Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is Pending in Pensacola, FL
This Community Newspaper is a weekly publication of Escambia Santa/Rosa Bar Association Page 1 Vol. 15, No. 24 VISIT THE SUMMATION WEEKLY ONLINE: www.esrba.com June 16, 2015
4 Pages
The Bayshore Pensacola By Dawn Gresko
Welcome to The Bayshore—the oldest surviving condominium in Pensacola celebrating its 50th birthday this year. The Bayshore was originally an apartment building built in 1965 by the savvy female builder and native of Pensacola, Ouida Baggett Regan. Standing at 144 feet high with a sandy-colored stucco exterior, The Bayshore has weathered through the worst of Pensacola’s tropical cyclones with its sturdy steel and concrete foundation. Since Hurricane Ivan hit the Panhandle in 2004, The Bayshore has undergone well over $8 million in renovations. The 13-story building contains 98 condominiums with only a handful currently available for lease. Although Mrs. Regan came from an era when women were encouraged to stay at home, she chose to be a different type of homemaker—a home builder, who led the construction of Pensacola’s The Bayshore and Crescent Lake. It took no more than three years to complete The Bayshore, after which Mrs. Regan and her family occupied the spacious West and East penthouses on the top floor. The Bayshore’s Penthouse West even housed celebrities like popular icon Bob Hope, and PGA Golfer Gay Brewer. The penthouses not only have the largest balconies in the building, but adorning the concrete railing of the East and West balconies are doll-sized cherub statues posing peacefully in front of the beautiful backdrop of Pensacola Bay. The Bayshore is noteworthy for its personal, waterfront view of Pensacola Bay, as well as close access to Bayou Chico and two boat launches. The condominium is also located conveniently across from Pensacola Country Club, as well as minutes away from Downtown Pensacola and Pensacola NAS. The Bayshore is maintained by board members and an on-site manager, who were happy to tell me one of the many perks to living at The Bayshore is having the Blue Angels fly overhead during weekly practice runs. “When the Blue Angels are practicing, we have our own ‘private show’ at least two days a week,” said Jenny Johnson, on-site manager at The Bayshore. “The Bayshore is like a landmark for the Blue Angels, because they do lots of turns right above our building and we’re in the perfect spot to see it all happen.” (continued page 3)