RECOVERING A LOST NEIGHBORHOOD

"It's really important the mayor and his team think about what's going to draw people to Another question that arose during the fellowship was how to inspire Eastside community members to self-organize and initiate their own programs to help maintain neighborhood integrity. The advisors told the Pensacola contingent that without long-term strategy, planning and mindfulness, a project of this magnitude is

By Tom St. Myer

A transformative project overdue by decades is on the precipice of occurring if the city of Pensacola secures a substantial grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mayor D.C. Reeves is targeting more than $35 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds and another $1 million in CDBG Mitigation Funds to reconnect east and west Pensacola through the Hollice T. Williams neighborhood. He expects HUD to determine the grant recipients by early summer.

"This is a long-overdue project for our city in so many different ways from reconnection, from a greenway to first-of-its-kind amenities," Reeves said. "We have parks, but we don't have parks that connect neighborhoods like that. We're trying to bring value to every corner of our community."

A primarily Black neighborhood displaced by the construction of Interstate 110, the Hollice T. Williams area used to be bustling with residences, schools, churches, restaurants and other commercial properties. Famous Pensacolians, such as Williams, John Sunday, Chappie James Jr. and Cecil T. Hunter, once called the neighborhood home. Historically significant structures bearing their names in the neighborhood include the John Sunday House, Chappie James Museum and Dr. John Lee Pickens Medical Office.

Today, the 1.3-mile highway underpass, ranging from Maxwell to Wright streets, is prone to flooding and consists of dozens of blighted properties. A pristine home sandwiched between two houses with boarded-up windows and broken doors is a common sight. About 20% of the population is without a high school diploma or vehicle, and the median household income of about $35,000 is nearly $25,000 below the median for the city of Pensacola.

"This is a longstanding minority neighborhood in which some of the most important raised," Reeves said. "This is a neighborhood that deserves attention."

His ambitious project plans include improving water quality, stormwater attenuation, creating recreational opportunities and displaying public art that honors the cultural heritage of the neighborhood.

The crown jewel of the project is a fully designed park with a multi-use path, playing fields, neighborhood history exhibits, gardens, a dog park and a skate park. Other possibilities include a Black history trail, as well as turning vacant lots into attainable housing.

"That right there is going to put a light on the hidden gem of Pensacola," said Tommy White, the owner of East King's Corner and an Eastside Redevelopment Board member.

Park enhancements rank relatively low on White's priority list for the area, though, he said. Affordable housing is No. 1, followed by converting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Davis Highway back into two-way streets.

"It's a high market. However, we still can't forget about our working-class individuals who can't afford a $750,000 house or half a million, or $400,000 or $350,000," White said. "These are the people that make our city go. At the end of the day, what the city needs to do is take a hard stance on the costs of future developments."

Reeves campaigned on increasing attainable housing in the city, but simply turning vacant lots into houses is a short-sighted solution. Providing amenities associated with high-income neighborhoods is crucial for long-term success, Reeves said. He mentioned tree canopies and pedestrian walkways as examples.

Just City Fellowship

Ideas on how to best restore the neighborhood surfaced through the Mayors' Institute on City Design Just City Mayoral Fellowship that Reeves participated in with mayors from Albany,

City Lab, located within the Harvard Gradu ate School of Design. The lab investigates the ways design and planning contribute to conditions of justice and injustice in cities, neighborhoods and the public realm. Its Just Index is a renowned framework of 50 values to be used for communities to establish their own definition and principles for what makes each city or neighborhood more just.

Research by the Just City Lab staff indicates that issues of race, income, education and unemployment inequality can be addressed by planning and designing for greater access, agency, ownership, beauty, diversity and empowerment.

Toni Griffin, an architect and professor in the practice of Urban Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design who leads The Just City Lab, and her team hammer that point home through a series of modules and weekly readings.

"All places in the city deserve good quality design," Griffin said.

She complimented Reeves for participating in the program so early into his mayorship. He stood out in a group Griffin described as diverse in terms of geography, tenure, age and race.

"From a national level, it's an honor to present something that's a generational project for the city," Reeves said. "To be able to do so with so many amazing experts from all over our country who have taken on projects this size or larger, it was a great opportunity."

The mayors and their staff members took what they learned about Just Cities and presented their projects during the fellowship. Reeves and his staff received invaluable feedback on their Hollis T. Williams presentation from the audience.

That feedback included focusing on what happens after completing the project. Griffin emphasized the importance of how the neighborhood connects to the new space and how the space connects back to the neighborhood, she said.

The city securing HUD funds is imperative for the project to be completed on a grand scale and sustain long-term success. The project is 100%

"The full-ticket amount is anywhere from 2540 million dollars," Reeves said. "That's not an amount of money Pensacola can ever sock away

HUD provides disaster recovery funds to help cities, counties and states recover from presidentially declared disasters. Donald Trump declared Hurricane Sally a "major disaster" in September 2020.

The hurricane poured nearly 25 inches of rain on Pensacola, according to the Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park Project application submitted by the city. Excessive runoff from five overflowing ponds and runoff from the east inundated the existing Hollice T. Williams stormwater pond and triggered flooding in other portions of the city. A significant amount of stormwater made its way into Pensacola Bay.

Pensacola has yet to receive any disasterrelated state or federal funding to repair the Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park since the hurricane. Any improvements to the stormwater park will be significant for the city.

In its application to HUD, the city stated, "The Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park will serve to improve water quality and reduce stormwater in the area while reconnecting the social fabric of the neighborhood displaced by the construction of I-110 in the 1970s. The project will repair and harden stormwater infrastructure to reduce flooding frequency and magnitude within the dense (low-to-moderate income) service area."

Reeves is optimistic HUD will fund the project. But what if HUD rejects this "generational" opportunity?

"We have a lot of irons in the fire other than the CDBG, but it would be much more incremental," said Reeves, who mentioned the remaining RESTORE funds as one alternative.

Reeves is seeking state funds for the project, too, while he waits on word from HUD. He broached the subject with state legislators on three separate trips to Tallahassee over the past six weeks. The application to HUD includes $2.35 million in leveraged funds, and the city identified local match state funds and American Rescue Plan Act funds for that amount.

"We're fighting, and we're going to see if we can get this done," Reeves said. "Fingers crossed that we can get this thing over the finish line."{in}