Developing Greatness

Rendering Concept

Downtown Pensacola is Staking its Claim as One of the Country’s Most Vibrant City Centers

by Paul Thompson

President John F. Kennedy once said, “We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them, we neglect the nation.” Far from neglected, downtown Pensacola is riding a tidal wave of commercial, residential, retail and epicurean development that is transforming its city center into one of America’s most vibrant places to work, live, dine and visit. Clearly, it takes a village to awaken a dormant downtown and there’s a long list of people contributing to the renaissance. That said, it would be impossible to talk about the revival without a salute to Quint Studer, a Midwesterner with a passion for excellence and empowerment.

Studer made his mark in the healthcare field by inspiring people to improve the patient experience. Now, he is invigorating Pensacola by investing in new infrastructure, a minor league baseball park, apartments, office buildings, shops, restaurants and entrepreneurial leadership training. “Quint was the spark,” longtime Pensacola builder-developer Jim Cronley of Terhaar & Cronley Development Company said. “He was the one with the vision for what downtown could become, and he motivated a lot of people to follow his lead.” Austin Tenpenny, whose aDoor Properties will build 100 singlefamily homes this year in downtown Pensacola, concurs. “When the Studers (Quint and his wife and business partner, Rishy) built the Blue Wahoos Stadium (the majestic waterfront venue for a Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins baseball team) and Southtowne (a 252-unit apartment complex with office and retail space), the die was cast – downtown Pensacola became the place to be,” Tenpenny said. Studer says the defining moment in what ultimately became his dream for downtown Pensacola began in a casual conversation with Jon Clifton, the CEO of the world renowned analytics and consulting firm Gallup. Clifton had been impressed with Studer’s success as a healthcare consultant and wondered if he might be interested in Gallup’s latest survey, “The Soul of a City,”

on the factors proven to make cities thrive. Studer was indeed interested, and the rest, as they say, is history. “The study was intriguing to me in its clarity on what was needed to make a downtown vibrant,” recalls Studer. “Specifically and sequentially, you begin by programming events that bring people downtown. Next, you enhance the downtown experience through great restaurants, bars, and shopping. Then, you create great office space for companies that want to locate their businesses downtown. And finally, you achieve a tipping point where people who visit downtown, or work downtown, decide they want to live downtown.” While those elements in fact became the key components of Studer’s game plan, he refined his strategies by gleaning best practices from world-class experts such as urban planners Shane Phillips of Los Angeles and Ray Gastil of Pittsburgh and Canadian landscape architect Kent Ford. With each step forward, Studer became the Pied Piper, attracting smart builders, developers, landowners and investors to share his dream. D.C. Reeves is a big proponent of Studer’s work and for seven years, he has served as the chief of staff at Studer Properties. Reeves is also the owner of Perfect Plain Brewery and its sister establishments The Well, Garden & Grain and Perennial. He is a major downtown developer in his own right and recently became the new Mayorelect of the City of Pensacola. “We’re clearly on a mission here to make downtown Pensacola one of the truly special places in America,” Reeves said. “I would love to see us recognized for our downtown just as much as Savannah, Greenville and Charleston.” Among the many people working to make that dream reality is Chad Henderson, the CEO of Catalyst HRE, and the mastermind of what many consider the epicenter of downtown development: the East Garden District (EGD). Since he bought the historic Rhodes Building back in 2015, Henderson has worked to make downtown what he calls an “18-hour environment” where people love to work and play. Like Studer, his mentor and personal friend, Henderson believes in opening up opportunities for others to thrive. It’s why he’s committed to the success of all the entrepreneurs he welcomes into the district to the point of making sure all the businesses are complimentary, sustainable and symbiotic. This curation strategy is implemented down to the last detail by Catalyst HRE’s Vice President of Development, Tosh Belsinger. “Our master plan for the East Garden District (EGD) is set in placemaking,” Belsinger said. “The EGD will be home to a 144-key Hilton Tapestry boutique with a unique rooftop experience, restaurants and retail space, forsale and for-rent residential units and an urban plaza – all carefully planned to maximize synergies within the district and within our community.” Belsinger cites Reeves’s unique craft brewery as an example of an enterprise that pairs well with other businesses coming into the East Garden District, specifically the Union Public House (owned by Henderson and super chef Blake Rushing) and Papa’s Pizza. Another prominent player downtown is Bobby Switzer who, along with his brother Charlie and a group of investors, are responsible for the development of One Palafox Place. It began with the 2015 purchase of the seven-story Blount Building at the corner of Garden and Palafox Streets and now includes historic buildings, housing, restaurants, shops and offices. For Switzer, downtown development is personal as he is the greatgrandson of F.C. Brent, for whom the venerable Brent Building is named. Switzer’s new construction and historical restoration projects fall into the capable hands of Amir Fooladi, the owner of ParsCo, LLC. “It’s truly amazing the impact the Switzer family has had on downtown, especially the repurposing of historic properties,” Fooladi explained. ParsCo won the Associated Building Contractors’ Historic Renovation of the Year in 2018 for the transformation of the threestory, 21,000-square-foot Marston Quina Building into first class office space. “Working with Sam Marshall Architects, we felt we achieved the best of two worlds,” Fooladi explained, “preserving a historic exterior, while creating an open concept on the interior with smart space planning and stateof-the-art technology.” From a realtor perspective, John David Ellis, local real estate broker and owner of Voyage Real Estate, is bullish on downtown Pensacola. He notes, however, that the rise in mortgage rates above 6 percent and their continued upward trend, may cause the once red-hot downtown housing market to cool down a bit. “We see the housing inventory increasing downtown but with the continued high demand, we are cautiously optimistic that the market will remain strong,” Ellis said. While millions of dollars have flowed into downtown from the private sector, the public side has played a prominent role in this evolving success story. “The beautification of Jefferson Street is a prime example of a strong private-public partnership,” Henderson said. “It was a $2.2 million project to upgrade the infrastructure and make the street walkable with new landscape and hardscape. The City of Pensacola and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) contributed $1.37 million and private money funded the balance. When you consider the new tax revenue that will be generated by all the new and improved buildings on Jefferson Street, the return on investment for the city will be impressive.”

Photo courtesy of aDoor Properties

Downtown developers are quick to tip their caps to Mayor Grover Robinson, City Administrator Kerrith Fiddler and Deputy City Administrator David Forte, for recognizing the need to upgrade the city’s aging infrastructure and investing in the growth of Pensacola. By the same token, home builders Tenpenny and Fooladi note that, while there are unique regulatory challenges building on the city’s small downtown lots, Pensacola’s Chief Building Official Jonathan Bilby and his staff are as accommodating as they can be given the statewide building code and the minimum housing standards. “Jonathan’s been a breath of fresh air,” Tenpenny said. “When there’s a problem, he and his staff help explore solutions, without compromising health and safety.” It’s a safe bet that publicsector support for downtown development will stay strong when Reeves takes over as Mayor on November 22, 2022, especially given his recent announcement of a new economic development position for the city. “This person will help developers navigate the regulatory challenges of largescale projects,” Reeves said. “In addition to the practical aspect of providing assistance, the position makes a statement about how much we value those who are willing to invest in downtown.” While most downtown investors are working to maximize returns, Lauren Gund of Helm and Forge, LLC isn’t motivated solely by the bottom line. With purpose and passion, she plans to build unique homes near North Hill to honor the memory of her hero and mother Linda Keen, who died unexpectedly at age 64. “My mother was everything to me and when she passed, I was devastated,” Gund said. “I quit climbing the corporate ladder (at a civil engineering firm) and decided to do something that she would be proud of. So, I took a portion of the inheritance she left me and bought land downtown.” Gund teamed up with one of the area’s finest custom home builders, Thomas Westerheim of Westerheim Properties, to design and build highly customized, amenity-rich homes that are especially attractive to young professionals. The first offering in the joint venture is a two-story, four bedroom, three bath home featuring a spacious master suite with a private balcony. At 2,412 square feet, the home’s modern appeal includes 10-foot ceilings, custom doors and cabinetry, quartz countertops, wood-like tile, luxury vinyl plank flooring and high-end appliances, including the latest LG refrigerator that even produces whiskey ice balls. It speaks volumes that seemingly everyone associated with the new downtown Pensacola is excited about what the future holds. “Every empty lot in downtown Pensacola is an opportunity waiting to be seized,” Studer said. “Think about it, the infrastructure is already in place and when that lot accommodates a home, better yet four homes, we make housing more affordable. We can’t be afraid of density. Density creates the most property taxes per square foot and helps the environment through the efficient use of land, resources, and energy.” Tenpenny sees a slightly different future downtown for aDoor Properties. “We’ve looked at the market, noted the rising costs of homeownership, and believe it’s time to produce a townhouse rental project,” he said. “It’s certainly not the total answer to the affordable housing problem, but it’s a start. Our goal is to provide a rental product that still has the aDoor style, quality and all of the perks and amenities that come with living in a home.” Tenpenny’s 32-unit Main Street Crossings is projected to come online in the fall of 2023. Henderson will continue to lead his East Garden District project with placemaking as its catalyst with hopes to inspire more downtown Pensacola development. “We believe our project is both transformational and unifying for our city,” Henderson said, “and we are excited that the EGD is starting to stimulate conversations about more growth around us.” Fooladi will continue to play a major role in downtown housing with the completion of the Garden District Cottages. The 26-home project includes six properties produced at belowmarket prices as part of the City of Pensacola’s Home Incentive Buyer program. Ellis is encouraged by the fact that developers who once considered the west side of downtown to be less desirable are now making major investments there. “Who would have thought that Barrancas Avenue, which has historically been industrial-type properties, would blossom with nice restaurants, new businesses, and new homes?” Ellis said. “The more we activate the west side, the more vibrant downtown becomes.” And, oh yes, Gund’s dreams for North Hill won’t stop with one home. She and Westerheim’s “Hello Desoto ‘’ series have already begun, with Act II on a corner lot and two more homes to follow in 2023. By the time he takes his seat as Mayor, Reeves will have visited a majority of the most vibrant downtowns in the South, talking personally to many of their developers, elected officials, and community development directors. “We have the utmost respect for the great cities in this nation,” Reeves said. “But, we believe with all our hearts that Pensacola is a city of destiny and that we are on a path to greatness.”

HELLO DESOTO INTERIOR

Photo courtesy of Lauren Gund