically within the City’s Urban Core.

“What we did was refinance some of the outstanding bonds that we had for the downtown area,” CRA Administrator, Helen Gibson explained. “Because at this point, we had them for a while and we wanted to get a better interest rate.

Once approved, we were able to not only get a better interest rate on what we already had, but it also allowed us to gain additional money because the new rates were so low.”

The CRA used the additional revenue gained from the approved Series 2019 bond issue, to do several projects that were identified in the original 2010 plan that hadn’t yet been done, according to Gibson.

“Having a downtown that’s focused on being walkable with the proper amenities here, I think has the ability to be an economic engine, not just for Escambia County, but really for all of Northwest Florida,” Pensacola Mayor, Grover Robinson said.

The additional revenue gained from the Series 2019 bond issue, provided a total of $17.8 million to fund four catalytic projects within the City’s Urban Core district, which include the “Hashtag” Waterfront Connector, Bruce Beach Improvements, the Community Maritime Park Day Marina project and the East Garden District-Jefferson Street Road Diet.

In 2019, the City quickly signed onto the project and hired landscape architecture and urban design firm SCAPE, as well as the engineering firms HDR and Dewberry, to help make the concept a reality.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

WATERFRONT FRAMEWORK PLAN, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA PROJECT REPORT JUNE 2019

HASHTAG CONNECTOR

“Hashtag” Waterfront Connector

The Hashtag Connector is a proposal for the Downtown and Bayfront areas to better connect the areas along the city’s waterfront, support multi-modal transportation, offer opportunities for development, and promote public spaces.

The proposal outlines strategic modifications to the mobility networks in the Hashtag area, including traffic changes, a complete and connected bike network, and strategic curb modifications to better accommodate pedestrian circulation, bioswales, and planting.

In addition, the proposal outlines a signature palette of paving materials, street furniture, and plant communities that will create a distinct landscape for the Bayfront area. The proposed Hashtag Connector Plan prioritizes users in Street Design. Pedestrians are given priority with the design of friendly sidewalk spaces, resting spots, shade, and active storefronts.

Continuous Waterfront Trail System Key project priorities are:

• Create a walkable, bikeable, and safe environment • Connect people to the waterfront

• Acknowledge and celebrate historic significance • Encourage infill development and retail along Main Street The “Hashtag” Waterfront Connector is an important multiphased project that carries out a key component of the Continuous Waterfront Trail envisioned in the Urban Core Community Redevelopment Plan. This project was named for the “hashtag” shape drawn by the concerning streets, Main and Cedar Streets connecting east to west and intersecting with Palafox and Jefferson Streets connecting north and south.

project kicked-off in early 2021. In April, members of the public were invited to attend an in-person open house held by the City to learn about project updates and provide feedback that will inform Early 1900s, Palafox Trolley design and engineering decisions for this and future phases.

Conceptual plans for this project were recently developed through a comprehensive iterative community planning process, leveraging private partnership.

Through this process, the recent Waterfront Framework Plan, prepared by New Yorkbased landscape architecture firm SCAPE, was created.

“The goal here was to really reconnect Pensacola with Pensacola Bay. Pensacola is known as a region that has incredible beachfront communities and tourismdriven areas, but Pensacola Bay is also a major resource for Main Street and downtown Pensacola and there could be an even stronger embrace of the City and its watery edge with a project like this,” SCAPE Design Principal, Gena Wirth said.

The plan outlines strategic modifications of the mobility networks in the “Hashtag” area, including traffic changes, more options for cyclists and curb modifications to create better connectors in the Urban Core and provide a more accessible route to the waterfront.

These improvements will also prioritize walkability and bike-ability with the design of modern sidewalk spaces, resting spots, protected bike lanes, lush tree canopies and landscape features. The project will create better connections to the City’s waterfront, support multi-modal transportation and create and promote active public spaces.

The initial design process for the

Map of proposed hashtag districts courtesy of City of Pensacola.

Proposed Hashtag Districts

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The project is being planned by the engineering firms HDR and Dewberry, with consistency review from SCAPE and with continued public input.

WATERFRONT FRAMEWORK PLAN, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA PROJECT REPORT JUNE 2019

VIEW OF MAIN STREET AT PALAFOX

NEW DEVELOPMENT NEW DEVELOPMENT

CURBSIDE PARKING ACTIVE STOREFRONT BIOSWALE CUSTOM SEATING

David Tillar, who’s leading the hashtag project for Dewberry, said his team wanted to find a mix of attractiveness, accessibility and the least disruption to the surrounding elements like utility lines, which could become costly.

The first phase of the project focuses on improvements to Main Street between South Alcaniz Street to South Baylen Street, including adding pedestrian connections, bike lanes, landscaping and protected lanes for businesses to receive deliveries without impeding traffic.

PLANTED BUFFER

DISTINCT PAVING TWO-WAY BIKE LANE

View of proposed Hashtag Connector from Palafox and Jefferson Streets.

The next two phases, which haven’t yet been approved and funded, would focus on making improvements to Cedar Street, and then working on Palafox and Jefferson streets.

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The project is expected to begin construction at the beginning of 2022 and be completed by the end of 2023.

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A Bright Future for Bruce Beach Bruce Beach Park Improvement Project Key project priorities include: • Connect people to the water • Restore and enhance local ecology • Mark and commemorate African American history and heritage at the site • Design for educational activities, both indoors and outdoors • Create a cultural and educational destination at the Bay’s edge Another catalyst project scheduled to break ground this year within the City’s Urban Core is the Bruce Beach Park Improvement Project. Bruce Beach is an area that once played an important role in Pensacola’s maritime industry in the early 1900s and has been an integral part of the City’s history over the last century. In the 1950s, after the Pensacola Shipyard closed, Bruce Beach was one of the few recreational areas open to black residents under segregation making the area a beloved gathering place for members of the black community.

In 2019, as a part of CivicCon, the landscape architecture firm SCAPE developed a concept to improve Bruce Beach as one of its “catalytic” projects to activate the city’s waterfront. Plans are currently underway to make significant improvements to the park, as envisioned by the Urban Core Redevelopment Plan and further conceptualized in the 18 | NWFL’s Business Climate

recent Waterfront Framework Plan developed by SCAPE. The project is one of several locations along the Continuous Waterfront Trail that is targeted to facilitate public access to the Pensacola Bay waterfront. The overall vision for this project is for the beach to serve as an eco park with a community center featuring an elevated overlook where people can look out over the water or utilize the creek bridge connecting Bruce Beach and the Community Maritime Park.

“This project and this amenity is as important as any to the area because there are very few places you can go within the downtown setting and have a true beach opportunity. Plus, there’s so much about this site that we need to preserve, especially its historical content and what it means for not only current generations but future generations to come,” Mayor Robinson said.

Along with park amenities like picnic areas, nature trails, early learning, interactive play features and green space, SCAPE also called for ecological efforts like habitat restoration and new stormwater treatment features, as well as historic plaques and other markers denoting the area’s rich history and importance in

A visualization of the latest Bruce Beach design plans by HDR. Courtesy of HDR.

the black community. The project design plans also include a grand entry plaza, cultural exhibits, kayaking facilities and more.

heritage into the project. The City has been working on a plan to improve Bruce Beach since it reopened to the public in 2018.

In June, the City of Pensacola hosted a visual presentation and in-person open house to provide opportunities for the public to learn more about the project and share their feedback on the initial draft concepts for the project. At these meetings, the engineering and design team provided updates on how the design has progressed since the last public meeting held in February 2020, shared additional details on the phasing and construction schedule and presented a shared strategy for incorporating African American history and

The Bruce Beach Revitalization Project was initiated as a catalyst project of the Pensacola Waterfront Framework Plan with the goal of creating a new recreational and educational destination as part of a more connected public realm along the City’s waterfront.

The project is currently being designed by the planning and engineering firms Dewberry and HDR with consistency review from SCAPE and with continued public input.

A Day-Use Marina Is Coming to Community Maritime Park

The development of the Community Maritime Park as a visitor attraction plays a significant role in the revitalization of the City’s Urban Core district. The third major catalytic project scheduled to take place within the City’s Urban Core this year as outlined in the Urban Core Redevelopment Plan is the installation of a new day use marina at the Community Maritime Park in downtown Pensacola.

As outlined in the Urban Core Redevelopment Plan, the Community Maritime Park Day Use Marina project will provide waterfront access points for boasters, kayakers and water taxi services. The project ties into several other strategic components called for by the plan and conceptualized in recent public and private master planning initiatives, according to CRA Administrator Helen Gibson.

Following the damage to the Pensacola Bay Bridge renamed “Chappie” James Jr. Bridge, caused by Hurricane Sally in 2020, the CRA voted to add a temporary water taxi dock to the plan as the first phase of the project to facilitate transportation to Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach. The dock will be constructed in the same location as the planned day-use marina for Community Maritime Park. The pilings needed to build the dock will be incorporated into the marina docks when they are constructed.

In early 2020, The CRA approved the Community Maritime Park Day Marina project for funding from the Urban Core Revenue Bonds, Series 2019. The design phase of the project was underway in 2020 and is anticipated to be completed in 2021 with construction to follow.

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East Garden District Streetscape Jefferson Street Road Diet The fourth catalytic project scheduled to break ground this year within the City’s urban Core district will be the East Garden District Streetscape. This project constitutes an extension of the Jefferson Street Road Diet project called for by the Urban Core Redevelopment Plan to provide connectivity to the waterfront at its southernmost terminus, adjacent to the Plaza de Luna Park.

East Garden District is a masterplanned redevelopment project bordered to the west and east by Palafox and Tarragona Streets, and to the north and east by Chase Street. The name and vision for the project pays homage to a redevelopment plan dating back to 1764, developed by British military officer and civil engineer, Elias Durnford, that featured residential and commercial development lots located from the south of Garden Street down to the waterfront.

The sale of each lot included a companion garden lot located to the north of Garden Street down to the waterfront. The sale of each lot included a companion garden lot located to the north of Garden Street that would be tended and

Rendering of the East Garden District development expected to be complete in 2023.

East Garden District Master Plan

million annual tax impact. It will include more than 1,200 new street trees and shrubs, sidewalk and decorative elements, traffic calming measures and enhanced crosswalks. These efforts are As a component of anticipated to create a this redevelopment more walkable, bikeproject, able and overall safer streetscape area within the improvements Urban Core district Estimated annual tax will be for residents and impact of East Garden constructed visitors to enjoy.

District upon completion. along Jefferson The CRA’s Garden Street from Street Landscape Garden Street Beautification to Chase Street project was designed through a publicto make a series of aesthetic private partnership improvements within the between the CRA and local Garden Street median between development firm, Catalyst HRE. Alcaniz Street and ‘A’ Street.

The East Garden District project A variety of beautiful trees, shrubs is projected to leverage $40.8 and groundcover will be planted million in private investment, along the median to provide in addition to an estimated $2.8 harvested to create a steady supply of food for local families. The East Garden District project is located where a portion of the garden lots used to stand back in 1764.

NATIVE PLANT LANDSCAPING A variety of native plants, shrubs and groundcovers will be planted in and around the median to provide beautification. Scan the QR code to learn more about the project:

20 | NWFL’s Business Climate

Pensacola, Florida - 2021

$2.8 Mil.

beautification along one of the CRA’s principal corridors. The project leverages a landscape beautification grant awarded to the CRA by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Additionally, the improvements tie into the East Garden District Streetscape project and the De Villiers, Reus and ‘A’ Street projects that were under design and/ or construction during 2020.

In late 2020, concepts for the East Garden District Streetscape were developed and shared with the public for feedback at an inperson open house held by the CRA. and construction is currently underway. The project is expected to be completed by early 2022.

For updates and additional project details, visit cityofpensacola.com.

Jerry Pate

Growing Downtown Pensacola…together!

David W. Fitzpatrick P.E., P.A. Civil Engineering

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ON DECK: UP NEXT AT PORT OF PENSACOLA

V

IA PENSACOLA magazine’s 1957 inaugural issue featured the Palmer Line Freighter S.S. Casa Blanca loading in Pensacola for one of its regular runs between Pensacola and Cuba. The Port of Pensacola magazine’s amplified editorial called our port “the greatest deep-water harbor of the South,” adding that the Port of Pensacola “has been known throughout the Seven Seas since hardy mariners first sailed into the Gulf of Mexico.” The editorial argued its strategic position on the mainland, backed by the rapidly-growing industrial South and Midwest and served by railroads, highways and the intracoastal barge canal, supports our Port’s present activity and guarantees its future.

improving overall revenue by 13 percent. Cargo value passing through the port increased 419 percent with more than $300 million in waterfront cargo being handled at the port in 2020.

In addition to cargo value, the port has also seen a 23 percent increase in waterborne cargo tonnage for the 2021 Fiscal Year.

Skip to 2021 and the Port of Pensacola, sharing accolades with our port tenant family of companies, recently ranked the ninth most valuable deep-water port in the recent Seaport Mission Plan issued by the Florida Ports Council. Despite headwinds from the pandemic and Hurricane Sally, cargo tonnage and vessel dockage days increased in 2020,

Much of the Port’s dramatic increase in cargo value was driven

by General Electric’s (GE) Wind Energy Pensacola facility and the import of components, including fully assembled wind turbine nacelles from South America.

Pate Stevedore Company won a new multi-year contract for GE feedstock component imports and GE vessel traffic increased to one ship every three weeks

“Our port has continued to show incredible resilience and growth, despite challenges presented during COVID-19 and Hurricane Sally,” Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson said. “We’re so fortunate to have such a valuable economic driver right here in the City of Pensacola, and I look forward to seeing continued success at the Port of Pensacola.”

coming from Mexico, South America and Asia. 100 percent of GE Pensacola production comes to port for storage prior to international export by ship or domestic export by truck or rail.

Cover of the 1957 inaugural issue of VIA Pensacola Magazine

This year, the Port also experienced key wins in several maritime industry sectors including Marine Maintenance and Repair Overhaul (MMRO).

Much like ST Engineering at Pensacola International Airport providing MRO services to major

by Rebecca Ferguson Waterfront Development Projects Coordinator, Port of Pensacola

carriers, Offshore Inland Marine received the MMRO contract for conversion of Blue Origin’s (Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ space exploration company) Jacklyn from a roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) vessel to an autonomous landing platform vessel—in short, a ship that catches rockets—pretty cool stuff. The Jacklyn is expected to remain in port into 2022, and the Offshore Inland lease for operation of a marine MRO at the port was extended to 2044. Long term potential for this project includes autonomous/telerobotic vessel upgrade(s), conversion of landing platform #2, post-mission repairs and maintenance and permanent home port. Offshore Inland became an early success story in the Port’s quest to blend traditional port functions and 21st Century Blue Economy activities on the Port’s 68-acre site.

Cargo operations strengthened at the Port, too. CEMEX’s lease for operation of a dry bulk cement import and distribution terminal was extended through 2032 bringing additional lease revenue to the port and doubling cargo fees. Cemex 23

ON DECK: UP NEXT AT PORT OF PENSACOLA

also made a $1.5 million investment in vessel unloading equipment, bringing new import vessel capabilities online.

“The growth and overall activity increase at the port is a direct reflection of the Mayor and City Council’s commitment to continued investment for a vibrant deep-water port, along with the support shown by the citizens of Pensacola,” Port Director Clark Merritt said.

On deck and championing the effort forward, planning work for the Portside Pensacola Vision and Reinvestment Strategy was guided by the citizens of Pensacola before the pandemic and the resulting draft land use plans were shaped through an extensive public participation program. The plan envisions a development approach that continues to strengthen the Port’s role as a regional economic driver while allowing for several future directions based on market opportunities and community desire. Phase One of the plan promotes a mix of uses for the Port while maintaining it as an industrial core needed and necessary for our economy to function as it explores new ways for the sea to help propel both our economic and social future.

The Portside Pensacola Vision maintains the Port’s core economic assets for cargo and trade activity and other maritime dependent uses, like Offshore Inland, while targeting underutilized property located outside the secured restricted 24 | NWFL’s Business Climate

area (outside the Port gates) for Blue Economy sectors such as aquaculture, marine technology, research and development and ocean industry career education.

It also allocates a portion of the port’s holdings outside of the gate for civic, social and recreational uses like harbor cruises, water taxis, maritime heritage centers and entertainment venues.

Extensive community participation and feedback was also gained during the SCAPE, Waterfront Hashtag Connector planning process where local entrepreneurs and City leaders engaged a landscape architecture and urban design studio to develop a waterfront framework plan focused on improving downtown Pensacola’s waterfront destinations and their landside connections. One short-term project to emerge from this process is the Waterfront Hashtag Connector, so named because it looks like a hashtag (#). The project calls for traffic calming improvements, streetscaping and development of walking paths and bicycle lanes along four streets immediately adjacent to the Port. The improvements will connect existing and future venues, attractions and storefronts with one another along safe, convenient and engaging routes that include new plazas, boardwalks and promenades. Strategies work in tandem to create and visualize a framework for the downtown waterfront including concepts for catalytic projects with the goal of creating a connected, accessible,

“The growth and overall activity increase at the port is a direct reflection of the Mayor and City Council’s commitment to continued investment for a vibrant deep-water port, along with the support shown by the citizens of Pensacola.” public realm along the water’s edge, reinforcing our natural assets and wholly connecting people to their waterfront.

The Portside plan is being implemented by the Port of Pensacola in phases over a multi-year period. On deck, in addition to preparation for reuse of 7-10 acres of land on the northeast quadrant of the Port behind the gate, developers are currently working with the Port to transform a largely vacant and underutilized landscape into a thriving resort style hotel destination on the waterfront of Pensacola Bay. Once construction commences, the development will bring 120 rooms to our local market, create new event and meeting space and provide

conference and visitor-serving amenities while building an important asset in downtown Pensacola near the water’s edge.

Next up is Streamline Boats of Northwest Florida, a key win for our Port in the lightmanufacturing sector. After signing a 40-year lease, Streamline will produce semi-custom center console boats and repurpose an existing, abandoned, hurricanedamaged facility. This new development brings “Made in Pensacola” craftsmanship and a company in the Blue Economy sector to the Port, advancing Port Vision Plan objectives for continued economic success.

Pensacola’s waterfront has been nearly 500 years in the making. Further development of these new niches, combined with the thoughtful and strategic implementation of the Portside Pensacola Vision Plan and the Waterfront Hashtag Connector, should ensure that the Port of Pensacola is as important a part of Pensacola’s future as it was in its past.

It’s all hands on deck as we promote and embrace a diversity of uses and align our infrastructure with opportunity as Port of Pensacola writes its next chapter.

■

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BUILDING THE BRAND Women-Owned Agencies Shaping the Future of Business

by Dakota Parks • photography by Guy Stevens

When you take a look around the bustling streets and constantly developing business core of downtown Pensacola, most people never think twice about the way marketing sculpts and tells the story of our city. From designing logos and helping businesses build their brands to promoting events and boosting local tourism to creating cutting-edge video production and social media content—marketing is a vital part of business.

Clockwise: Veronique Zayas, HatchMark Studio; CC Milford, 3Sixty Marketing; Cheryl Murphy and Christine York, Vivid Bridge Studios; Briana Snellgrove, Social ICON; Dr. Mona Amodeo, idgroup; Caron Sjöberg, Ideawörks

28 | NWFL’s Business Climate

I

N TODAY’S DIGITAL LANDSCAPE, where

Americans are estimated to encounter between 6,000 to 10,000 advertisements each day while driving past billboards or scrolling on social media, marketing agencies help businesses, corporations and nonprofits stand out from the masses and share their products, ideas and stories. Even when operating in the background, conducting market research, facilitating public relations or implementing corporate business strategies, marketing agencies act as an engine of economic development by highlighting the heart of communities: people and businesses.

Once considered a maledominated profession, the marketing industry has witnessed an insurgence of female leadership.

According to data from both LinkedIn and the Association of National Advertisers, women not only comprise the majority of the marketing industry’s workforce at 64 percent but female representation in senior leadership is also at an all-time high. Across the United States, more women are founding new businesses than ever before.

The American Express 2019 State of WomenOwned Businesses Report revealed that the number of women-owned businesses grew two times faster on average than all businesses nationwide between 2014 and 2019, now accounting for 40 percent of companies in the U.S.

Downtown Pensacola is home to a tight-knit and collaborative community of women-owned marketing agencies that each bring their own unique perspectives and niche specialties to their clients. Business Climate spoke with six womenowned agencies specializing in marketing, graphic design and creative production in Pensacola to learn about their origin stories, how they carved out a niche in the industry and how their work impacts both local business and the Pensacola community at large.

Each of these female founders—Veronique Zayas of HatchMark Studio, Briana Snellgrove of Social ICON, CC Milford of 3Sixty Marketing, Caron Sjöberg of Ideawörks, Cheryl Murphy and Christine York of Vivid Bridge Studios and Dr. Mona Amodeo of idgroup—made a name for themselves and built their companies from the ground up.

Although some of their services may overlap, each of their companies have distinct and individual creative processes and specialties. As entrepreneurs, they each bring unique ideas on leadership, company culture, collaborating within the creative community and the future state of marketing.

Whether they are industry veterans or relatively young agencies, they each run small firms, thriving on tightknit teams and bringing in outside perspectives with additional freelance workers.

Many of them credit the business incubator culture

40%

of companies in the United States are owned by women.

64%

of the marketing industry’s workforce is comprised of women.

52%

of senior-level marketers are female.

More than

11.6 Mil.

U.S. businesses are owned by women, employing nearly 9 million people, and generating $1.7 trillion in sales as of 2017.

in Pensacola for the sheer number of marketing and creative agencies within a walking radius downtown, giving kudos to coworking spaces such as Co:Lab, a program of FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance, conferences like DesignXL and the abundance of professional networking groups.

These women business owners also spoke about staying on their toes and constantly learning something new with emerging technology, adapting to the shortened shelf life of online content, changing consumerism amidst brand loyalty as consumers want to buy brands they trust and the vital importance of investing and setting aside a budget for marketing. As expert storytellers, these agencies not only strive to maintain their client’s brand identity, but they are also peoplefocused, helping consumers learn about the people and stories behind a brand.

Whether they are redesigning a website and online presence for a local business, running international campaigns to drive tourism to Pensacola, uncovering the identity and brand of a new startup or telling the heart-wrenching story of a nonprofit, these women have left a permanent mark on Pensacola, helping shape the downtown brand and the future of business. »

SOURCES: Association of National Advertisers LinkedIn The National Association of Women Business Owners

29

BUILDING THE BRAND clients and employees in the business and researched potential competitors, then they can work on developing a creative process that translates into the client’s purpose and vision.

Veronique Zayas HatchMark Studio

With more than 17 years of experience in the creative industry Veronique Zayas, founder and creative director of HatchMark Studio, is passionate about building brands and community. After studying graphic design at Baylor University and kickstarting her career in Dallas, Texas, working as a graphic designer and art director at several agencies, Zayas was drawn toward the freedom of working for herself as a freelancer. In 2013, she founded HatchMark Studio, a branding and graphic design agency, which has grown into a small, tight-knit team with robust, full-scale services in branding, print, web design and illustration.

“A business with great marketing and creative design sets them apart from others,” Zayas said. “When we work with business startups and people that are just getting off the ground, it gives them a leg up on their competitors to have their messaging and the look and feel of their brand already polished and professional. It’s fun for me to feed into that business development mindset and still be able to tap into the 30 | NWFL’s Business Climate

creative angle, which is something that I’ve always loved since I was a kid.”

When Zayas begins working with a client on branding and identity, she always starts with what she calls discovery, where she and her team meet with their client in workshops to try and uncover the deeper aspects of their business and core messaging. Once they have met with stakeholders,

“I think it’s an expectation now that businesses brand and position themselves properly, have great social media, engage with their audience and give people a reason to have a deeper connection with their brand.

Locally, business owners are really starting to put marketing and branding on their list of priorities,” Zayas explained. “And, within the creative community itself, there has been this fostering of collaboration that I think is vital to bringing the community together and building each other up. Some of my closest friends in the creative industry are from competing agencies, like direct competitors. We might not talk about projects, but being able to collaborate, talk about how we handle certain situations and sharing ideas and tips to support each other is so important.”

Zayas brings this mindset into her business leadership as well, focusing her company culture on communication, creative collaboration and genuinely having fun on the job. She explained that running a small agency allows her to work with targeted clients that match her own mission and values.

“We really make it a point to have fun at work. Nobody wants to go somewhere for eight or nine hours a day and do something that makes them miserable with people that they don’t really get along with,” she explained. “You spend half your waking life during the week at work, so we’re really particular when we’re

“This industry is all about relationships and communication. It’s about building personal relationships, because the amount of trust that it takes for someone to put their brand and their marketing and ad dollars into your trust is huge.” hiring because cultural fit is important in a small team.”

In the downtown center, you can see some of HatchMark’s design and branding work at Perfect Plain Brewing Co., Ride Society, Rusted Arrow Mercantile, Reboot & Co. and several other local businesses. Along with Zayas’ passion for working with new businesses, HatchMark also works to revamp well-established businesses like Pensacola-based ARCO Marine, a leader in the maritime industry for over 60 years. Another project that called for a rebrand, complete with a new name, logo, branding patterns and mural was FloridaWest’s Co:Lab, where HatchMark Studio initially began its journey as an agency.

“Co:Lab is the first place that I went when I hired employees and needed an office space. We worked out of there for almost three years. There are a lot of great coworking spaces and business development incubators that provide amazing resources to entrepreneurs in Pensacola,” Zayas said.

“On that project we worked to rebrand The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, now called Co:Lab. We went through the renaming process, research, visuals, website and really worked to modernize them and make the space more inviting and welcoming.”

When she isn’t designing and building brands for local and national businesses, Zayas is a big advocate for the growth of the creative community in Pensacola and retaining local talent.

“This industry is all about relationships and communication. It’s about building personal relationships, because the amount of trust that it takes for someone to put their brand and their marketing and ad dollars into your trust is huge. My tip for young designers is to get out there and start making connections and talking to people. The DesignXL conference alone has really helped propel the creative industry here and put an emphasis on building our community and supporting each other,” she said.

“Virtual events sort of became the glue that held everything together.

They give people hope and allow people to connect with each other, no matter the circumstance. I don’t think they’re going away in the post-COVID world. They’re going hybrid to remain accessible.” sions don’t start with, ‘Hey, what’s your audience? Who are your people? Who are you selling to? What’s your sales funnel?’ Now it starts with, ‘How are you feeling as a leader in your company?

And how does your team feel working for you?’”

Briana Snellgrove Social ICON

Briana Snellgrove has been carving out her marketing niche for the last 15 years, recentering her focus as technology, trends and demands ebb and flow. While working as a sales executive at a local newspaper and magazine, she witnessed the growth of social media marketing and advertising and knew this was an untapped trend that was only going to get bigger. After trying to convince the publisher to invest in social media marketing, she pitched her company idea at Startup Weekend 2013, an entrepreneurial startup competition where contestants have to build a business in 48 hours and pitch it to investors.

Here, Social ICON was born. Initially pitched as a social media management company, Snellgrove expanded to the demands of digital marketing and strategy consulting and even pivoted her focus during the pandemic to specialize in virtual event management. “ My c o m p a n y q u i c k l y evolved from social media management into strategy consulting,” Snellgrove explained. “Companies would come to me and say, ‘Hey, we need a social media campaign and a social media plan.’ And I would say, ‘Okay, so what is your mission, your

vision and your messaging, and what does your brand look like? And what does your company do?’ And there was a lot of hesitation on what that looked like.

So, it evolved into strategy consulting, which led to marketing consulting, because now my strategy ses-

This empathetic and humankind-focused mindset allows Snellgrove to better gauge the needs of her clients and mitigate the impacts of burnout, fatigue and uncertainty amidst the pandemic. Early into the pandemic, Snellgrove began responding to every “we are here for you in these uncertain times” email campaigns that CEOs sent out, asking to meet with them and talk strategy. Just like she tapped into the social media market early on, she tapped into this new world of virtual events and began developing relationships with both technology and audio-visual companies.

“Virtual events sort of became the glue that held everything together. They give people hope and allow people to connect with each other, no matter the circumstance. I don’t think they’re going away in the post-COVID world. They’re going hybrid to remain accessible,” Snellgrove explained. “If you think about the growth of entrepreneurship in downtown Pensacola in the last five or six years, it’s really grown through the utilization of digital marketing and events. If you look at EntreCon or Pensacon, these events became staples for the downtown commu-

nity. The more people that invest in these events, the bigger we’re going to grow as a community. Our small business and entrepreneurial ecosystem is a direct reflection of the growth we see in our home town. We are Pensacola’s biggest cheerleaders, drivers and voice.”

Social ICON has hosted virtual events ranging from fundraisers and donation events, training and networking seminars, to educational symposiums with Studer Community Institute, Cox Communications, Baptist Hospital, Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola and the University of West Florida. Each event is meticulously planned based on how the client wants the event to look and feel, how speakers communicate, how the audience engages and what type of software is needed to host the event.

“For the Baptist Stroke Symposium, I had to make sure that medical staff were able to access the software from a mobile phone, because they didn’t have time to sit at a laptop or desktop during this conference. So, we built out an event app for them in order to make that work. Other things to consider are engagements: do you want to have people engage with a game or take polls? What’s the presentation look like? If someone wants it to be professionally produced, it’s like directing a TV show. We bring in my video and sound engineer and set up camp wherever the client wants and devel-

op a full live stream to fit the programming. I think people are really surprised by how enjoyable a virtual event can be. They have to erase the misconception that it’s just going to be another Zoom call.”

Snellgrove is passionate about the future of digital and hybrid events and their potential to elevate community engagement and accessibility. She recently presented at Eventcombo’s Eventicon 2021, which brought together global leaders in the digital event industry. Social ICON will also be working as the event management agency for The University of West Florida’s Women in Leadership Conference in March 2022. With so much technology at our fingertips, Snellgrove also emphasized the importance of stepping away from our screens and setting workplace boundaries.

“I’ve spoken to other leaders about this, and employees are looking for new opportunities and switching careers now more than ever,” she said. “I think it’s important for creatives to set boundaries for themselves for work-life balance. It’s so easy to work 14-hour days until it isn’t. It’s important to work with leaders that have high expectations but care about your personal well-being. And we need to keep checking in on each other and prioritizing our mental health.”

31

BUILDING THE BRAND “Investing in marketing used to be something a business chose to do. Today, it is no longer a choice. The quality of the branding process and appearance of the material becomes a deal breaker.

Not only that, but consumers are not just looking for a product or service they need, they are looking for brands they can relate to—brands that align with their values and lifestyle.”

CC Milford

3Sixty Marketing CC Milford, CEO of 3Sixty Marketing, also got her start in the publishing and newspaper industry. Hailing from Strömsnäsbruk, Sweden, Milford started her career as a paste-up artist, now called a graphic designer. After she graduated with a business degree and moved to the U.S. in her twenties, Milford began working for several publishers, including Washington Post, and gaining expertise in the printing process. She moved to Gulf Breeze in 1998, and by 2003 she opened her own company, 3Sixty Marketing, after several advertisers she worked with at the local paper kept asking her why she didn’t start her own company already. Over the years, her services expanded to include brand development, creative campaigns, corporate collateral, packaging, printing solutions and mail services.

“The technology has changed so much from when I first started. The things you can do now with these apps and software is beyond what we ever dreamed about” Milford said. “Back then we were called paste-up artists, and we would go to a typesetter and tell them what we need32 | NWFL’s Business Climate

ed. A lot of times there was a headline that would not fit on a blueprint paper where we would literally paste up articles. So, we would get an article out from a processor, run it through a waxer a few times, then use Exacto knives and a metal ruler to trim off all the extra paper and put it on the layout sheet. Then we would mea-

sure photos and send them back into the camera room and get the physical paper photo and put that on there.

It was a completely different ballgame and a real art form back then. I actually taught myself how to do desktop publishing on my first computer—an Apple II. It was this little clunky machine where you put in your floppy disks and it would boot up a pagination program so you could type up newsletters.

We went from PageMaker to QuarkXPress and finally InDesign and Photoshop.”

Milford continues to adapt to the changing technology and trends in the world of graphic design and marketing. She utilizes this background in printing to recommend the best products, unique finishes and custom printing solutions for clients, which saves them money in the process.

“Every local business is now faced with competition from their internet counterparts and with so many different forms of media out there.

Consumers are becoming more distracted and seeing more advertisements now than ever,” Milford explained. “Investing in marketing used to be something a business chose to do. Today, it is no longer a choice.

The quality of the branding process and appearance of the material becomes a deal breaker. Not only that, but

consumers are not just looking for a product or service they need, they are looking for brands they can relate to—brands that align with their values and lifestyle.”

As Milford explained, the way consumers approach the brands they support has changed, leaning into the concept of brand loyalty and consumers shopping from companies they trust. This means that marketers are more important than ever as they are selling more than just a product—they’re selling a story, a vision and most importantly, trust. This change in the industry also led 3Sixty to implement a purpose behind its brand and a way to give back and pay it forward.

“Animal welfare, nature and our climate have always been important to us, and we have donated a portion of our monthly proceeds to no-kill animal shelters since the start,” Milford said. “But we wanted to do more, and in late 2020, we launched our green initiative, the Climate Positive Program.

What that means is that in addition to monthly donations, we plant one tree in the Amazon Rainforest for every design or print order we receive. To minimize our own carbon footprint, we also opt for soy-based and vegetable-based ink, waterless printing, tree-free and chlorine free biodegradable

paper with Forest Stewardship Council certification and bio-gas energy when possible.”

3Sixty Marketing has worked with a long list of companies in downtown Pensacola, including Kuhn Realty, aDoor Properties, FloridaWest and its campaign CyberCoast, and they serve on the Studer Community Institute and EntreCon marketing team.

“It’s always exciting to be a part of the growth and success of any business. The fact that each one of these companies are bringing so much value to our area through the variety of the projects they contribute to makes it fresh and new every time. Sometimes it is corporate collateral, a new campaign or a rebrand, and other times we work on a full line of trade show backdrops and products. It never gets old,” Milford said.

Caron Sjöberg Ideawörks

Caron Sjöberg, president and CEO of Ideawörks, started her career as the creative director for Baptist Hospital and later served as the marketing director for the telecommunications start-up, Network USA, before finding her niche and love for public relations. She went on to earn two accreditations as an Accredited Public Relations Professional and a Certified Public Relations Counselor. As an industry veteran with 35 years of experience, she holds more than 65 awards, and her agency, Ideawörks, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

“When people think of PR, they think it’s just sending a press release,” Sjöberg said. “PR is so much more than that. What we are really doing is bringing attention to our client’s message and trying to get an audience to take action on something—whether that’s getting people to visit a destination, buy a ticket, go to an event or donate to a charity. It’s the communication that I love. It doesn’t

matter if it’s with pictures or words—that’s where my heart is. That’s what attracts me to it. I try to take things that are hard to understand, maybe a company that has a product that’s really difficult to explain, and I try to make it simple for the general public and for the whole world to want to read and hear about it.”

As an expert in tourism and destination marketing,

Ideawörks has not only left a mark on downtown Pensacola but also works to shine a light on cultural offerings and attract tourists to the downtown center. From massive public art projects and installations like the Umbrella Sky Installation, Cubed and the Jefferson Street parking garage mural to highly orchestrated creative campaigns directed at feeder markets, tourism is always a priority for Ideawörks. One such campaign, “Send Your Self(ie) To Pensacola,” set up live-streamed selfie booths in four major cities with direct flights to Pensacola at the Nashville Airport, Houston’s Memorial City Mall, the Chicago Air & Water show and Baltimore’s Star Spangled Spectacular to increase engagement on the Visit Pensacola website and spark travel interest to Pensacola.

“Tourism is such a big part of our livelihood, just like the military, and they’re all interconnected. What I believe is that when we bring people downtown, we’re also driving people to visit the beach, Perdido Key and surrounding areas, so we always cross promote,” Sjöberg said. “Those downtown-focused projects are so fulfilling to work on and see the growth of downtown. We’ve worked with the Downtown Improvement Board and Palafox Market for years, which is now in its 14th year. It started out as just a little roadside market with a handful of vendors. And now look at it—the nearly 5,000 people a weekend who come downtown don’t just shop at the market, they also visit bars, restaurants and shops downtown. Back in the 80s and 90s, stores weren’t even open on Saturday downtown, so that goes to show how much downtown has grown and changed.”

Whether they’re marketing a city or government agency, writing grants for public art installations, building a website and marketing for a new business or orchestrating special events and destination tourism projects, one thread that unites Ideawörks’ projects are the details and special touches they weave in for all of their clients.

“We always try to build something special and put a personal touch on every project—even if it’s a hidden Easter egg on a website that gives our clients and guests a surprise when they find

In addition to bolstering business and tourism across the Panhandle, Ideawörks also believes in giving back to the community through its Goodworks Foundation. For the last 20 years, Ideawörks has selected one community organization annually to provide a full year of marketing services. They have worked with Manna Food Pantries, Perdido Bay Tribe of Poarch Creek Indians, Gulf Breeze Zoo, Council on Aging of West Florida, Guardian Ad Litem and Opening Doors Northwest Florida, to name a few. As Sjöberg explained, local graphic de-

“It’s the communication that I love. It doesn’t matter if it’s with pictures or words—that’s where my heart is. That’s what attracts me to it. I try to take things that are hard to understand, maybe a company that has a product that’s really difficult to explain, and I try to make it simple for the general public and for the whole world to want to read and hear about it.” it,” Sjöberg explained. “The owner of The 5 Barrel brewery is a chess lover, so if you go to The 5 Barrel’s website, you’ll find a little chess rook at the bottom of the page that opens a virtual game of chess when you click on it. On Park Pensacola’s website, if you click the ‘Find My Car’ icon, the song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ starts playing on YouTube. We always want that human element, even on a parking website, so that when people find it, they say, ‘I can’t believe you did this!’”

signers, photographers, videographers and businesses have also volunteered their services to help, and Goodworks has provided more than one million dollars in free marketing, website, PR, fundraising and event support to area nonprofits.

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BUILDING THE BRAND started their companies.

Then we work alongside them to tell that story not only to their internal team and new members but also to their customers, potential customers and stakeholders. Unlike other marketing agencies that use an array of tools, we focus on bringing our clients’ story and brands to life using video.”

Cheryl Murphy & Christine York

Vivid Bridge Studios Co-founders and dynamic duo, Cheryl Murphy and Christine York brought together their different backgrounds and shared vision to found Vivid Bridge Studios in 2017, which quickly grew to become the Gulf Coast’s largest women-owned commercial video production company. Murphy, serving as the company CEO, worked both in real estate marketing and as a realtor before shifting into real estate videography and photography work with her husband. York, serving as Vivid Bridge creative director, specializes in post-production and animation and worked both for production studios and as an independent freelancer. As if fate cast them for a scene together, Murphy and York first met on stage at a lighting workshop being hosted by York’s nonprofit, the Emerald Coast Filmmakers. From there, the duo teamed up to unite other freelance professionals under one roof and empower businesses and brands through holistic, cinematic storytelling.

“At the core of Vivid Bridge, we want to evoke emotion, and that’s done through storytelling and uniting communities through the 34 | NWFL’s Business Climate

stories that they share,” Murphy said. “We specialize in a lot of corporate videos. That entails really getting to know the owners of these different businesses and why they

As Murphy explained, this approach, called the Holistic Creative process, was pioneered by York and designed to solve real-world business problems with video solutions. For example, many businesses struggle with onboarding and training new employees, and video can help retain team alignment and company vision, standardize product and service description and retain vital information that might be lost when an employee leaves a company.

“We want to be an engine of economic development, and there are ways that video can help businesses who just need that extra something to get to the next level,” York explained. “Or if they’re dealing with more fundamental issues, there are ways that video can help them work through some of those challenges. Pensacola is a growing community, and we’re supporting new and emerging industries in ways that haven’t really been done before.”

Vivid Bridge has produced an array of video marketing content for FloridaWest, Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, United Way and legal clients like Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon, Moorhead Law Group and Zarzaur Law, PA. Just like HatchMark Studio, Co:Lab was instrumental in the formation of Vivid Bridge, serving as their first office space and client. Part of supporting this commu-

nity growth that York and Murphy are both passionate about also entails their mission to retain local creative talent and grow the video production industry along the Gulf Coast.

“We want to grow. It’s our intention to grow and to provide dream jobs for people here in this smaller market,” Murphy said. “We have so many of our creatives leaving to go to Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans and California.

We’re really trying to build a strong video production environment and industry here along the Gulf Coast.”

Echoing that same sentiment, York explained, “The work I do at both Vivid Bridge and the Emerald Coast Filmmakers is focused on developing the infrastructure for the production community so that people

While Vivid Bridge strives to empower the narrative of their clients and create compelling and captivating videos that support their client’s vision and bottom line, York also explained that the very nature of video marketing has shifted to adapt to the shortened shelf life of online content.

“Given the nature of how business on the internet is conducted, it makes shelf life completely different now,” York said. “It used to be that if you were spending $10,000 to $100,000 on video production, you would be spending money on a piece that is going to be shown not just for a year but maybe multiple years. Now, content is flowing past us every day through social media, TV shows and advertisements, and we’ve grown desensitized to them. What I’ve seen

“We want to grow. It’s our intention to grow and to provide dream jobs for people here in this smaller market. We have so many of our creatives leaving to go to Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans and California.

We’re really trying to build a strong video production environment and industry here along the Gulf Coast.” can have vibrant careers in this industry. That means we have to find ways to transition people from being these weekend warriors into sustained freelancers because there is not a traditional educational path for jobs in production. This leads people to become weekend warriors that make short films on the weekends. I want to change the narrative of what is possible with video production.”

is that content that is story driven and rich in the way that it connects a message to someone’s personal life has really come to the top in effectiveness. It’s been a massive shift, and to focus on things that are human and authentic, I think that’s only going to continue to be the most important element of the work that we do.”

“Branding is about influence and getting people to see the world through a certain perspective. That’s why we are very careful about the clients that we choose to work with. We look for clients who share our values and share our belief that we have a responsibility and that organizations have a responsibility to the world.”

Dr. Mona Amodeo idgroup

Dr. Mona Amodeo, founder and president of idgroup, started her career as a history teacher, journalist, professor and documentary producer, always searching to uncover the next story to bring to life. In 1989 she took her last paycheck from the University of West Florida and combined her passion for storytelling and integrated communications to establish idgroup. After 15 years of running her company, Amodeo became interested in the concept of corporate responsibility and the role of organizations as corporate citizens, leading her to obtain her Ph.D. in Organization Development and Change and to reposition idgroup’s mission and branding approach. Amodeo published her book Beyond Sizzle: The Next Evolution of Branding in 2018, which outlines her approach of Branding from the Core, a multi-disciplinary approach to strategic brand development.

“Branding is about influence and getting people to see the world through a certain perspective” Amodeo explained. “That’s why we are very careful about the clients that we choose to work with. We look for clients who share our values and share

our belief that we have a responsibility and that organizations have a responsibility to the world. So, when we work with Gulf Coast Kid’s House or the University of West Florida to share their stories, these organizations are contributing in a posi-

tive way to the world. We’re helping them uncover and shape their story, share their story and live their story. I believe that organizations today are more important than they’ve ever been. As we face more challenges in the world, I believe organizations can play a huge role in creating a community that we want to live in and create a work environment where people are healthy and where they thrive and feel that they’re important.”

been communicated to the marketplace? To be frank, if there is a misalignment between what formal communications puts out there, like an advertisement, and what employees experience or what customers experience, you are wasting your money.

Reputation is our ultimate goal. While idgroup talks about ourselves as a branding firm, we use branding to help organizations build reputations that people respect and that people trust.”

Utilizing the four-par t Branding from the Core framework of identity, vision, image and culture, idgroup works to help leaders transform their organizations into brands that matter by getting to the core of their organization.

This Branding from the Core process can take around seven months to complete and means that idgroup is selective in choosing clients that are committed to the long-term engagement of reputation building. While not every project calls for the complete Branding from the Core process, idgroup has worked with Clark Partington law firm, Community Health of Northwest Florida, Pensacola Airport, Escambia County School District, University of West Florida, Pensacola Habitat for Humanity, Ever’man Cooperative Grocery & Café and Visit Pensacola, to name a few.

“The first is identity. We believe that every organization has a narrative. Our job is to help the organization uncover the storylines that make up their narrative,” she said. “Once we have that narrative, the second step is where our creative team takes the narrative to create the integrated communication materials—the pretty stuff. I call it the sizzle that we share with the marketplace. Then, living our story has to do with the culture of the organization.

How do we create a culture where people are delivering our meaning and where our employees are delivering a customer experience that is consistent with what has

In addition to their clients, idgroup also gives back to the community through its Brand on Us program, which selects one not-for-profit group each year to receive a comprehensive and integrated brand makeover and complete the Branding from the Core process. The program brings together an en-

tire community of partners including photographers, videographers, printers and media outlets to support the initiative. Some of the organizations they have worked with include Pensacola Humane Society, Chain Reaction, Pensacola Sports Association, Autism Pensacola and most recently, Gulf Coast Kid’s House, where they pioneered the “Know Child Abuse” campaign.

“We work with these organizations to help them clearly communicate their story, and we believe that we make a difference by helping them make a difference,” Amodeo said. “The way people view our community has a lot to do with how organizations communicate the information they put out there and what their employees say about them. From an economic development standpoint, the way all organizations—be it for profit or not-for-profit institutions— communicate and share those stories has an impact on the way people view Pensacola. The more companies that have a responsibility as corporate citizens in turn influences who wants to be in your community and work in your community, which influences the way the world sees your community.”

35

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DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

PROJECTS BREAKING GROUND

by Morgan Cole

Despite an ongoing global pandemic, rising construction costs and record nationwide unemployment, development in downtown Pensacola is going strong.

From boutique hotels, townhomes and parking garages to large scale, multi-unit housing developments along the waterfront, new projects are popping up every day in downtown Pensacola—and there’s no sign of things slowing down. With an unprecedented number of new developments, our once sleepy downtown community is steadily becoming a vibrant, bustling city for locals and visitors alike.

38 | NWFL’s Business Climate

ONE PALAFOX PLACE New Condos Coming to Palafox Street Above Newly Renovated Post Office An extensive remodel above the historic Downtown Post Office located at 101 Palafox Place, brings three new residences to Palafox Street. Each of the new units will feature spacious floor plans with elevated ceilings throughout.

Currently, the United States Post Office occupies the entire lower level but will be downsizing to a smaller footprint, allowing for new businesses and new jobs to come to this corner of South Palafox and West Romana Streets.

As part of the building remodel, each unit will also feature new exterior doors and double-hung windows with impact glass. Private individual garages will be constructed at the rear of the existing building to offer secure parking for all residents.

The individual studio is 900-square-feet and is currently on the market for $700,000. The two-bedroom, two-bath unit will offer more than 2,000-square-feet and will feature two private balconies overlooking Palafox Street in the heart of downtown Pensacola. The two-bedroom unit is listed at $1,250,000.

Two of the units are currently on the market.

Developer plans for New Apartment and Condo Complex with Grocery Store on West Garden A new developer will move forward with plans to convert the old Escambia County School District building on West Garden Street into a new housing complex and grocery store.

In August, Bearing Point Properties out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, won the unanimous backing of the city’s Architectural Review Board (ARB) for conceptual design approval for a new unit apartment, condo and retail development after an almost three-year battle for the right to demolish the existing structure.

The new development at 215 West Garden Street will bring 329 new residential units, complete with a pool, small public dog park, 700-space parking deck and 37,000-square-foot grocery store.

Bearing Point Properties will be the second developer to take on the project after purchasing the site from the former local development team that also planned to build a residential development, before the deal fell apart during the pandemic. Bearing Point Properties hired their own historic preservation firm out of New Orleans that concluded the building is historically significant, but the changes to the building made in the past 70 years make it ineligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The developers reported to the ARB that there was no financial benefit in placing the building on the historic register due to the extensive costs associated with bringing the original building back to some sort of functional use. Bearing Point developers have made the commitment to preserve the arches from the old USO building and a portion of the historic wall from the school’s

old woodworking shop by integrating the elements into the $85 million design with historical markers, lighting and benches.

The studio-size apartments will start at 600-square-feet with layouts going up to three-bedroom units, though prices for the various unit sizes haven’t been determined. Developers report that rental prices and condo sale prices will be in line with the current market rate and that they are in talks with the City, specifically the Community Redevelopment Agency, about how to make a portion of the units affordable at workforce housing rates.

Developers expect to break ground in the spring or summer of 2022 and open to the public by 2024.

New Waterfront Community Coming to Sanders Beach A new waterfront community called Amanecer is coming to Sanders Beach in downtown Pensacola. Featuring both detached single-family homes and townhome units, the new private housing development will be gated with a community pool and dock with the option to purchase boat slips.

The detached single-family homes will be 2,400-square-feet and are currently listed at $840,000. The 2,200-square-foot inland townhomes are listed at $1.1 million and the 2,500-square-foot waterfront townhomes are currently listed at $1.6 million.

This new waterfront community is scheduled to be completed in early 2023.

For more details, contact Jimmy O’Donovan or Anthony Mazzurco with Kuhn Realty.

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DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

New Speakeasy and Boutique Lodging House Coming to Historic East Hill A vacant, Hurricane Ivan-damaged church located in historic East Hill will soon be transformed into a new speakeasy-style and boutique lodging house.

Lily Hall will stand at the site of the former Old Mount Olive Baptist Church at 415 N. Alcaniz St., reviving the rundown building into a 15-room hotel, restaurant and prohibition-era speakeasy-style bar.

Nashville-based developer, Stahlman Hospitality partnered with Smith Gee Studio to develop the design concept for the lodging house in collaboration with local architectural firm, Dalrymple | Sallis. The design team’s focus for the 15 guest-room suites and adjacent library gathering space is to create an experience unique to the Pensacola market providing luxury lodging options packed with whimsical and nostalgic curios.

Built in 1928, the Old Mount Olive Baptist Church is number five on Pensacola’s “Seven to Save” list, which features seven of the most at-risk or endangered historical properties in Pensacola. Located a few blocks from Pensacola’s historic downtown district, the adaptive reuse of the former church will provide unique, exclusive and creative accommodations with a tasteful a nod to the past.

The 10,560 square-foot development will also feature a full-service restaurant called Brother Fox, an ode to the pastor of the former Baptist church and the attached speakeasy will be called Sister Hen. Since 2004, the building has sat vacant with boarded up windows, graffiti and debris in its open lot, but the project renderings depict a luxury-style facade that preserves much of the design of the original church building.

40 | NWFL’s Business Climate

After more than two years of planning and working with City officials to get the development through the approval process, construction on Lily Hall officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony on August 24. Developers anticipate that the project will be completed within the next nine months.

“I am excited to see this old building be transformed into something new and exciting for Pensacola after sitting vacant for almost 17 years,” Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson said.

For updates and complete project details, visit smithgeestudio.com/case-study/lily-hall/.

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DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

Sanders Beach Housing Complex Development Granted 16 More Units in Return for Waterfront Access A large-scale waterfront housing development in Sanders Beach is set to move forward with a “density bonus” incentive in return for granting waterfront access.

In July, the Pensacola City Council upheld its planning board’s decision to allow more units at the Cypress Street development in return for waterfront access, despite traffic and infrastructure concerns from other residents of Sanders Beach.

The 4.5-acre development at 1201 Cypress St. in Pensacola, will now include 231 attached residential units across two buildings that include a pool, dog park and public access waterfront promenade.

The planning board and the council thought it was worth giving up the additional units for the value waterfront accessibility would bring to the area and the city’s overall waterfront accessibility plan.

The initial plan presented to the Pensacola City Council planning board in June 2021, was for 165 units, which is the base density for the size of the lot. The density bonus the planning board granted in June was to give the developer

Illustrated rendering of the developer’s 231-unit waterfront apartment complex at 201 Cypress Street in Sanders Beach. Courtesy of City of Pensacola.

10 percent more, or 16 units, in return for a superior site design that works with the city’s SCAPE plan to maintain public waterfront access and develop a publicly accessible promenade.

Hawkshaw Developers Get Approval from Pensacola CRA to Build 200-Unit Apartment Building After remaining vacant for more than 30 years, the Hawkshaw property is poised for sprawling transformation.

Hawkshaw Development Group will construct a new seven-story apartment complex and townhomestyle units at the northeast corner of South 9th Avenue and East Romana Street (more widely known as Hawkshaw) in downtown Pensacola.

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KEY PLAN

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In mid-July 2021, Hawkshaw developers received final approval from the Pensacola City Council’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) with a 6-1 vote, to shift the development to a solely residential complex. The new plans call for

208 rental apartment units on East Romana Street with additional townhome-style units to be constructed along South 9th Avenue.

C:\Users\william\OneDrive\Documents\1911_Hawkshaw-EAST_CentralModel_R2020_williamTUJ5T.rvt

The developer’s original plan called for mixed-use development, including a large retail and restaurant space. The development ran into problems due to bad soil conditions, the relocation of water utility pipes and then the outbreak of COVID-19, which wiped out the original financing for the project.

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DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

Luxury Condos Planned for Historic Brent Annex Building on Palafox Street One Palafox Place will now be the home of The Brent Lofts luxury condominiums, housed in the second and third floors of the historic Brent Annex building in downtown Pensacola.

The Brent Lofts are tucked within One Palafox Place, a 4.5-acre block on the corner of Palafox and Garden Street rich with restaurants, retail shops, a cowork community and private offices.

Thirty newly developed loft-style condos, ranging from 400-square-foot individual studios to 1,340-squarefoot two-bedroom deluxe residences, will occupy the upper portion of the Brent building above Kennedy Cocktail Lounge and the Cowork Annex.

“The Brent Lofts are able to blend urban elegance with timeworn history in the heart of downtown Pensacola,” building owner Bobby Switzer said. “All 30 units feature a unique layout designed to maximize space, emphasize natural light, accentuate generations-old history and offer an effortless living space.”

Switzer explained that there aren’t many downtown units available for purchase as opposed to leasing, and an entire floor of

44 | NWFL’s Business Climate

the building will be reserved for buyers specifically looking to invest in the space as an Airbnb or other short-term rental.

The lofts feature 12-foot ceilings, oversized windows, exposed brick accent walls, custom cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and plenty of amenities, such as a private sky lounge, fitness center, rooftop bar, dog run, climate-controlled storage and shared mail package room.

The Brent Lofts premiered in early June 2021. The prices for the lofts will begin at about $300,000 and go to just more than $1 million for the two-bedroom deluxe model.

The envisioned demographics for these units will be empty nesters looking to downsize or working professionals wanting something hip and historic with easy access in the heart of downtown.

For more information about The Brent Lofts, visit onepalafoxplace.com.

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PENSACOLA PLACEMAKING

Promotional Feature

by Tosh Belsinger

After two years of visioning, master planning, design, and construction, local real estate developer, Chad Henderson’s placemaking vision for downtown Pensacola’s new East Garden District (EGD) is taking shape. 42 East Garden Street is now DC Reeves’ new Floridian craft cocktail bar, The Well, 18 East Garden Street is under construction and will be a new location for Papa’s Pizza, and 36 East Garden Street has been approved for demolition as Pensacola’s crafty southern pub, Union Public House (UPH), is on the move to the EGD. “Appropriately curating and activating all ground floor uses in the EGD will be a big key to our placemaking success,” said Chad Henderson, “which is exactly why we are so excited to have Chef Blake Rushing and the Union Public House team help anchor our EGD project.”

UPH is scheduled to open its new doors in late fall of 2022. “The next chapter of UPH is going to be a great one,” said UPH chef and owner, Blake Rushing. “Our new home at Garden and Jefferson is a gateway property to the East Garden District and downtown Pensacola, and we are ready to bring Union Public House’s culinary creativity and neighborhood feel to the EGD.” 46 | NWFL’s Business Climate

New Union Public House at Garden & Jefferson Street.

Running through the heart of the East Garden District is Jefferson Street which is currently under construction in a public / private partnership between the City of Pensacola, the CRA, and Henderson’s development group.

The $2M Jefferson Street “Road Diet” project features a narrowing of Jefferson Street, widening of sidewalks, new vehicular and pedestrian pavers, landscaping, new utilities, undergrounding of power, and a new urban plaza. The Jefferson Street Road Diet project is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2021.

Mid-block on both sides of Jefferson Street in the EGD, Henderson plans to develop two new mixed-use buildings totaling 50,000 squarefeet. The first floor of each building will be activated with restaurant and retail, and the upper floors will be residences and office space.

The anchor project of the East Garden District is a 150 key ninestory Hilton Tapestry boutique hotel

with a first-floor restaurant, second floor ballrooms and meeting rooms, a fitness center overlooking Jefferson Street and the new EGD urban plaza, and a rooftop bar with panoramic views of downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Bay. Construction drawings for the East Garden District hotel, parking deck, and mixed-use buildings are underway, with construction scheduled to commence in Spring of 2022.

“Our team aspires to make the EGD an 18-hour environment that caters to the Pensacola community,” said Henderson. “We believe that if you craft a place locals will enjoy spending time, our visitors are certain to follow. Placemaking is the catalyst for Chad Henderson’s East Garden District project, and it will be exciting to watch this new Pensacola place continue to grow over the next two years.

For updates and complete project details, visit eastgardendistrict.com.

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ESCAMBIA COUNTY COMMUNITY DATA

Data Sources: FloridaWest and Florida’s Great Northwest

An at-a-glance look at the area’s growth, educational attainment, economic prospects and civic life.

All metrics represent data for Escambia County.

County Demographics

POPULATION

MEDIAN AGE

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SIZE

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME

323,927

Bachelor’s, Graduate or Professional Degree

38.9

2.4

No High School Diploma

9%

28%

Some College

36%

50 | NWFL’s Business Climate

$52,081

Education

90% 40%

have a highschool degree or higher

High School Graduate

27%

have an associate’s degree or higher

Business

8.4%

18%

TOTAL BUSINESSES

15,908

Work Distribution of Total Employees in Escambia County

Unemployment Rate

Services

18%

Blue Collar

TOTAL EMPLOYEES

64%

181,013

White Collar

Top 5 Jobs by Occupation

Business & Financial Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.09%

Food Prep./Serving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.74%

Executive/Managers/ Administrators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.39%

Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.01%

Office/Admin Support . . . . . . . . . 13.77%

Households by Income < $15k

-0.2% -0.3%

$25k – $35k $35k – $50k $50k – $75k

+0.5%

$100k – $150k

-1.7% -2.1% -1.4%

$52,081

PER CAPITA INCOME

$29,083

$75k – $100k

+0.8%

* Percentages show deviation from Florida

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME

$15k – $25k

+0.8% +3.6%

Income

$150k – $200k $200k +

MEDIAN NET WORTH

$68,608

51

FREE MARKET ANALYSIS Our team of professionals at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty specialize in listing and selling homes and helping our clients get maximum value for their property.

17 W Cedar St., Ste. 2 Pensacola, FL 32502 phone: 850.434.2244 fax: 850.434.8081 BHHSPenFed.com

HOME PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE Market research tells us home values in the Greater Pensacola Area have gone up 19.3% over the past year. According to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, prices are projected to slow to 2.7% growth by July 2022 as more buyers are priced out of the market.

WE HELP YOU READ THE MARKET When selling your property, you want the highest price possible.

The first step in helping you set your price should be a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to determine what similar properties in the current market are going for. During this process, we will work with you to help you determine what your home could possibly be worth.

We will advise you with anything you may need to do to increase your home’s value including landscaping, minor improvements or repairs and possibly rearranging, adding, or removing furniture to make living spaces appear larger or more welcoming.

Good to know.®

© 2021 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Equal Housing Opportunity. Information not verified or guaranteed. If your home is currently listed with a Broker, this is not intended as a solicitation.

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Entrepreneurial Programs are Helping Small Businesses Spring to Life

Today, downtown Pensacola is a hot spot of cultural activities and enrichment. The streets are lined with boutiques, fine-dining restaurants and performance venues—and nearly all of them are locally owned. Pensacola has seen a boom in economic growth and development, and locallyowned businesses are at the heart of it all.

by Fiama Mastrangelo photos courtesy of Studer Community Institute

Until recently, small business owners have had to figure it out on their own.

Having connections helped, but small business networks have been historically limited in diversity, leading to issues in underrepresentation and exclusion. A local entrepreneurship hub is here to change the way that people of all different backgrounds gain access to vital resources in business growth. Enter, The Spring.

Described as “a hive of entrepreneurial activity” by its CEO, D.C. Reeves, The Spring is at the heart of entrepreneurial development in Pensacola. Located in the Studer Community

54 | NWFL’s Business Climate

Institute building on the corner of Spring and Garden Street, this hub is housed in a brandnew coworking space that serves as the base of operations for the programs offered there.

The coworking space sets the tone for participants in The Spring’s Venture Monitoring Service (VMS) and gBETA Pensacola, the two programs that are offered free of charge to entrepreneurs.

Amidst meeting areas, lounges and shared desk spaces are the literal doors to gBETA and The Spring’s conference room where roundtable discussions are held for VMS sessions. As Reeves put it, the coworking space serves as the “physical front door to [Pensacola’s] entrepreneur ecosystem.”

Both the VMS program and gBETA have been brought to Pensacola from elsewhere—the VMS program is an adaptation of the model developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and gBETA is a branch of the larger national startup accelerator, gener8tor.

The VMS program offered by The Spring is for business owners at any stage of development and connects them with a team of business experts in residence to provide coaching and mentorship.

These locally based experts come from a variety of industry backgrounds ranging from museums and breweries to banks and even the Waffle House. Mentees of the VMS program set their own pace, meeting regularly with their mentors and The Spring staff in order to set goals and provide progress updates.

One business owner who has benefitted from its participation in the VMS program is Dannon Hooks of Tap the Coast, a “mobile bar and beverage experience for private events,” as Hooks describes. Launched in 2019, Hooks had no idea that there was a pandemic looming just around the corner.

“2020 hit and we are in an industry that is event driven,” Hooks said. To survive the pandemic, she said it was essential to have “the ability to bounce off ideas from my mentors and build a network of people who helped us make it through 2020.”

The gBETA accelerator program that is located inside of The Spring’s coworking space is a free program offered by the larger and nationally renowned startup accelerator, gener8tor. This program runs for seven weeks and has participants meet with their assigned success team twice a week. As a team, gBETA cohorts strategize ways to bolster their businesses through developing pitches and attracting investors.

One alumnus of Pensacola’s gBETA program is Brandon Storms of Assistt Inc., which Storms describes as an online

“I know there are a lot of entrepreneurs out there that don’t pursue [starting a business] because they don’t have the support system or the network to try and make it work. In gBETA that’s been the most valuable thing for me personally and our team.

It’s just really given us the confidence to go out there and say, ‘Hey you know what? We can do this.’”

Another alumnus of gBETA and a current mentee in The Spring’s VMS program is Erica Richards, who is the founder of Rainey’s Closet, which provides designer clothing rentals for children and momsto-be. The significance of gBETA to the community is clear to Richards: “I really think that it is giving small businesses access to resources that they normally wouldn’t have available or even honestly know about,” she said. “There’s so many people I can call on or turn to for help or guidance moving forward.”

The overarching theme heard from participants in The Spring’s VMS program and gBETA seems to be that these programs are finally leveling the playing field for new faces in business. With help from seasoned experts and dedicated mentors, these programs enhance community growth and guide new entrepreneurs through the twists and turns of starting or sustaining a small business.

marketplace “where folks can find help find odd jobs from others in their local community.” Storms decided to begin his business. journey with gBETA because he felt like somebody understood exactly what his business was trying to do. The Orlandobased company was in search of an accelerator program that could help them achieve the traction they were looking for.

“I know there are a lot of entrepreneurs out there that don’t pursue [starting a business] because they don’t have the support system or the network to try and make it work,” Storms said. “In gBETA that’s been the most valuable thing for me personally and our team. It’s just really given us the confidence to go out there and say, ‘Hey you know what? We can do this.’”

“As a minority founder, I didn’t feel that sense of welcome in some of our conversations that we had with other accelerators or investors,” he said. “gBETA just seemed to have their arms wide open and just really wanted to help us.”

Applications for The Spring’s VMS program or gBETA can be found at thespringpensacola.com, as well as membership plans for The Spring’s coworking space. For further questions, or to reach a member of their staff, email info@thespringpensacola.com.

55

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Around the Region AMIkids Pensacola Awarded U.S. DOL Grant Juvenile justice-involved youth eligible for construction and welding training, job placement AMIkids Pensacola, a national nonprofit organization that has been transforming troubled youth into responsible members of the community for more than 20 years, is proud to announce that it has been awarded a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grant to establish a YouthBuild program.

Launching in October 2021, the program will be a preapprenticeship program aimed at giving high school drop-outs, between the ages of 16-24, a chance to earn up to $2,700 while attending a six-month program that provides nationallyaccredited construction and welding training, opportunity to earn their GED and job readiness training.

This grant will support the training of two cohorts of 26 participants each, for a total of 84 at-risk youth and young adults. The program will offer a comprehensive educational and training program that includes case management, academic training, pre-apprenticeship vocational training in Construction and Welding industries, leadership development opportunities, community service learning. career-focused mentoring, and 12 months of follow up services.

AMIkids Pensacola will provide GED test preparation delivered by a classroom teacher. Forty percent of students’ activity will be focused on learning vocational skills; this will be delivered 58 | NWFL’s Business Climate

under the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Core and Welding I curriculum and OSHA 10-hour curriculum. In addition, the AMIkids Job Readiness Curriculum will be delivered to students in a group format throughout the program.

As part of the grant requirement, AMIkids Pensacola. has partnered with several industry employers, apprenticeship programs, workforce development boards, and educational institutions to create pathways for youth into RAPs, including: • Florida Masonry Apprentice & Educational Foundation • Pensacola State College • Pensacola Electrical Apprenticeship College GNJ • C. Levitt Home Maintenance • Downs Plumbing & Gas Co. • The Canopy • Johnson Construction of Pensacola

Baptist Health Care and Florida Blue collaborate to provide local businesses affordable health insurance options Florida Blue-affiliated company, Truli for Health, created to serve small to midsized employers.

Truli for Health (Truli), an affiliate of Florida Blue and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a new health maintenance organization (HMO). It is being offered in select Florida markets to give small and medium-size businesses a new option for high quality, easily accessible and more affordable health care coverage for employees.

Through a collaboration with Baptist Health Care in northwest Florida, area employers can begin enrolling in the plan Oct. 1.

• Gulf Coast Building Contractors • Troy University • CareerSource Escarosa • Goodwill Gulf Coast • Escambia County (Match Letter) • Escambia County (MOU) • AMIkids Pensacola Board of Trustees (Match Letter) For more information, contact AMIkids Pensacola Executive Director, Cheri Williams at CWilliams@amikids.org.

The COVID-19 public health crisis has emphasized the essential need for accessibility to health care for individuals and businesses.

Helping businesses access quality, affordable and personalized health care is Truli’s priority. Greater access to care means healthier communities and workplaces. This new HMO meets the needs of our local business community that often struggles with the financial cost of health coverage for employees.

Truli offers members a unique solution to this

challenge by supplying easy-to-understand plans and affordable costs for employers, plus convenient access to top local health care providers for members. Truli and its anchor providers are joining forces to deliver a patient-centered, valuebased care plan that helps members navigate the health system for the care they need, when they need it.

In northwest Florida, Baptist Health Care is the anchor provider working with Truli to deliver this fresh approach to local employers and their employees. The area’s only locally based health system, Baptist Health Care, will work with Truli and other like-minded providers who have high standards for affordability and quality.

Providers include Florida Blue-affiliated GuideWell Primary Care, which is operated by Baptist Health Care.

When faced with rare and complex conditions, local providers can coordinate specialized care options for Truli members through their local health system or via participating providers, including Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

Businesses can learn more at truliforhealth.com, eBaptistHealthCare.org or call 855-50-TRULI (855-5087854).

Gulf Winds Donates $15,000 Worth of Supplies for Hurricane Ida Relief Gulf Winds Credit Union stands with our neighbors to the west in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Guided by the credit union philosophy of People Helping People, Gulf Winds provided $15,000 worth of supplies to the New Orleans community and our friends at OnPath Federal Credit Union. These items included 12 generators, 90 gallons of fuel, tarps, water, nonperishable food and other relief supplies that might be needed by those impacted by the storm. Team members Johan Boelig, Stephen Brown, Rex Burt, Jonathan Dubuc, Berry Ellis, Josh Hornsby and Daniel Malone banded together to ensure relief supplies made it safely to New Orleans.

“Being a part of the Credit Union movement means so much to me personally,” VP of Strategic Management, Jonathan Dubuc

​Caitlin Cerame Selected as New Transportation Planner Caitlin Cerame has been selected as the new Transportation Planner for the City of Pensacola. In this role, Cerame will be responsible for developing and overseeing the City’s Complete Streets Program, which includes transportation planning for bicycles and pedestrians, street safety, lighting, urban design and more.

Cerame joins the city from the Emerald Coast Regional Council, where she most recently served as a Planner III, responsible for bicycle and pedestrian planning

said. “The mission of People Helping People is something that I try to live out on a day-to-day basis, and when the opportunity presented itself to put this mission to action, I was honored to be part of it. I’m incredibly proud to be a part of a company that doesn’t just speak this mission but lives it as well. Being in a position to provide families in need with critical items meant the world to me.”

The Gulf Winds volunteers took two vehicles and rented a moving truck to carry supplies for the three-and-a-half-hour trip. OnPath Federal Credit Union team members welcomed the volunteers and helped unload. OnPath is providing the donated items to support their staff impacted by the storm and plans to share the resources with their members and the local community.

For more information, visit gogulfwinds.com

assistance to three Transportation Planning Organizations in Northwest Florida.

Cerame said what interested her in the city’s Transportation Planner position was the opportunity to work on multi-modal transportation and find ways to make the city a safer place for all users, whether it’s motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians.

Cerame has a master’s degree in urban and regional planning and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida, and she also holds the designation of American Institute of Certified Planners from the

American Planning Association.

She has several years of transportation planning experience in local government from both the Emerald Coast Regional Council and St. Johns County, where she has held a range of planner and program coordinator roles.

Cerame also serves as a Director on the Florida Bicycle Association Board, a member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, and a certified League Cycling Instructor through the League of American Bicyclists.

As the city’s Transportation Planner, Cerame will work under

the direction of the City Engineer in the Public Works and Facilities Department to help plan and implement a wide range of programs to support multi-modal transportation in Pensacola.

“Planning for all modes of transportation is so important for any city to thrive, and I’m excited to have Ciatlin’s planning expertise here at the City of Pensacola,” said Mayor Grover Robinson. “I look forward to having her on our team to help improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and provide new transportation opportunities throughout the city.”

59

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Did You Know?

The City of Pensacola and Gulf Power officially welcomed Pensacola’s first-ever solar energy trees to downtown Pensacola in celebration of Earth Day 2021.

The two solar trees were installed in April and are located on opposite corners of the intersection at Main and Rues streets in downtown Pensacola. The trees represent an extension of the City of Pensacola’s clean energy partnership with Gulf Power and Gulf Power’s commitment to the revitalization of the downtown area by providing fun, eye-catching and interactive learning attractions to the landscape. They provide an opportunity for the public to see working solar energy technology and to use each tree’s QR code to access information about the benefits of solar, Gulf Power’s solar trees and canopy projects and the company’s other largescale solar energy centers.

For more information, visit gulfpower.com/solar.

64 | NWFL’s Business Climate

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The best of

★ ★ ★ ★

Downtown Pensacola Dining PLEASE VISIT GREATSOUTHERNRESTAURANTS.COM FOR CURRENT HOURS OF OPERATION FOR EACH RESTAURANT. THE FISH HOUSE: Dockside dining overlooking beautiful Pensacola Bay just steps away from historic Seville Square. Full bar. Late night menu. Brunch on Sundays. Dine inside or out. Features a menu of inventive fresh-seafood selections, house-smoked steaks, sushi, handpicked wines, and their world-famous Grits à Ya Ya.

ATLAS OYSTER HOUSE: Great waterfront view. Dine inside or out. Full bar, including sixteen beers on tap and wines by the glass. Relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.

Sunday Brunch, burgers, steaks, beer, and oysters—raw, baked, or steamed. Steamed shrimp and crab. Or start with the gumbo, then move on to sushi. Weekly specials.

JACKSON’S STEAKHOUSE: Recognized nationally for its award-winning, Southern-influenced steaks and seafood paired with impeccable service. Reservations can be made online. The menu highlights wet-aged, grain-fed beef from the heartland of America. A consummate dining experience in historic downtown Pensacola.

FIVE SISTERS BLUES CAFÉ: Southern favorites in

ITALIAN

historic Belmont-DeVilliers neighborhood of downtown Pensacola. A harmonic blend of southern flavors and soulful music featuring all of the southern comfort favorites with a kick of Creole and Caribbean flair. Fried chicken, cornbread, collards, and more!

ANGELENA'S RISTORANTE ITALIANO: Angelena’s menu brings creative, Southern touches to classic Italian cuisine. Handmade pastas, thoughtfully prepared vegetable dishes are served alongside an abundance of Gulf seafood.

The wood-fired oven lends flavor to everything from Neapolitan-style pizzas to meatballs and desserts.

THE FISH HOUSE: 850-470-0003 · 600 SOUTH BARRACKS STREET ATLAS OYSTER HOUSE: 850-470-0003 · 600 SOUTH BARRACKS STREET JACKSON’S STEAKHOUSE: 850-469-9898 · SOUTH 400 PALAFOX FIVE SISTERS BLUES CAFÉ: 850-912-4856 · 421 WEST BELMONT STREET ANGELENA'S RISTORANTE ITALIANO: 850-542-8398 · 101 EAST INTENDENCIA STREET

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