Maritime Parcel Detail Annotated Plan ng Str
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Plan Elements Formalized connections to Bruce Beach Baskerville-Donovan Market pavilion & plaza Nick’s Boathouse Reclaimed beach Pedestrian passage Formalized access to the water Potential hotel block Covered pedestrian passage Mixed-use liner buildings 10,000 sq.ft. ground-floor grocer Stair tower terminating important views Mixed-use building Private courtyard Mary’s Square Raised promenade Roof top pool with water views Existing seawall promenade Day marina docks Pavered drop-off plaza Stormwater retention pond Raised Boardwalk - Extension of Cedar St Studer Office Building Luxury tower overlooking Fetterman Field
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the waterfront is an underused asset. While recent efforts have opened access to Bruce Beach, Street downtown’s 60-year-old accessible Cedar beach, the waterfront remains disjointed and underutilized. A future for the West Main area envisioned by the Master Plan project could potentially include a connected waterfront, an active beach where kayakers and paddleboarders make use of the waterway, and residents can walk downstairs from their apartments to visit shops and restaurants on the ground floor, or visit a concert at the amphitheatre overlooking the bay.
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Maritime Park
Maritime Parcel Detail Annotated Plan
July 9, 2019 | © Speck & Associates / DPZ CoDesign 2019
was a step toward courting investors who want to be assured that any development they invest in on the property is poised for the type of quality, sustained growth that a master plan could ensure. Hoteliers and various types of residential developers have shown interest, and with these amenities, retail and restaurants would bring the vibrancy of a mixed-use urban space that is desirable to both retirees and young people looking for a place to live. Rothfeder said that Studer’s research extended to other southeastern cities with vibrant urban cores like Asheville, NC, or Charleston, SC.
“We’re getting interest from people outside this community who are now seeing Pensacola pop up on their radar as a really attractive place for investment and development, so that’s super exciting,” he said. “Eight years ago, we’re going to those places to learn and now they’re coming here.” The current growth of the Palafox corridor has shown that development in the downtown space can be successful, and that’s without even fully harnessing the unique attributes of the area. Rothfeder said that past CiviCon speakers have spent time downtown and commented that
20 | Business Climate | 2020 / 2021 Annual Real Estate
“What the research shows is that capital follows talent, and talent follows place,” Rothfeder said. “Sense of place, authenticity is becoming most important on the list, so younger people are making a decision of what community they want to live in and then they’ll find a job when they get there. Human capital and talent, that’s what 83 drives a city forward.” Another challenge is a disconnect in the West Main Master Plan project area from the core retail area on Palafox. While the sites are only four blocks from that central shopping district, on a sunny day in summer, that relatively short distance may be untenable along busy Main Street. Fortunately, a separate development plan aims to improve upon the connectivity and walkability of the waterfront and could potentially mitigate this challenge in the future. The Pensacola Waterfront Framework Plan is a philanthropic effort by
Quint and his wife Rishy Studer who invited SCAPE, a New York-based design-driven landscape architecture and urban design studio, to create a plan for the waterfront of downtown Pensacola. As recommendations for the West Main Master Plan complete approval and more specific development plans come under consideration likely starting this spring, there will be continuing opportunities for public commentary. With the intention of drawing and keeping talent in Pensacola, each building, or development, will go through the process of input and approval by the planning board and city council. This ongoing effort between various stakeholders and the City builds on multiple efforts to expand the growth of downtown and make use of its full potential. “Not only is it in the downtown core, in our 450-year-old, authentic city but it’s also on the water, and then you tie that in to some other projects that I know the City is talking about right now,” Rothfeder said. “It’s a lot of exciting things, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve: another reason for people to want to call Pensacola home.”
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The market study found that the overflowing demand for downtown housing is a positive for apartment developments.
