Northwest Florida's Business Climate downtown October 2016

12th Annual Downtown Issue · October 2016

Creative Collaboration A Hiatus for History Dawn of a New Night What Do the Experts Say? Palafox Places

Downtown DEVELOPMENT A look at new, upcoming and recently completed projects changing the face of our area.

2 | Business Climate | nwflbusinessclimate.com

nwflbusinessclimate.com | Business Climate | 3

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Success of the Past Challenges of the Future Owners Malcolm & Glenys 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 Anna Hitchcock anna@ballingerpublishing.com Editor + BC Layout Josh Newby josh@ballingerpublishing.com Assistant Editor Dawn Gresko dawn@ballingerpublishing.com Editorial Intern Malorie Eagles malorie@ballingerpublishing.com Sales & Marketing Paula Rode, Account Executive ext. 28 paula@ballingerpublishing.com Geneva Strange, Account Executive ext. 21 geneva@ballingerpublishing.com

Do you remember the last time you were bored Downtown? We certainly don’t.

Whether it’s a festival or cultural event, a new restaurant opening, or the ribbon-cutting for an exciting new development, there is always something happening to remind us that Pensacola’s urban core is really the business core of Northwest Florida. Few other cities in our region sport as much industrial diversity, inside and outside investment, and patron diversity as the couple of square miles that encompass award-winning streets like Palafox.

It is in that spirit that we present our 12th annual Downtown issue of Business Climate.

The task of putting this information together, doing the research, talking to experts and presenting it all to you is not unlike the evolution that our subject matter undergoes.

First, we have to know what we want, then talk to those who know how to do it, and then finally, have the wherewithal to actually get it done. We’re proud of people like Quint Studer, Bobby Switzer, Brian Spencer, Justin Beck, Charles Liberis, Collier Merrill and so many others who take financial risks to realize a grand vision of what we could be.

Are we cheerleaders for Downtown? You bet we are. Few other cities of our population and average income can boast as many amenities and as speedy development as we can.

And it seems like every week, there’s a new, hip angle on some industry, an announcement of forthcoming construction, a never-before-seen cultural activity, or a brave new venture that we’re not sure will actually work—but somehow always does.

Of course, Downtown is not without its weaknesses. Accusations of unfair standards and even inconsistent building codes have recently been leveled against both government and private enterprise. We know that we cannot continue the success of our past without looking to the challenges of our future, and that is why in this issue we also take a sober look at some of the tribulations still plaguing us, but it is with an optimistic attitude that we do so.

Some of the progress we have seen has been slow—frustrating even (looking at you, Tech Park). But some of it has happened remarkably fast (it only took a handful of months after the DIB discontinued Gallery Night for private business to step in and carry it on).

That is the nature of cities, of growth, and of evolution in general. It is during the slow times that try us that we must keep our faith, comfort ourselves with the success of the past, and take a measured look at carrying those triumphs into the future.

That is the story of both Pensacola and of each step that our ever-growing city takes.

314 N. Spring St. | Pensacola, FL 32501 850.433.1166 | fax: 850.435.9174 ballingerpublishing.com 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. © 2016

nwflbusinessclimate.com | Business Climate | 7

Contents

Downtown Development Old projects make headway and new developments break ground.

We bring you all the latest from the most recent apartment complexes and commercial spaces, to coffee shops and subdivisions. page 34

Inside the Locker Room

Creative Collaboration

A Hiatus for History

Dawn of a New Night

What Do the Experts Say?

A Q&A with UWF Athletic Director Dave Scott about the future of UWF football downtown and what it means for the region’s economy, workforce and educational environment. page 10

Coworking labs are all the rage and offer an affordable option for young entrepreneurs and upstarts. As Pensacola becomes a city that incubates these brave new ideas, we present the many options available to these innovators. page 15

Recent controversies have shed light on inconsistent city standards and the hassle many developers are faced with as they try to gentrify and refurbish older parts of town. A look forward at what history means in Pensacola. page 19

First, the Downtown Improvement Board cancelled Gallery Night; then, private enterprise took the reigns. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. page 25

Columns written by experts and thought-leaders in our region, pertaining to improvements that must be made to infrastructure, stormwater retention, statutory requirements, and more, in order to make Pensacola the city we know it can be. page 29

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Palafox Places Living on one of the 10 best streets in America certainly has its perks! We profile four Downtown denizens who have made the place their own while retaining some of the historic charm that makes this street unique in the first place. page 43

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Sports

Inside the Locker Room D

o you hear that? It’s the roar of the crowd at Maritime Stadium! The UWF Argos had an explosive start to their inaugural season, winning against Ave Maria in a shutout showdown. At the first home game, they tackled Missouri S&T 45-28. They were bested by Valdosta State at the GSC opener, but they came back and stormed the field against #Florida Tech in the Inaugural Coastal Classic for a win. Dave Scott, the athletic director of the 15 sports at the University of West Florida, gives us insight into how this dynamic team was sculpted and the monumental impact that football has had on the university and the community at large.

By Malorie Eagles · Photos by UWF Athletics

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Describe your recruitment process. How are players found and selected?

Our head coach started almost two years out. Then he brought on three more coaches after that first season. Then they were recruiting high schools in Florida and Alabama. These days, high school student athletes will also send video through Huddle to be reviewed. It’s all about creating those relationships and that’s great for the institution.

We’re into high schools that probably weren’t even aware that UWF existed. If you talk to some of our student athletes that were at the press conference, they came from high schools in the state of

their practices. Once they get here, coaches start training them, putting them through workouts, and then you start seeing who has the higher skill level. That’ll determine who starts, who’s second string, and who’s travel squad. With football we have roughly 115 student athletes. You only take 65 on the travel squad.

We’re young. Missouri S & T is a team that’s an established program that has a lot of juniors and seniors.

I think our whole offensive line are freshman. So there’s a big difference between an 18/19 year old and a 23 or 24 year old in strength and development and skill level, so our guys are very fortunate. They’ve done very well.

Were you guys able to reach out and look at other teams and check out the competition?

Florida that never heard of the University of West Florida. It creates more interest. All of a sudden there’s a kid that signs with UWF that people are like, “Where’s that school?”

National studies usually say that you will pick up somewhere between two and three additional students if you pick up that student athlete, so that helps create more interest in the University. Coaches get out and recruit, make those contacts with coaches, see kids, invite them to camp. I think this summer, we had 200 on a Friday and another 200 on Sunday in camp coming to get looked at from wherever if you want to get seen as a student athlete.

What is your process in deciding your starters and second string players?

That depends on skill level and

Well, a couple things there. One, we reached out to look at programs when we were establishing a program to look at how people were doing.

South Alabama had just started a program. Florida Tech had just started a program in Division II. We went in and had questions about how those people did it, so we could learn from that. We fortunately hired Coach Shinnick, from North Carolina Pembroke, who just started football in 2007.

We also reached out and looked at how some of our other conference schools operated because there’s a lot of logistics with football involved outside of the sport, like where we were going to play, how we are transporting the team. It’s just a large group. You’ve got to plan for 65 kids and probably 15 to 20 staff, so meals have to be planned. Everything has to be scheduled, so it’s just a little bit more deliberate than the other sports.

We reached out, not only in our conference, but to a lot of new programs to see how they did things, so that we can learn from that. We tried to learn from those things, implement as much as we could and we are still learning. We went through our first road game, our first home game, and from all indications we feel like most people felt it was a success, but there are still logistical things you’re constantly working on to try and improve.

Based on the players’ performance in practices, scrimmages, and the first few games, do you have any predictions for this season?

We are already exceeding those predictions. It’s a first year program, so we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores. They are playing against juniors and seniors, so they’ve been through it for one fall and the other teams have had many falls to get prepared for this season. We’re hoping that if we can come out of this year and keep people healthy and learn from it, then we’re really building toward the future and hopefully provide a product that the Pensacola community and our university is proud of and want to come out and support every week.

This is an exciting time, but also high pressure for yourself, coaching staff, and players. Do you think nerves have played a role in this inaugural season at all for the players?

I’ve got to say being on the field watching the team run out, at Wahoo Stadium for the first game, our guys went out there and I’d have to think that with the crowd as large as it was, with the excitement, their adrenaline just had to be really pumping and that fortunately it was a positive—because sometimes you can get over excited and not stay as focused on what you have to do on the field, but they were very focused. The team played very well offensively and defensively and we saw a positive outcome for that. Hopefully we can continue our momentum. But, the games are going to continue to get tougher as the schedule goes on. The schools we play are stronger and stronger.

Well, it sounds like they are kind of on the pro-level with controlling their nerves. That’s really great.

Yeah, I tell you that’s a lot of credit to our coaches. Figure most of these guys have never played in a college game before. So, you go from high school to college, it’s a big step up.

Everybody’s a little faster. The game’s a little quicker. And I definitely think it helps to have Kaleb Nobles, who’s our starting quarterback who played at Valdosta State. He’s in grad school, so he’s been there. He’s started. He’s seen it. It helps to have his calming influence on the field to settle some of

the other guys down and keep them focused. A big part of the season is going to be about staying healthy. We are very good in our skill areas, but if we get hurt too much in too many places, then you step into younger guys. It’s going to be important to stay healthy and hopefully we will stay competitive.

So, you guys are not currently playing on UWF soil. You are playing at Maritime Park in downtown Pensacola.

Do you have an updated timeline on construction of University Park?

We still have the master plan, which eventually puts a stadium on campus. We’ve built the field. We’ve built the infrastructure underneath.

We broke ground on a facility Oct. 6. That will house not only an equipment room and a locker room for football, but also a multi-sport weight room. Upstairs will be FSU College of Medicine and College of Health, so it will be a shared facility.

That will be some much needed space for us to grow and be able to take care of our student athletes better. Then we will have a facility there that will have a locker room. We will have a field.

With the master plan, at some point we’ll put a stadium around that field.

Obviously we are having a great experience at Wahoo Stadium. We sold out 6,288 people. I think it really helped us reach out to the Pensacola community and cause that experience that our students love.

Downtown makes a lot of sense and means that we don’t have to put a huge investment into the stadium right away and we can get some other things built.

But the next president will determine how far into that timeline we go, or if we push that out a little bit to meet some other needs that we have. Dr. Bense got us to this point and that was her thing—to get the program established. Fortunately, we have the field on campus, so it gives us a great practice area and eventually that will be our game field, but at some point to be determined in the future.

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Sports

TIMELINE The Long Road to Football Sept. 5, 2013 University of West Florida’s President Judith Bense confirmed plans to start UWF football in 2016.

Perfect. And it’s such a beautiful field, too.

We’ve hosted a couple of scrimmages out there and Pen Air Federal Credit Union has seen the value in that. We’ve named it the Pen Air Field and they have made an investment of $1 million in the program and that will help us grow some things. I think you’ll see more people step up and help us move it forward.

That’s fantastic! I know you guys are really heavily donation based. How have the donations been, outside of Pen Air? Good! We just continue to step up and people continue to give and that’s important. When we started football at the University of West Florida it wasn’t really about bringing another sport to our athletic program. One of the things we did initially was establish a visioning committee. A lot of people want us to have football and that group made some recommendations. In the end, Dr. Bense decided to move forward with football.

When you look at our peer and aspirant groups academically, I think all those but one had football, so it was part of the growth of the institution—a way to create some student life. To set us apart from some other institutions.

It’s going to help us connect to people that we haven’t been connected to before and hopefully they get excited about our chemistry programs, our business programs, our English programs, and it gives them something to rally around and connect.

If you use inter-collegiate athletics correctly, we have 14 sports before football that have a lot of success and we hope that brings people to have more

“

OBVIOUSLY WE ARE HAVING A GREAT EXPERIENCE AT WAHOO STADIUM. WE SOLD OUT 6,288 PEOPLE. I THINK IT REALLY HELPED US REACH OUT TO THE PENSACOLA COMMUNITY AND CAUSE THAT EXPERIENCE THAT OUR STUDENTS LOVE. DOWNTOWN MAKES A LOT OF SENSE AND MEANS THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO PUT A HUGE INVESTMENT INTO THE STADIUM RIGHT AWAY AND WE CAN GET SOME OTHER THINGS BUILT.”

Sept. 13, 2013 UWF reached an agreement with CMPA to play football at Maritime Park.

Jan. 31, 2014 UWF named Pete Shinnick as first football head coach.

Aug. 10, 2015 UWF football kickoff event and fundraiser held at Seville Quarter.

Aug. 17, 2015 UWF unveils first official football uniforms.

Sept. 12, 2015 UWF football’s first intrasquad scrimmage at University Park field.

Sept. 3, 2016 Start of UWF football’s inaugural 2016 season.

interest in those programs too. We have a lot of good student athletes that have been recruited to West Florida that represent us very well and we hope people want to be a part of that, either by helping young college students get their education or by helping us move the programs forward.

Enrollment is definitely at an all-time high, so we can already see the positive effects of that.

Well, and part of that discussion early on about starting a sport like football, especially in the South, creates opportunities to improve the brand of the University of West Florida. It creates an opportunity for affinity with the institution, so if people have that excitement it raises awareness about the University of West Florida. We are a great academic institution and have been and if that brings more attention to that, then that raises the awareness of your degree when you graduate. It makes your degree more valuable. People recognize that.

The economic impact of UWF Athletics was $6.1 million in 2010, but that was expected to increase with football. To get an idea of what the economic impact for football alone would look like, could you tell us about how much the first few games have brought in according to the projections?

I can tell you we sold out the first game, so that was 6,288 people. All those aren’t sold tickets because we held back 1,000 for students. Every football student athlete gets four, and we had some staff in there, so I would say it’s probably over 5,000 in somewhere sold tickets. And then we had corporate sponsors. I want to say we had over 28 corporate sponsors at many different levels. It’s been better than we could have expected. You set up the game and the plan and hope everybody decides to come. When you sell out, that’s a good position to be in from a business model because then your ticket creates an even bigger value.

I did not have the opportunity to go down Palafox before or after the game, but I know when we had the scrimmage, restaurants were overrun a little bit because they weren’t expecting the crowd.

I’d say it would be a very positive impact to the downtown community.

It definitely will be a positive impact for our operating budget to make ends meet, but that is part of how football was set up. When we set up football, we were going to have to bring in a certain amount in ticket sales, a certain amount in donations, and a certain amount in corporate sales to make the formula work and we’ll probably know at the end of the season whether or not we hit those numbers.

Will the team be engaging with the community through volunteer work or community outreach programs?

Coach, prior to the season, made over 300 public appearances. The team has done some stuff with

12 | Business Climate | nwflbusinessclimate.com

different schools and PE programs.

And they’ve done some community service initiatives prior to and probably will again in the spring when they are getting more into the off-season. Once they get into season it becomes very regimented and for them to be successful, not only on the field but in the classroom, it’s important that they go to those study halls, they’re doing what they are supposed to be doing in their classes. It’s hard to squeeze in other

FUNDS FOR FOOTBALL

things—even though they will. We have a Reading and Recess Program where our student athletes go into elementary schools and read, but usually a lot of the community service will be in the off-season when they have a little bit more time.

If fans are unable to attend the games in person, how can we all tune in?

We have a radio partner WPNN 103.7. All our games will be on radio. The first home game was on

Pen Air

The givers who have pledged at least $100,000

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Conference Games like Valdosta State, you can go to their website and watch it live-streamed on your computer.

In fact, I know a lot of people who watch it on a computer and listen to it on radio, so you can hear the UWF commentary but still see the game.

Blab TV. The Oct. 1 game was on American Sports Network, which is a regional Southern telecast, then Oct. 22 our game was on ESPN 3.

The other two home games will be on Blab TV, so even if you can’t buy a ticket and come to the game, you’ll be able to see it streamed locally and then on the away games, listening to it on the radio on WPNN. Hopefully it gives people an opportunity to see Argonaut football. A lot of times, when we go to Gulf South

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Innovation

CREATIVE COLLABORATION

BY DAWN GRESKO

CIE

$10 pe r sq (on-sit uare foot e tenan ts) $75 pe r mont h (virtua l tenan ts) 170 to 1,900 sqft. o ffices

If you’re an early-stage company with an established business plan and you are income producing, the Gulf Coast Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) might be the perfect grounds on which to lay the foundation for your business venture.

The CIE began as a partnership between Pensacola State College and Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce in 2008. Since then, the CIE has fostered growth in budding companies, including well-known success stories like Hixardt Technologies, AppRiver, TechSoft, Actigraph, and many more. Although a business incubator rather than a coworking space alone, CIE does offer shared office space for accepted tenants, including private office suites in lieu of open floor plans with cubicles or coworking stations. The CIE facility sprawls two stories inside the Pensacola State College building on Garden and Devilliers streets, taking up a total of 15,000 square feet.

Being a CIE tenant also means discounted rates on consulting and legal services, entry to CIE entrepreneurial enhancement events (e.g. Tech Forums), opportunities to network with other area tech-based professionals, exposure to international and regional markets, as well as access to key commercialization and research partners such as the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, Andrews Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, University of West Florida, and Small Business Development Center. But being a tenant means more than getting access to all that square footage, especially when the location puts you in the downtown hub of innovation and among other entrepreneurs. In fact, these successful entrepreneurs, local business leaders, and advisory service providers are known as “Friends of the CIE” and they offer top-tier services (some at discounted rates) to support the CIE’s early-stage companies by providing marketing, legal, accounting, and human resources as well as advisory services to assist companies with their growth needs. This includes the development of goals and benchmarks, finances, business planning, advisory boards, and more.

Tenants are long term, often staying for a minimum of three year, but there is a five year limit.

When CIE is at maximum capacity, you can still apply to be virtual tenant at a lower cost gaining all the perks of an on-site tenant--just without the dedicated desk and office space.

If you’re an entrepreneur looking to start a new business but don’t have the funds to rent a commercial space, or you’re simply a freelancer looking to carve out a time and place to hunker down for a productive work session on the fly, a coworking space might just be the answer for you. Essentially a shared office area where like-minded individuals are able not only to network and build lasting relationships with other professionals, a co-working space is also where you can rent out a desk (and sometimes a private room or suite) and enjoy bountiful amenities—from access to free WiFi, office equipment and supplies to opportunities for business-boosting events and more.

Many progressive co-working spaces offer a combination of “hot” and “dedicated” desks; hot-desking refers to different tenants using the same work space but at different times during the day or week, while dedicated desks are reserved for the same person for an allotted amount of time. If you’re more productive at night than during the day, don’t fret: most coworking spaces are open 24/7 to accommodate both night owl and early bird schedules.

COWORKING ANNEX

Pricing TBA As you might have already guessed 2 50 to 70 from its name, Cowork Annex is a 0 sqft su ites place to cowork and an annex, or addition, joined to a main building--the Blount Building--at One Palafox Place.

Although the Annex’s temporary home is in Suite 300 of the Blount Building, it will eventually move to its much larger location, approximately 10,000 square feet of the former Kress Department store on the second floor of the Brent Building, which could be open as soon as summer 2017.

In addition to a larger space, the new layout will be drastically different from the old; while the old space had an open cowork area that held 20 hot desks, no dedicated desks and six private offices, the new will have 18 private offices (which allow for single or double desks), seven meeting rooms, six collaboration zones, 60 hot desks, 12 dedicated desks, and an event room that seats 100 or 65 for training and/or lunch and learn set up. Don’t worry about bringing your own chair and desk; office furnishings are provided. There will also be a full kitchen with free coffee, a lounge area, and exercise room.

Did we mention the Cowork Annex has the fastest Internet in Florida? At 20 gig fiber, the Annex anticipates tech-savvy startups and entrepreneurs will definitely find their home here.

Memberships will range from daily drop-in and on/off visits to part time membership Mondays through Fridays from 9 am to 6 pm, as well as full 24/7 access in hot desk seats to dedicated desks and private offices.

nwflbusinessclimate.com | Business Climate | 15

Innovation

th r mon 49 pe rship) 2 $ o $45 t te membe i (on-s ear per y ) $125 mbership e m l a (virtu

PENSACOLA SOCIAL DESK

Take a seat at Pensacola Socialdesk: conveniently located in mid-town Pensacola, this innovative hub for entrepreneurs and freelancers alike officially opened on Oct. 21. The idea for the coworking space arose after Peter Nowak, owner and operator of six local McDonald’s restaurants, realized a need in the community for a place for freelance- and micro-businesses to work more productively than from home or a coffee shop. Peter and David Musselwhite met shortly after Entrecon 2015 and teamed up to refine Peter’s idea, beginning the process of designing and renovating the old Gulf Winds Credit Union building.

The building is two stories and approximately 10,500 square feet, containing a total of eight dedicated desks, two day-use offices, four conference rooms as well as a collaboration counter with seats for 20, coworking tables that accommodate 24 people, and a classroom space that seats 40 to 50 individuals. The first floor is dedicated to coworking with flex desks, dedicated desks, conference rooms and relaxation areas--including basketball and ping pong games. On the second floor you’ll find a multipurpose classroom along with another collaboration area and an exclusive executive dining room. Unique features include a real bank vault for file storage, coffee and espresso bars, plus a New Orleans-style outdoor patio for taking your work outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. Other perks include already furnished work stations, a bike rack for those who like to ride to work, as well as janitorial and cleaning services, plus standard office benefits.

But that’s not all Pensacola Socialdesk has to offer: it’s location allows for easy travel being 10 minutes to Downtown Pensacola and IMHC, as well as a short distance from University Town Plaza, University of West Florida, and the Naval Aviation Station. Also, never fret being late to a meeting again; the facility has its parking perks, since there’s virtually unlimited free parking.

Pricing depends on whether or not you’d like flex desk or dedicated desk options; if you’d like all the benefits of being a member, but don’t actually need to reserve a work space, virtual membership can meet your needs. To reinforce working as a team, both on-site and virtual members receive an account on teamwork.com for project management as well as an easy to use Teamwork Chat application, which allows for online collaboration and coordination.

FIRST CITY ART CENTER Are you an artist who needs a space to get creative in and doesn’t mind sharing?

First City Art Center (FCAC) offers working artists private and shared (work-only) studios available at low-cost rent in an accessible downtown facility.

The concept for the studios arose after FCAC moved to the old Habitat for Humanity building; after FCAC took it over, they decided the individual offices could be converted to studios, which took a heroic amount of effort from a dedicated team of volunteers and paid contractors. Once completed these studios provided a space for artists and artisans who were interested in being part of a collaborative environments that offer a chance to tap into many opportunities, including classes and volunteering. Renters are called studio keyholders, who can be emerging or established artists, or groups of such artists.

The low cost of rent comes with an easy-to-meet caveat; reserving a studio means becoming a member of FCAC’s Studio Artist Guild and membership entails at least 10 hours of volunteer time each month (if you’re familiar with food cooperatives, this is no more time than the average rate for co-op members).

There are six studios available to artists, studios A through G, and you are more than welcome to share a studio with another artist--as long as you both meet the selection criteria (artistic merit, evidence of critical merit, statement on the purpose of the studio, willingness to engage in community efforts). Studios are self-contained

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spaces with standard electrical fixtures and single-phase power and WiFi internet. Keyholders must provide their own furniture and equipment. You’ll have nearly 24/7 $66 to $200 p access to the studio, which is good news for night er mon th owls; while certain meetings may restrict access the 120 to 3 0 0 sqft keyholder will be notified ahead of time. studio s More benefits to being a studio keyholder include getting your name posted on a marquee next to each studio door, participating in exhibitions of work in the FCAC gallery, as well as opportunities to curate a show during year if concept is approved by other studio artists, opportunities to participate in promotional events like open studio days, Second Saturdays, special events and workshops (e.g. Hot Glass Cold Brew, Pumpkin Patch), and opportunities to benefit from the center’s marketing including a listing on the FCAC website.

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History

T

he demolition of the John Sunday House in July 2016 has spurred serious discussions of how to handle downtown development, especially in regards to tearing down historic properties in order to pave the way for new development.

In fact, between the months of June and August alone, the City had issued a total of 16 demolition permits all for properties in Downtown Pensacola.

This is where the Historic Structure Moratorium comes in, as a “press the pause button” originally proposed by City Councilman Brian Spencer, which states that neither recognized historic structures nor buildings

within city limits that were built during or before 1916 will be allowed to be demolished over the next six months, while the city’s Planning Board considers new rules for historic preservation and new language defining what can classify as a “historic structure.”

The City Council voted 6-2 to implement the 180-day moratorium on the demolition of any structures over the age of 100 within the city limits but not within a special review district.

According to section 12-2-10(9) of the City’s code of ordinances on tearing down historic structures: “Demolition of a contributing structure constitutes an irreplaceable loss to the quality and

character of the Historic District and is strongly discouraged… Therefore, no permit shall be issued for demolition of a contributing structure unless the owner demonstrates to the (Architectural Review) board clear and convincing evidence of unreasonable hardship.”

The provision applies only to the Pensacola Historic, North Hill and the Old East Hill districts.

Historically, African-

American neighborhoods like Tanyard or Belmont-Devilliers don’t have historic district protections, and the Governmental Center District in which the Sunday House was located isn’t subject to this section of the code. Regulations for the Governmental Center District do still require approval by the city’s Architectural Review Board for demolitions, however.

For this reason,

the Planning Board is proposing that a Historic Preservationist be present during all hearings related to demolition in downtown areas.

Other proposed changes to Section 12-132 of the same ordinance have suggested that the Planning Board take charge of the review of demolition permits. Since the Board would like to review demolitions outside historical districts and overlays, the Planning

A Hiatus for History With downtown demolitions on the rise, we take a look at what the Historic Structure Moratorium could mean for the future of downtown development.

BY DAWN GRESKO · PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEBORAH DUNLAP

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History Board has discussed and agreed that someone who is a historic preservationist should sit on the Board for demolition requests; the University of West Florida Historic Trust would provide such a preservationist as an advisor to the board when it is scheduled to review a demolition request.

Language also included that the Board could call upon any branch of the city government at any

time for information and advice.

However, changes to the code could take up to four months or more.

Also, because of the frequency at which the Planning Board meets, the timeline on when the Planning Board will reach a decision on how to define historic structures could take just as long if not longer.

The City’s Planning Board meets once a month

“The moratorium will not only give opportunity to reassess history and what we’re doing to preserve it, but I think it will help develop a lot of the vacant property that needs to be developed.”

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on the second Tuesday of every month. At the request of the City Council, the board officially took over the issue of historic structures two meetings ago in August.

Although the moratorium was proposed and approved by City Council, it is typical for issues involving land development codes to be crafted by the Planning Board before moving to the City Council.

Moreover, the Planning Board hosts public workshops and meetings in which citizens can submit input on how to address the issue; each citizen is allowed up to five minutes of speaking at the podium and may make suggestions, which help advise the Planning Board on the best course of action versus an immediate knee-jerk reaction on the issue of demolition.

“If you feel strongly, come to the Planning Board meetings and voice your opinion,” said Paul Ritz, Chairman for the City’s Planning Board. “We’re only seven people, but we have the chance to hear ideas from other citizens to broaden our perspective. In democratic process not everyone gets what they want, but everyone has the option for input.”

So, what constitutes a historic structure? While the Planning Board is still working on defining the language for what categorizes a structure as “historic” and exempt from attempts to demolish it, many believe the term “historic” should not apply to a structure because of it’s age alone.

“Personally, I’m against saying just because a structure is x amount of years old, so it’s historic,” said Ritz. “Someone can build a dumpster enclosure and a 100 years from now it still stands. Is the dumpster site historic? I’d say no, it’s not. Age alone is not a good rationale.”

However, in the case of the John Sunday House, the structure not only met criteria for being over the 100-

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History The John Sunday House, the destruction of which brought citywide attention to historic preservation issues and current city codes.

year marker, but was the home of one of America’s wealthiest African American businessmen of his time--John Sunday.

This brings other factors into play when deciding on whether to keep a structure for preservation over removing it in demolition, since there are certain cultural values to consider, too.

There is also the question of why we need to demolish buildings in historic areas, when in fact vacant properties exist for development in the downtown and surrounding areas.

According to local real estate agent and fellow Pensacolian John David Ellis, Jr., at least a quarter of MLS listings on the market are listings of vacant lots.

“The moratorium will not only give opportunity to reassess history and what we’re doing to preserve it, but I think it will help develop a lot of the vacant property that

needs to be developed,” said John David Ellis, Jr., a local real estate agent.

“There’s a lot on Alcaniz and Garden streets that’s been sitting vacant for roughly 50 years, and it used to be the site of the Seville Inn. Would you rather have a historic structure that generations to come will appreciate and understand, or have vacant lot?”

Ellis goes on to reference how Five Sisters Blues Cafe, which was renovated by Quint Studer, might credit the successful business in part to its historic location in Belmont-Devilliers neighborhood.

“I think part of the success Studer had with Five Sisters was not only the great food and beautiful renovations,” said Ellis. “I think people associated the building with the old record shop that used to be there.

They associated it with good memories. These properties have a cultural

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value, which was proven to be an asset in the case of Five Sisters, and that tends to be overlooked by developers and real estate agents only concerned with property value.”

The latest discussion on the demolition of historic structures took place on October 11, 2016, when the board discussed the current demolition process and lack of review and implementation of preservation standards and requirements.

Although plans for demolition have been placed on hiatus, what lies in store for Downtown Pensacola’s historic structures remains unclear until the Planning Board reaches a decision--a process that can be helped along with input from Pensacola’s citizens.

However, this much is clear: while many agree that historic properties should not be destroyed at whim, the City will need more than the argument that a property is over a

century old to consider it for preservation. Before downtown development moves forward, the language of historic structures must first be defined by more than just age so demolition requests can be reviewed more efficiently.

Keep posted on the Planning Board’s upcoming meetings and find out when historic structures will be on the agenda by visiting the Agenda Center found on the Planning Board page of the City’s website.

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DAWN OF A NEW NIGHT

By Josh Newby Photo by Randy Hamilton

AFTER 25 YEARS, the Downtown Improvement Board’s Gallery Night— responsible for almost half a million dollars each month— came to an end…and then was quickly revitalized by area businesspeople. While much of the spirit of the original event will carry over to the new proceedings, organizers have also been vocal about various changes that they feel will address concerns held by many toward the DIB’s version of the evening.

THE PAST

Gallery Night, at least under DIB management, ended its 25-year tenure in September 2016. The DIB had elected earlier in the year to sunset the popular street celebration due to problems with funding and recent complaints about the event’s departure from its original intention.

The event had humble beginnings when, in 1991, Arts Council of Northwest Florida executive director Andy Witt thought it would be a neat idea to partner with local galleries and bring attention to the Downtown area. A couple times a year, the wellto-do in Pensacola were treated to a

quiet evening where the focus was art, wine and hushed acoustic and jazz music.

Gallery Night, which took cues from similar events in places like Nashville, Charlotte and Savannah, soon became a cultural and economic catalyst for the progress that was beginning to emerge up and down Palafox.

Enter the DIB, which was one of the first sponsors of the event, along with eight participating galleries. The evening was held three times a year to coincide with Spring Break, July 4 and the Blue Angels schedules.

For several years, it continued to be a middling success, attracting

anywhere from a hundred to 300 individuals who enjoyed the art and the quiet, polished atmosphere. As more bars and restaurants began to emerge Downtown, however, and a population boom in the early- to mid-2000s meant increased numbers of young adults, the average age of attendees began to drop considerably.

It did not take long before cathartic jazz was replaced by pop-country and electronic hip-hop, and socialization and alcohol eclipsed the art and culture that had been the event’s primary focus.

The DIB, a quasi-governmental agency established by the Florida legislature, completely took over

EACH OF THE 12 NIGHTS A YEAR WILL HAVE A FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR ART FORM OR COMMUNITY HAPPENING, WHETHER IT’S PERFORMANCE ART OR KARATE OR CARS.” nwflbusinessclimate.com | Business Climate | 25

Gallery Night

85

$

amount average Gallery Night patron spends

planning and management of the event soon thereafter. After pressure from attendees, as well as bar and restaurant owners, the DIB expanded the event to 12 nights a year and elected to keep the streets closed until midnight.

The theory was that an older, more traditional crowd would dominate the restaurants and galleries from about 5 to 9, and a younger, more vibrant demographic would emerge from 9 to midnight.

It was not long before all hours were a rousing, packed success. Bars and restaurants stayed busy, the streets were alive with energy, and young people from all over the region who had never given Pensacola a second thought were coming down not just for the monthly party, but for other weekends of the month, too.

The success was not without shortcomings, however. Trash on the streets and sidewalks became overwhelming, shop-owners complained of patrons who simply perused but never purchased, and those who live Downtown frequently complained at the DIB’s Special Events Committee meetings about what Gallery Night had become.

The conflict came to a head in 2015 when funding troubles reached the public’s attention. Between police, insurance and other infrastructural and administrative needs, each Gallery Night cost about $8,500 to conduct.

While some of this was raised via sponsorships and participation fees, more and more businesses were participating without fronting any of the cost.

Official participants dropped from an average of 35 to just eight over the course of several months.

With no funding mechanism in place, no enforcement available for the current fee structure, and an increasingly vocal minority of individuals who were unhappy with the evening’s evolution, the board decided to call it a night.

“The event has served its purpose,” said John Peacock, chairman of the DIB, said at the time. “It has become something else entirely. We don’t want to wake up Saturday morning and find out streets littered with trash. We don’t want to constantly struggle for funding.”

Peacock said he was happy with the decision, that this was an opportunity for the DIB to get back to its roots of removing commercial blight, enhancing property values, encouraging economic development and so on.

Business owners who profited greatly from the event touted another side.

More than 15,000 people crowded downtown each event evening, 92 percent of whom were residents and 8 percent of whom were visitors, they said.

“The City and the DIB don’t realize the larger impact of what goes on,” said Joe Abston, owner of Hopjacks and The Tin Cow. The bars/restaurants experienced record profits on Gallery Night. “It’s a good night for the bars and restaurants, sure, but there’s also a lot of people who plan their regional trips based on Gallery Nights. This is a bigger event than just people in the streets. I would argue Gallery Night made Downtown what it is today, it rejuvenated things, and people don’t remember what those times were like.”

In response, Peacock encouraged private enterprise to take over the responsibility and facilitation.

Well…

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The Future It was not long before businessleaders in the area jumped on the opportunity to continue Gallery Night while slightly augmenting it.

Real estate developer Michael Carro reached out to people like Abston, developer Bobby Switzer, Fish House owner Collier Merrill, Pensacola Museum of Art executive director Raven Holloway and others about giving the evening a private spin.

They founded their own 501(c)3— Gallery Night Pensacola Inc.—and will continue on with a more targeted focus.

“Used to be, you would walk down the middle of Palafox and have no idea what you’re supposed to look at or what you’re supposed to be doing,” said Carro. “We’re going to change that. Each of the 12 nights a year will have a focus on a particular art form or community happening, whether it’s performance art or karate or cars. We’re also going to hold off on out-door hard liquor sales till after 8, so that the early hours will have a family emphasis and the later hours will cater to a party atmosphere.”

That renewed focus involves some recently unveiled themes that will help keep things on track. Proposed ideas include local art, glass-blowing, performance art, and even Chinese New Year. All of this is in the interest of a rotating schedule that brings new people to the area each month, while allowing Gallery Night Pensacola Inc. to disallow certain unsavory participants if they do not fit within the preexisting theme.

Each Gallery Night will cost around $10,000 to put on, which is a slight increase from the cost the DIB paid each month. While funding was always an issue in the last couple years of the former Gallery Night, Carro is confident he can get underwriters and participants to foot the bill.

“With the DIB, there was some hesitance to pay because it is a

somewhat government agency telling you to pay,” said Carro. “I think it will be different when your business neighbors and friends are sort of elbowing you, saying that you should contribute to this thing that brings 10,000 or 15,000 people to your doorstep.”

The fees for participation will be between $100 and $350 for businesses who wish to take part. Carro reports that, already, individuals and organizations who had not participated in the past have come forward with money.

A frequent adjacent event to Gallery Night, Seville Quarter’s own row of artists and artisan retailers will continue just as it does now every third Friday of the month.

Carro reported a positive relationship between the new non-profit and the Mitchells, who own Seville. Carro and team are also very happy about the new children’s area in front of the TT Wentworth museum, an aspect of the evening he hopes reinforces the family-friendliness of the proceedings from 4 to 8 pm.

The transition from old to new was fairly seamless for most. The DIB even helped with logistics and allowed Carro to tag along for the remaining DIB Gallery Nights to get a feel for on-the-ground management.

It is anyone’s guess if the new Gallery Night will suffer the same fate as the old, or if private enterprise has truly trimmed the fat and created a better, more lean event that caters to everyone. Regardless, it is encouraging to see this level of community investment and interest in an event 25 years strong.

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WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY? We asked four thought-leaders and businessdevelopers in the Downtown area about the greatest challenges they feel the area faces, and possible solutions for those problems.

HERE ARE THEIR ANSWERS.

BY JOSH NEWBY

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Experts ALAN GRAY, A NATIONALLY CERTIFIED CITY PLANNER, HAS WORKED IN PENSACOLA FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS AS A REGIONAL AND CITY PLANNER FOR BOTH THE WEST FLORIDA REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF PENSACOLA. HE IS CURRENTLY THE PRESIDENT OF FIRST CITY DEVELOPMENT, A DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND CONSULTING COMPANY HE FOUNDED IN EARLY 2015, AND IS THE DIRECTOR OF SALES AND ADVANCEMENT FOR PELICAN DRONES.

THE ISSUES One of the challenges downtown Pensacola needs to address is the lack of residential density in the urban core of our town. Solving this does not mean constructing a skyline of towering edifices, but rather moderate sized buildings to establish an aesthetically appealing urban streetscape. By completing three to five projects annually, the housing deficit of 1,800-2,000 residential units would be eliminated over the next ten years. Further, establishing street edges with three to five stories buildings within the core of the city will improve the overall attractiveness and quality of downtown living for residents and visitors alike.

SOME SOLUTIONS By developing underutilized lots from “on the market” open spaces to “sold above asking price” properties, local property values would likely increase in the downtown and extending areas of Pensacola, which benefits those in the community. Over time, we will begin to see a downtown area filled with medium to high-density residential developments, or even mixed use buildings.

Envision walkable sidewalks with trees along streets to provide shade from Florida sun and protection for pedestrians from moving vehicles. This will benefit local residents, visitors, pedestrians, and bicyclists equally. With an increase in retail, service sector, and residential building and investments, additional parking will become essential. We propose structured parking lots hidden among the new construction in courtyard parking lots or centralized parking structures. Urban core areas tend to have parking infrastructure deficiencies, so we will seek innovative solutions to consider

underutilized spaces and alternatives to street parking, which is limited. We can also look at ways to use technology to determine where parking is needed and most utilized.

With an increase in construction over the next few years, we hope to fill existing commercial space, bring in more retail tenants, and increase the number of full-time residents to the downtown and neighboring areas. As the skyline fills with more rooftops, the pulse of downtown will become more vital 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We anticipate more activity, entertainment, and true downtown living. In the last several years, we have experienced more interest in the restaurants and bars along Palafox Street during the evenings, which we hope to build upon with as development continues.

One example of this transformation of commercial space downtown into living, playing, and working space is being built by Quint and Rishy Studer. This multi-million dollar project converts an office building into 240 residential units, as well as retail space. While this project begins to address the need for housing in the downtown area, much more residential development will be needed. It is important to look to every opportunity out there to fill this need of living square footage. Another opportunity for development is the Hawkshaw Property nestled between Gulf Power and Aragon.

While much of the development proposed will not necessarily occur on South Palafox Street, it is likely to fill in the urban core and meet the edges of the downtown and along the waterfront.

Over these coming years it will become very important for this community

to have access to the waterfront. A waterfront linear park connecting the Pensacola Bay Bridge to the west edge of the downtown will be a welcome amenity to enhance the quality of life in downtown.

What needs to also be assessed, at this future point in our history, is the existence of the Port of Pensacola in its current location and form. Could the 50 acres be subdivided into a continuation of the downtown, much like what was done at Maritime Park, or should a

Once people start living in downtown they will begin to demand enhancements like improved walkability, more street trees, calmed streets with decorative lighting, and increased frequency of police patrols. portion or majority of that land continue on as a port facility. While that is being decided by our city’s future leaders it is likely that the western edge of the downtown will remain largely single family residential. Even so, we should expect some degree of density to extend that direction in the next twenty years, sooner if things really start to blossom in what land remains undeveloped in the urban core.

The University of West Florida has an opportunity to further utilize the classrooms and buildings in the Historic Pensacola Village. Establishing a greater presence in the downtown and historic areas would benefit students, locals, businesses, and residents alike. Many urban areas have university facilities, and even extension campuses, that enhance the partnerships between faculty, students, and the community.

BARRIERS TO CHANGE We have a few barriers to this described future but they can all be managed over time with the commitment of present resources and energy. The most importance issues to face will include stormwater management, parking, walkability, and enhanced streetscaping. Once people start living in downtown they will begin to demand enhancements like improved walkability, more street trees, calmed streets with decorative lighting, 30 | Business Climate | nwflbusinessclimate.com

and increased frequency of police patrols.

These elements will build up with the increased number of residents and will the costs offset with the increased taxes associated with the higher density development so these really don’t need to be addressed in a purposeful manner.

Dependable data service need to be established well above the current level.

That means the availability of dependable data service for both residents, and businesses. Many will remember the outage of service experienced on September 21-22nd. This type of unreliability is unacceptable for a company looking to locate their headquarters in our community. These companies must be tethered to their employees and customers electronically and an outage like that could have tremendous impact on their success.

ELIMINATING THE BARRIERS What does need attention are stormwater management, public and private parking, and dependable data and information infrastructure. Stormwater management is the kind of challenge we will have to address in the same way one managed a daunting task; one manageable bit at a time. This will likely require massive infrastructural changes as well as slight incremental modification to the existing system. One breakthrough project could be the daylighting of Washerwoman’s Creek. This project would restore a lost stream system through the western portion of the downtown. It was important because it allowed water running down from areas to our north to make their way to the bay unimpeded. Today this rainfall situates itself on our streets and storefronts until the inadequate diameter pipes below ground can funnel it to the bay.

What has been described here is just a first glance description of the future of Pensacola. There is so much more involved in making Pensacola a premier place in the panhandle of Florida and along the Gulf Coast. It will be very interesting to hear this conversation continuing in future installments of the annual Business Climate edition. World renowned architect and urban planner Leon Krier once said “A city is not an accident but the result of coherent visons and aims.” What are our visions and aims?

JOE ABSTON IS ARGUABLY ONE THE PREMIER FORCES BEHIND THE DOWNTOWN RENAISSANCE. HE FIRST OPENED HOPJACKS NEARLY A DECADE AGO, AND SINCE THEN, THE AREA HAS GROWN AROUND IT, ORBITING PALAFOX AND GARDEN AS THE GENESIS OF THIS REVOLUTION. HE HAS SINCE OPENED THE TIN COW, POT ROAST A thriving downtown & PINOT, AND VARIOUS hospitality and OTHER RESTAURANTS. entertainment industry HE IS ACTIVE IN GALwill help to bring young LERY NIGHT AND OTHER professionals to Pensacola.

DOWNTOWN HAPPENBecause if Millennials INGS. LOOK AROUND AT are drawn to such great ALL THE LITTLE DETAILS companies as IHMC, THAT MAKE DOWNTOWN Studer Group, Baptist GREAT, AND CHANCES Healthcare, Gulf Power ARE ABSTON HAD SOME or one of the numerous HAND IN THEM. influential law firms and

W

hen I opened Hopjacks in 2008, downtown Pensacola was a very different place. Before Hopjacks, there were four restaurants and one bar on South Palafox between Garden Street and Main Street: Jackson’s, Global Grill, Dog House Deli, New York Nick’s and Intermissions. Only one of which was open on a Sunday or Monday evening (way to go Nick Zangari). Later in 2012 when I opened The Tin Cow, change was certainly afoot but nothing like it is today. It was possible to see people walking on Palafox after dark on a Friday or Saturday but not more than a handful.

The food options on Sundays and Mondays were still incredibly limited. The entertainment choices were but a handful of places. The foot traffic on a random Wednesday night after 6 p.m. was nearly non-existent. When you look at the pedestrian traffic today on weekdays, there is always someone on South Palafox before 1 am. On the weekend there are a hundred people on the sidewalk at any given time of the evening. My how times have changed.

The downtown Pensacola of the past and present both have its challenges. In 2008, it was also very difficult to get good workers to choose to come to downtown Pensacola and invest their time for a population and clientele that was not really here yet. Fast forward nine years to 2016 and we have some of the same challenges with the additions of some new ones.

We’re in a constant state of which one

other great employers, they are looking for a life beyond their career.

comes first: the chicken or the egg. On one hand, we have grown the dining, entertainment and nightlife to a staggering number of venues however we have not kept up with the number of downtown Pensacola residences. Although it is encouraging to see the Studer’s $52 million downtown apartment building project at 101 E. Romana St. moving forward, Jim Reeves’ possible acquisition of the Escambia County School District’s former headquarters at 213 W. Garden St. doing a similar mixed-use development consisting of residential, commercial and recreational space and others in the works in regards to downtown Pensacola housing, there is another piece of the puzzle that we need to focus on, at least in the hospitality industry.

Supporting our local Culinary and Hospitality Management department at Pensacola State College and the Global Hospitality and Tourism department at the University of West Florida is essential. The food service industry is one of the fastest growing economic sectors.

Since 2006, the industry in the United States has grown by more than 2 million employees, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. We need to convey to these students that they have opportunities in the Pensacola area before they leave and take their talents elsewhere. Down-

town Pensacola is an up and coming culinary destination. To make it a place that draws culinary tourists, we need a unique representation of food and beverage, something that is different than what a visitor can get in their hometown, and a reputation, overall, for good food.

New businesses opening should diversify downtown neighborhood’s offerings and provide a fuller experience to residents, workers and visitors. We need to come together as a hospitality industry and focus more on producing more events in the downtown area that showcase the culinary prowess and diversity of our city.

One of the ways that this could be accomplished is downtown events that focus on friendly competition, fundraisers and collaborated marketing efforts.

We are in the beginning stages of possibly culinary tourism and it would be a great opportunity for Visit Pensacola to showcase the enormous amount of culinary diversity with a culinary marketing campaign. Downtown Pensacola can soon be compared to Charleston South Carolina where the hospitality industry is fed by a well-funded and well-established culinary school, a focus on increasing the downtown urban population and

the local government touting its culinary tourism with regional advertisement. A thriving downtown hospitality and entertainment industry will help to bring young professionals to Pensacola.

Because if Millennials are drawn to such great companies as IHMC, Studer Group, Baptist Healthcare, Gulf Power or one of the numerous influential law firms and other great employers, they are looking for a life beyond their career.

Hospitality and entertainment is part of that equation.

So to reiterate, the three things I feel we need as an industry, more downtown living spaces, a well-supported hospitality and culinary training programs and collaboration between culinary venues with support from local government and groups such as Visit Pensacola for regional marketing of our great culinary industry.

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Experts JUSTIN BECK HEADS UP THE MOST DYNAMIC COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE FIRM ON THE GULF COAST. JUSTIN IS A CCIM DESIGNEE, AND IS A LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKER IN FLORIDA AND ALABAMA. BEFORE BECOMING PRESIDENT OF THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DIVISION OF BECK PARTNERS, JUSTIN SERVED AS PRESIDENT FOR BECK PROPERTY COMPANY, THE PREDECESSOR OF BECK PARTNERS. HE HAS COMPLETED OVER 400 TRANSACTIONS IN THE EIGHT YEARS HE HAS BEEN WITH THE COMPANY, AND IS CONSISTENTLY RANKED AS THE TOP COMMERCIAL PRODUCER IN THE AREA.

D

emand for office, retail and residential spaces in downtown Pensacola continues to exceed supply, even with new projects coming out of the ground. I speak with people every day that are interested in opening a business, moving downtown, or looking for a job because of what’s happening downtown.

All of this makes Pensacola an exciting place to be, and one might think we’ve arrived. If you travel to other communities however, you are struck by how much more we can achieve, and how much work we have to do in order to fulfill the promise of a world class live, work and play downtown.

There are many common themes I hear when discussing challenges with clients, both developers and occupiers alike.

They include construction cost, parking, affordability, availability, and government regulation. Ultimately, I believe all of these issues are effects that can attributed to two overarching challenges. The

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When examining the need for improved infrastructure, the two major needs that will prohibit or limit the type of development we want to see in our community are; parking and storm water management. first, is a huge need for further infrastructure investment in our downtown. The second, is clearer governmental processes related to development. We must answer these challenges in order to prepare our community for the city we are becoming.

When examining the need for improved infrastructure, the two major needs that will prohibit or limit the type of development we want to see in our community are; parking and storm water management. An intelligent and comprehensive parking plan and storm water management plan can ensure we see the type of dense, walkable development we all want and enjoy downtown. Without these however, we run the risk of creating

suburban style development that are the antithesis of the urban environment we all enjoy. We all know that these projects are costly, however, a smarter more cost effective idea might be to develop a plan that incentivizes the development community to improve the infrastructure and work in partnership with local government to create the infrastructure needed.

The most significant challenge to any business is uncertainty. Entrepreneurs and business owners are great problem solvers, but they need to know the rules before they can solve the problem, and unfortunately, downtown Pensacola is replete with uncertainty in its governmental process. Top among the list of

uncertainty is how surplus property is disposed, and preservation of historic structures. The process of development and the process to acquire city owned properties continues to ebb and flow with public opinion and politics while parcels continue to sit vacant. Leadership should do the hard work of creating concise processes that take politics out of play and clears a path towards smart growth.

If business and community leaders can do these things then I believe the positive trajectory of our downtown has only begun.

BRIAN SPENCER WAS ELECTED TO REPRESENT DISTRICT 6 IN NOVEMBER 2010 AND WAS RECENTLY ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL. HE REPRESENTS THE CITY COUNCIL ON THE DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT BOARD AND KEEP PENSACOLA BEAUTIFUL, INC. BRIAN IS A FOUNDING PRINCIPAL OF SMP ARCHITECTURE WHICH HE BEGAN IN 1989. HE HAS EARNED A LOCAL REPUTATION FOR HIS PASSION IN REVITALIZING OLDER BUILDINGS AND NEIGHBORHOODS. HE CAN ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AT DOWNTOWN EVENTS, CHATTING WITH AREA MERCHANTS, AND KEEPING HIS PULSE ON ALL THINGS PENSACOLA.

I

recently participated in an economic and planning workshop, Connecting Nature and Commerce, where I heard a nationally respected urban planning expert share statistics associated with the increasing population of downtown residents nationwide. The trend of suburbanization that began in the 1950’s has reversed, and the data associated with the shift is compelling and undeniable. For decades, municipalities relied on economic models that assumed the abandonment of urban living in exchange for the less densely populated suburban “brand new” developments would be the permanent land planning model.

Municipal budgets were formulated with larger allocations of funding needed to support the expansion of transportation and utilities services. With a city’s progress being measured and defined as expansion of footprint (in square miles), many local government budgets were contributing to an exodus from previously built and existing infrastructure. Fortunately, the fiscal reality of supporting suburbanization began to exert pressure on policy makers and elected representatives, and the unchallenged public funding for sprawl has decreased. One of the most compelling reasons for public sector (i.e. government) to increase the 24/7 population of urban centers is because of the economic efficiency that is associated with higher density neighborhoods and districts.

As a provider of services, the City of Pensacola can provide the same level of services at a lower cost per citizen in an urban area than for the citizen that resides within a lower density neighborhood. The service

With increased support from the City of Pensacola, our downtown is poised to capitalize on a growing number of individuals that favor a downtown’s walkable, mixed-use environment. provider, the City of Pensacola, is therefore rewarded with the economic efficiency of a high density district AND the increase of a 24/7 population.

In addition to the funding constraints associated with supporting rural and suburban sprawl, there are numerous demographic and sociological factors contributing to the current resurgence of downtowns.

These include the increasing percentage of aging baby boomers and a growing sector of young adults that are less attracted to the unifor-

mity, predictability, and sprawling characteristic of acres and acres of stand alone housing and single story, strip shopping centers. Suburbia, once the poster child for America’s prosperity, is experiencing a popularity setback, thus the stage is set for local governments to recognize and embrace the population shift to metropolitan areas as a significant economic opportunity.

With increased support from the City of Pensacola, our downtown is poised to capitalize on a growing number of individuals that favor a downtown’s walkable, mixed-use environment. There are limited financial and support packages that the City can presently offer, and the adoption of additional incentives to induce private sector investment within our central core should be a top priority. Our City Hall shelves bear the weight of multiple years of commissioned master plans in the form of booklets with enticing graphics and narratives describing idyllic streetscapes, lush landscap-

ing, and recreational trails. These master plans showcase a vibrant downtown footprint with boundaries far to the west, east, and north of our current core. More importantly, the graphics depict a taller downtown Pensacola ... one that recognizes the value of higher density compactness. The present, one-story streetscape of East Garden Street is inconsistent with a downtown that has experienced redevelopment.

The remaining undeveloped parcels of the Community Maritime Park, the undeveloped Hawkshaw parcel, the unrealized infill opportunities in downtown neighborhoods, and the underutilized acreage on the Port of Pensacola are all indicators that the city government has not enhanced its current portfolio of redevelopment incentives. Despite the noteworthy renaissance of downtown to date, our redevelopment potential is far from being fully realized. Yes, the Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption (EDATE) incentive is a significant tool that can be incorporated with City Council’s approval, however, it is not enough to reduce the high risk of high quality redevelopment in our city core.

In order for downtown Pensacola to literally grow UP, the individuals that were elected to be stewards of Pensacola’s financial status and protectors of the community’s environment must formulate additional inducement packages. I am prepared to launch some new incentives, and I hope my colleagues will support the effort to grow Pensacola.

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Development

Downtown

DEVELOPMENT

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Some of these projects have been a long time coming, some have been delayed, and some are finally nearing completion.

After the long-waited IHMC expansion and new YMCA, the name of the game now appears to be affordable housing, lifestyle amenities and much-needed infrastructure upgrades. And with motivated investors young and old, it looks like Downtown Pensacola is finally coming into its own—for everyone.

By

Josh Newby

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Development

SOUTHTOWNE If there’s one titan of industry in Downtown Pensacola, it is Quint Studer, whose Studer Properties is responsible for much of the development happening right now in the area. Perhaps no property has gotten more attention than the forthcoming multiuse apartment building, which was started in April of 2016.

The $58 million project, which also features retail space on the bottom floor, is scheduled to be finished in December 2017. The team will actually start delivering apartments before that, though, in the summer of 2017, and stagger the remaining spaces until the end of the year.

“You want to deliver your apartments in chunks of time,” said Andrew Rothfeder, president of Studer Properties. “It’s a significant construction project, so having it all done at the same time is unrealistic. Plus, it’s not like you can move in 258 individuals and families at once.”

There is currently a reservation list for the

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apartments, and 400 people have already put money toward their space. The project has created 600 construction jobs, and will sustain over a hundred jobs on the retail ground floor once it all opens. It’s also a success from a tax perspective: property dues will amount to half a million dollars per year for the first decade, and over a million per year from then on.

“This project is a great testament to Downtown,” said Rothfeder. “We are improving the quality of life, creating jobs, investing in the community, increasing the tax base, and solving environmental problems through responsible development.”

OFFICE SPACE Right across the way from the newly opened YMCA, which was also a Studerfinanced project, the Studer Properties team is planning to open brand-new Class A office space. The project was born out of market research calling for more a mixeduse building that features state-of-the-art working space.

The law firm Clark Partington has expressed interest in the new buiding, which will be 52,000 sqft. and four-stories tall.

Clark Partington will inhabit the top two floors of the building, while the second floor will be more leasable office space and the first floor restaurants and retail.

“With all these projects, it’s important to keep a quality of life focus on the first floor and keep the streetside activated,” said Rothfeder. “This is going to be part of a whole new Downtown neighborhood with a pedestrian perspective. All the studies show that’s the right way to develop.”

The construction has just begun and the building will not be complete until Decemer 2017, but already the project has created 200 construction jobs. When it does open, it’ll be the working destination for 150 people, in addition to 75 permanent jobs in the ground floor area.

Rothfeder said he believes the building, which will cost an estimated $14.3 million, will provide a bevy of options not currently available Downtown.

“It’ll be the right mix of retail and office space,” said Rothfeder.

The land, which is vacant right now, will eventually yield $300,000 a year in property taxes to the City.

ON-THE-GO At the former site of Waterfront on Main, just west of Palafox next to Baylen, will be a new to-go coffee store that carries the Bodacious Brew branding, another Studer brainchild.

“Again, the market told us what they wanted,” said Rothfeder. “We’re fortunate to be in the position where we can wait for feedback and deliver what the city really needs. Quint and Rishy realize that real estate development and redevelopment are powerful tools to recreate Downtown and spark a renaissance.”

The project is in response to a wave of support for an on-the-go option of the delicious Bodacious offerings. It will offer coffee, smoothies, outdoor eating and even a play area.

And if traffic is a concern in the early morning, especially with the limited lane availability on Main, Rothfeder said not to worry.

“We’ve done studies on the time it takes to

SPACE FLORIDA One project that has been a bit slower in getting off the ground is the infamous Tech Park, located near the Pensacola Bay Center in Downtown’s east side.

order and pick up your order, and we can have six cars lined up on site before you even back up into the street,” said Rothfeder. “We’ve timed ourselves and measured our space appropriate to the demand.”

The million-dollar project has created 50 construction jobs and eight permanent jobs on-site. A lot of money was saved on the revolutionary construction, which features a storage container-architecture, something that is a big hit in other peer and aspirant cities.

“The big question with all these exciting changes is, can the infrastructure keep up?” said Rothfeder. “I believe we’re investmentready. We want this city to grow, and hopefully these projects will serve as a gateway to other investment in the area. People want to be here.

It’s also important to us that we employ locally.

We have stipulated to our contractors that a significant percentage of all workers be local.”

The Tech Park comprises nine acres of prime real estate that was donated by the City of Pensacola and Escambia County in 2010, with $2 million worth of infrastructure added in 2011 thanks to a grant from the Economic Development Administration. Though officially able to house tenants since September 2011, the land has remained vacant, due mainly to firm land use restrictions and lease fees. In early 2014, the Pensacola Chamber worked with the City and Escambia County to loosen restrictions. In late 2014, it was announced that the Chamber’s economic development arm, now called Florida West, was working with Space Florida to erect a new building with hightech tenants.

President and CEO of Florida West, Scott Luth said things are still moving forward. They are currently in the process of getting together the full financing package and hope to get it all wrapped up before the end of 2016.

“Unfortunately, until it’s done, it’s not done,” said Luth. “But all parties are still on board. They need to all agree on a plan and cost and lease agreements, and then we’ll move on to exact facility layouts and design.”

For the moment, said Luth, the project is where it needs to be. With multiple agencies, some government, progress is always slow, said Luth, but he hopes to have a groundbreaking ceremony perhaps in the first quarter of 2017.

“We’re still in negotiation on a lot, so I don’t want to speculate too heavily, but we are still moving forward,” he said.

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Development

BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE Perhaps no project on this list has been more delayed and forthcoming than the replacement of the bridge that spans from Pensacola to Gulf Breeze. With design plans, a budget, and a firm selected, the project is finally moving forward.

Total construction is expected to last 1,408 days and will feature the same alignment as the current bridge, which carries 54,000 cars each day. The old bridge, which since 1960 has been suffering salt-water intrusion, will have repairs made to it as the new bridge is being constructed.

There are some new features that increase both utility and visual appeal. For starters, the vertical channel clearance will increase from 50 feet to 65 and horizontal clearance will go from 125 feet to 150. There will also be aesthetic light lining the bridge and six to eight overhanging rest areas on each bridge, as well as pedestrian and bike lanes.

During construction, there will be temporary lane closure

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restrictions from 8 pm to 5 am, and the team is emphatic that rush hour traffic will not be impacted by the work. The total cost of the project will be $398.5 million, with the possibility of a $15 million bonus if the southbound side is done in 860 days.

There will be public meetings in early 2017, and the team has even said they would consider changes until construction starts, assuming they can modify existing permits.

Construction is expected to start February 2017.

For years, there have been public outcries for more grocery options in the area, especially as more people are expected to live in the urban core of Downtown. In 2013, Jim White bought the A.V. Clubbs School property on East Cervantes between 11th and 12th Avenue for $3 million and soon thereafter helped answer those cries. Publix announced in 2015 that it would replace the current building and

offer a store about two-thirds the usual size, or 28,000 sqft.

Demolition began in October 2015, at the same time renderings were released that somewhat reflected the neighborhood’s architectural context. Construction is still ongoing and is slated to be finished in summer of 2017.

Bodacious On-the-Go will not be the only quick coffee option available soon Downtown. Boos Development recently received approval to their plans for a 4,960-sqft. development on East Gregory near Whataburger and Franco’s Italian Restaurant. The property would house a total of three tenants, one of which will be Starbucks.

The Starbucks would be about 2,200 sqft., with the other tenants— retail or restaurant— each having 1,380 sqft. Construction could be complete as early as February 2017, just a few months after the Studers’ coffee offering opens.

ROMANA COMMONS THE JUNCTION Downtown living continues to be in short supply, and while various developments like the Studers’ apartment initiative are a big help, families are still looking for other options. Enter Charles Liberis, a local attorney who has long dabbled in the real estate game in places lie Pensacola Beach.

Liberis made regional headlines when his project for new townhomes conflicted with the previously existing John Sunday House, which was the home of the son of a white farmer and black slave. Sunday went on to be one of the state’s wealthiest men and even served in the legislature. Liberis requested permission from the City’s Architectural Review Board to demolish the house in March of 2015 in order to build a townhome project called Romana Commons. The house was eventually demolished and the conflict has served to

reignite the conversation over historic properties.

“When you have a City government that employees 800 people, there are so may different boards and standards you have to go through,” said Liberis. “And there’s almost no consistency. I am perfectly fine following guidelines, but they need to be uniform, or developers like myself are going to become frustrated.”

The details on the new project are still being ironed out, but Romana Commons would ostensibly feature 27 townhomes on the now-vacant 1.5-acre parcel. Right now, the plan calls for 13 two-bedroom spaces and 14 three-bedrooms, all of which would be about 1,200 sqft., cost about $200,000, and be connected by an interior driveway and parking space.

Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year, said Liberis.

“I’m excited for some affordable housing in the area,” said Liberis. “I regret that the project has a somewhat controversial history behind it, but I think it brought to light a lot of problems faced by downtown developers.”

Another development that sparked controversy around city standards and codes was A Door’s Junction at West Hill. Located in the diverse Pensacola neighborhood of Belmont-DeVilliers, the first phase of the mixed-use project is scheduled for completion as soon as spring 2017.

A Door is handling the construction and design of the venture, a somewhat rarity in the area but a boutique approach that the team takes pride in.

The project, which began in September 2015 with a feasibility study, was actually an offshoot of the Belmont-DeVilliers 2004 neighborhood plan. Unfortunately, those ideas were eclipsed by a future land use adopted in 2010. A Door had to ask City Council to re-zone the area to allow for 24 units as opposed to the four outlined by medium-density residential guidelines. They were eventually successful.

“Neighborhood support was really important to us,” said Meghan Gilroy-Triolo, a realtor with the firm.

“We’ve been going to those meetings for over a year now, and they’ve actually been really supportive of our plans and several spoke out on our behalf.”

August 2016 saw the preliminary plot approval for the subdivision, followed by storm water studies and a look at other infrastructural needs.

The gated 1,300-sqft. townhome subdivision will actually start at a previously unprecedented low of between $200,000 and $250,000 for two- and three-bedroom units

in a few different layouts, some with large outdoor decks and others with spacious indoor lofts. All will feature privacy fences, a one-car garage and appliances. The undertaking will also feature commercial spaces—such as coffee shops, boutiques, small office space, and more—that will potentially provide amenities for the locals in the development and in the larger community.

Affordability especially is an important characteristic for the A Door team. And while they did not skimp on construction quality, they did take some smart shortcuts on luxury finishings.

“People don’t realize it, but finishings are among the most expensive things when you buy a house,” said Steven Sebold, director of real estate operations for A Door. “People spend $50 a square foot on tile, and if you can find some for less without sacrificing quality, that’s what we’re doing.

We’ve been able to get with our vendors and have them search out the best stuff to keep our price point.”

The architecture is focused on maintaining the vibrancy and attributes of the area—more of a seamless addition than a outright separation.

“We’re definitely going with the flow of the neighborhood, both in visual appearance and traffic flow,” said Kacee Bidnick, project lead for The Junction.

Even the retention pond, a necessary evil, is both prepared for a hundred-year storm and to give a benefit to the community through landscaping and possible gazebos.

“If all goes according to plan, the 18-month contruction timeline should deliver the first phase of finished properties around April 2017,” said Sebold.

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Development

RECENTLY COMPLETED

UPCOMING

YMCA

IHMC

Old School District land

Historic District mixed-use

On Aug. 13, 2015, the YMCA of Northwest Florida broke ground on the new $16 million, 52,000 sqft., two-story facility in the heart of downtown.

The new Y is a two-story health and wellness facility featuring strength and cardio training, a gym, aquatic center, lap pool, studios, family locker rooms, a social center, demo kitchen, slide, meeting space and more. It is a definite step up from the current location, where the YMCA has been located since 1902.

The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition recently completed a new, 30,000sqft., $8 million addition that consolidated efforts previously housed at four separate rental sites in the area. With research space, an expanded robotics lab, and even an overlooking observation deck for kids, the new facility increases capacity and further cements IHMC’s status as a premiere research and education institution.

Developer and Community Maritime Park Associates Chairman Jim Reeves recently expressed interest in purchasing the Escambia County School District’s former headquarters at 213 W. Garden St. While the board approved selling the 4.85-acre plot for $3.4 million, there are still some environmental issues that need to be taken care of before the sale can close. While Reeves has not elaborated on its future purpose, he has expressed interest in mixed-use residential and commercial space.

Yet another mixed-use space could be coming to South Alcaniz near Seville Square, thanks to Chad Henderson, founder and CEO of Catalyst CRE. These units, however, would be for sale instead of rent, contrasting them with Studer’s plans. The 30,500 sqft. site was purchased for $1.2 million in early April.

The development, to be named Warfield Place, would also have retail space and a pool.

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Palafox places

By Kelly Oden

Photos by Guy Stevens and Anna Hitchcock

While living anywhere in the downtown area generates a certain amount of envy, many consider living on Palafox Place the ultimate way to experience the downtown lifestyle. After all, the hip thoroughfare has been named one of the great streets in America by the American Planning Association. With a blend of historic charm and modern conveniences Palafox has become both a bustling entertainment district and a residential neighborhood with a true sense of community. Residents enjoy an abundance of cultural events, including a bird’s eye view of Gallery Night and the many parades that roll down Palafox throughout the year.

From historic treasures reimagined to contemporary construction with an historic feel, Business Climate had a chance to peak into a few Palafox places and get to know the families who call them home.

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Living

DEEDEE AND CORBETT DAVIS DeeDee and Corbett Davis love living downtown. Both are within close proximity to work, but what they love most is the access to dining, culture and events. “We are invested in Downtown,” says DeeDee. “Just about everything we do and love is downtown or on the water. All of our favorite restaurants are here. Our lifestyle is very much downtown. I love walking everywhere and the easy access to everything.”

Building: Built in the late 1800s, the Davis’s 1700 square foot upstairs apartment was last used as a hardware store in the late 30s. Since then, it was a big, open warehouse until the couple decided to renovate the space. Because the upstairs had no plumbing, they used raised floors in the kitchen and bath to run the pipes, giving the space a multi-level feel.

Renovation: The renovation took almost two years because the couple was serious about preserving the historic integrity of the building.

Workers removed plaster and exposed the original brick by hand because the brick and mortar was so fragile. The couple kept as many original features as possible.

Style: DeeDee calls their style New Orleans industrial. They fell in love with the upper story apartments in New Orleans years ago and emulated some of that in their space. The Davis’s are both art lovers as well and their apartment is filled with an eclectic collection.

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COLLIER AND CATE MERRILL

Originally purchased by Collier when he was single, when the couple married, they decided to keep their two bedroom, 2,200 square-foot condo as a weekend retreat for the family.

The condo is perfectly located for Collier whose office and many business dealings are located downtown. Cate loves having a place to stay after events and on the weekends. Collier Jr. loves playing in the splash pad at Plaza De Luna and teenagers Kit and Caroline enjoy shopping and eating downtown with friends.

Building: Located in one of

the condos that anchor Palafox on the southern end, the condo has incredible views of the bay, the Maritime Park and Plaza de Luna. Collier was an early investor in the property and has owned a number of units over the years. Sturdily built, the condo went through Ivan without a drop of water anywhere in it.

Style: The kitchen is the center

of the condo and features Viking appliances, granite countertops and a large skylight. Both the kitchen and living room open up to the large patio, which faces the marina and Maritime Park.

“We spend a lot of time downtown. We go to the festivals, the Wahoo games, the museums. The more people move downtown, the better it gets. It’s fun to go out and grab a cocktail, meet friends or just people watch.”

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Living

ANN AND JIM NEAL Initially bought as a weekend retreat, Ann and Jim Neal didn’t plan on living in their downtown condo full time when they built it three years ago. But once it came together, they loved it and they enjoyed being downtown, so they decided to make it their main home.

Building: The condo buildings anchor the southern base of Palafox and feature sweeping views of the bay, marina, Plaza de Luna and the Maritime Park.

Renovations: Originally purchased as a shell, the couple moved walls and chose each element of the build out to create a true urban oasis.

Style: Ann describes the design style as transitional with some contemporary elements. The couple used interior designer Lacey Phillips to help bring their home to life.

Unique features include barn doors that separate the media room from the rest of the living space and patio doors that open completely to create a large living and entertaining space.

“I really like the fact that it’s becoming more of a residential community and you can meet your friends on the streets, stop for a coffee, a drink or dinner. I love seeing my friends walking down the street. It’s a great neighborhood with a great sense of community.”

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JOE ZARZAUR

Joe Zarzaur originally leased the office space on the upper floor of the Palafox building he now calls home. After a few years of working downtown, he decided he wanted to live there as well and leased the adjoining apartment. He wanted to focus on work and be immersed in what Pensacola is as a city and he felt there was no better way to do that than to live downtown.

Joe lives with his eight-year-old daughter Zoe and also wanted to expose her to urban living, which she loves.

Building: Built in the 1800s, the building housed several different pharmacies until the 40s, when the downstairs became a shoe store and the upstairs became a lounge. The building features 12-foot ceilings and exposed original brick. The exterior façade is topped with what looks like intricately carved masonry, but is actually aluminum. The office and apartment are connected by a conference room and the wide hall of the office is perfect for the weekly yoga class Joe holds for his staff.

Style: Although the office and apartment were renovated when he moved in, Joe mixed old and new by introducing his own modern sensibility to light fixtures, furniture and other elements.

The full-size DW drum kit in the living room allows Joe a musical outlet and he holds weekly jam sessions and takes lessons to work on his rhythm. The open kitchen has a loft-like feel.

The refrigerator and other appliances are housed separately, allowing for a better flow when entertaining, which he does often. “If you live on Palafox, the parades are a natural extension of life,” says Joe. “We invite clients, friends and family up to watch the many parades that roll down Palafox.”

“I love not having to get in car to go anywhere. You can spend the entire weekend enjoying different meals and different forms of entertainment and not get in the car once. I also enjoy running around downtown and going to baseball games.”

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