A Reimagined Waterfront

The Urban Core Redevelopment Area

by Morgan Cole

INFILL DEVELOPMENT

DISTINCT PAVING CEDAR SHARED STREET

PROTECTED BIKE LANE

CUSTOM SEATING ACTIVE STREET FRONT

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

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

The 2010 Community Redevelopment Plan serves as the guide for all projects undertaken by the CRA. In 2020 alone, the Urban Core district saw significant progress and growth, with a total of 28 projects that were either started, underway or have been completed, ranging from small-scale residential property improvements to larger-scale public-private partnership ventures. A total of $5.5 million was invested by the CRA to support projects within the Urban Core with a permitted value of $11.5 million. “Over the years, the CRA has worked to update the 2010 Community Redevelopment Plan for the Urban Core district to ensure the plan meets the changing needs of the growing downtown area,” Gibson said.

Some of the significant and most current projects identified in the 2010 Urban Core Pan include community policing, affordable housing, infill development, targeted residential rehabilitation assistance, commercial facade improvements and park and waterfront access initiatives. Although the Urban Core has experienced many positive changes over the years, the CRA continues to work on more projects to help remove neighborhood blight and prevent its return through a series of initiatives which foster a diverse, inclusive and economically sustainable downtown district. The CRA’s Urban Core Plan identifies a multitude of strategic improvement projects aimed at preserving and enhancing the district’s neighborhoods, fostering a productive urban environment and maximizing public access to the waterfront. Major initiatives include waterfront accessibility projects, complete streets redevelopment, implementation of recently adopted urban design standards and affordable housing.

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

“What we did was refinance some of the outstanding bonds that we had for the downtown area,” CRA Administrator, Helen Gibson explained. “Because at this point, we had them for a while and we wanted to get a better interest rate. Once approved, we were able to not only get a better interest rate on what we already had, but it also allowed us to gain additional money because the new rates were so low.” The CRA used the additional revenue gained from the approved Series 2019 bond issue, to do several projects that were identified in the original 2010 plan that hadn’t yet been done, according to Gibson.

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

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

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

BIRD’S EYE VIEW DOWN PALAFOX STREET

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

The proposal outlines strategic modifications to the mobility networks in the Hashtag area, including traffic changes, a complete Continuous Waterfront Trail Systemand connected bike network, and strategic curb modifications to better accommodate

Key project priorities are: pedestrian circulation, bioswales, and planting. In addition, the proposal outlines a signature palette of paving materials, street furniture, and • plant communities that will create a distinct landscape for the Bayfront area. The proposed Create a walkable, bikeable, and safe environment Hashtag Connector Plan prioritizes users in • Street Design. Pedestrians are given priority with the design of friendly sidewalk spaces, Connect people to the waterfront resting spots, shade, and active storefronts. • Acknowledge and celebrate historic significance • Encourage infill development and retail along Main Street

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

Conceptual plans for this project were recently developed through a comprehensive iterative community planning process, leveraging private partnership. Through this process, the recent Waterfront Framework Plan, prepared by New Yorkbased landscape architecture firm SCAPE, was created.

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

These improvements will also prioritize walkability and bike-ability with the design of modern sidewalk spaces, resting spots, protected bike lanes, lush tree canopies and landscape features. The project will create better connections to the City’s waterfront, support multi-modal transportation and create and promote active public spaces. The initial design process for the project kicked-off in early 2021. In April, members of the public were invited to attend an in-person open house held by the City to learn about project updates and provide feedback that will inform design and engineering decisions for this and future phases.

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

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

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

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

Early 1900s, Palafox Trolley Proposed Hashtag Districts Map of proposed hashtag districts courtesy of City of Pensacola. View of proposed Hashtag Connector from Palafox and Jefferson Streets.

WATERFRONT FRAMEWORK PLAN, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA PROJECT REPORT JUNE 2019

VIEW OF MAIN STREET AT PALAFOX

NEW DEVELOPMENT NEW DEVELOPMENT

ACTIVE STOREFRONT

CUSTOM SEATING BIOSWALE CURBSIDE PARKING

PLANTED BUFFER

DISTINCT PAVING

TWO-WAY BIKE LANE

The next two phases, which haven’t yet been approved and funded, would focus on making improvements to Cedar Street, and then working on Palafox and Jefferson streets. The project is expected to begin construction at the beginning of 2022 and be completed by the end of 2023.

A Bright Future for Bruce Beach

Bruce Beach Park Improvement Project

Key project priorities include: • Connect people to the water • Restore and enhance local ecology • Mark and commemorate

African American history and heritage at the site • Design for educational activities, both indoors and outdoors • Create a cultural and educational destination at the Bay’s edge

Another catalyst project scheduled to break ground this year within the City’s Urban Core is the Bruce Beach Park Improvement Project. Bruce Beach is an area that once played an important role in Pensacola’s maritime industry in the early 1900s and has been an integral part of the City’s history over the last century. In the 1950s, after the Pensacola Shipyard closed, Bruce Beach was one of the few recreational areas open to black residents under segregation making the area a beloved gathering place for members of the black community.

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

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

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

Along with park amenities like picnic areas, nature trails, early learning, interactive play features and green space, SCAPE also called for ecological efforts like habitat restoration and new stormwater treatment features, as well as historic plaques and other markers denoting the area’s rich history and importance in the black community. The project design plans also include a grand entry plaza, cultural exhibits, kayaking facilities and more.

In June, the City of Pensacola hosted a visual presentation and in-person open house to provide opportunities for the public to learn more about the project and share their feedback on the initial draft concepts for the project. At these meetings, the engineering and design team provided updates on how the design has progressed since the last public meeting held in February 2020, shared additional details on the phasing and construction schedule and presented a shared strategy for incorporating African American history and heritage into the project. The City has been working on a plan to improve Bruce Beach since it reopened to the public in 2018.

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

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

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

A Day-Use Marina

Is Coming to Community Maritime Park

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

As outlined in the Urban Core Redevelopment Plan, the Community Maritime Park Day Use Marina project will provide waterfront access points for boasters, kayakers and water taxi services. The project ties into several other strategic components called for by the plan and conceptualized in recent public and private master planning initiatives, according to CRA Administrator Helen Gibson. Following the damage to the Pensacola Bay Bridge renamed “Chappie” James Jr. Bridge, caused by Hurricane Sally in 2020, the CRA voted to add a temporary water taxi dock to the plan as the first phase of the project to facilitate transportation to Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach. The dock will be constructed in the same location as the planned day-use marina for Community Maritime Park. The pilings needed to build the dock will be incorporated into the marina docks when they are constructed.

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

East Garden District Streetscape

Jefferson Street Road Diet

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

East Garden District is a masterplanned redevelopment project bordered to the west and east by Palafox and Tarragona Streets, and to the north and east by Chase Street. The name and vision for the project pays homage to a redevelopment plan dating back to 1764, developed by British military officer and civil engineer, Elias Durnford, that featured residential and commercial development lots located from the south of Garden Street down to the waterfront. The sale of each lot included a companion garden lot located to the north of Garden Street down to the waterfront. The sale of each lot included a companion garden lot located to the north of Garden Street that would be tended and harvested to create a steady supply of food for local families. The East Garden District project is located where a portion of the garden lots used to stand back in 1764.

As a component of this redevelopment project, streetscape improvements will be constructed along Jefferson Street from Garden Street to Chase Street through a publicprivate partnership between the CRA and local development firm, Catalyst HRE.

The East Garden District project is projected to leverage $40.8 million in private investment, in addition to an estimated $2.8 million annual tax impact. It will include more than 1,200 new street trees and shrubs, sidewalk and decorative elements, traffic calming measures and enhanced crosswalks. These efforts are anticipated to create a more walkable, bikeable and overall safer area within the Urban Core district for residents and visitors to enjoy.

The CRA’s Garden Street Landscape Beautification project was designed to make a series of aesthetic improvements within the Garden Street median between Alcaniz Street and ‘A’ Street.

A variety of beautiful trees, shrubs and groundcover will be planted along the median to provide beautification along one of the CRA’s principal corridors. The project leverages a landscape beautification grant awarded to the CRA by the Florida Department of Transportation. Additionally, the improvements tie into the East Garden District Streetscape project and the De Villiers, Reus and ‘A’ Street projects that were under design and/ or construction during 2020.

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

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

Rendering of the East Garden District development expected to be complete in 2023. East Garden District Master Plan Pensacola, Florida - 2021

$2.8 Mil. Estimated annual tax impact of East Garden District upon completion.

NATIVE PLANT LANDSCAPING

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