A proposed mixed-use shopping center anchored by a nearly 31,000-square-foot grocery store is headed before the City of Pensacola Architectural Review Board on March 19.
Branch Acquisition Company is requesting a conceptual review of the development planned for 200 W. Garden Street in the Palafox Historic Business District. The site was previously home to the Escambia County School District administrative offices but was sold and demolished to make way for the Waverly development that never materialized. See memorandum.
At his March 10 press conference, Pensacola D.C. Reeves shared that he had a “good call” witht the developers, Atlanta-based Branch Properties. “What I can tell you is, certainly their attention to detail from an aesthetic standpoint, knowing that that’s in the heart of our downtown, is extremely important to me—where you put parking, how the building looks, all those things,” Reeves shared.
“I was certainly encouraged to know that that’s something that they took into consideration, not just with the minimum that the ARB requires, but knowing that it needs to be something that is compatible with our downtown and our community.”
Branch Properties, LLC: The private real estate investment firm that was founded in 1973 as a real estate acquisition, development, management, leasing, and advisory firm. The company specializes in grocery?anchored and neighborhood shopping centers, with vertically integrated capabilities to source, acquire, develop, finance, lease, and manage properties in?house. Read more.
Downtown Pensacola Plan
The conceptual plans call for a brick and masonry mixed-use shopping center with retail storefronts alongside the 30,990-square-foot anchor grocery. The design features aluminum canopies over entrances, sconce and linear LED lighting, and a parking lot with more than 100 spaces. A “pocket park” is proposed for the corner of Romana and Spring streets. See conceptual plans.
Materials include brick veneer, masonry split-faced veneer, hard coat stucco in white and green, and aluminum storefront systems in clear anodized and dark bronze finishes. Signage plans show two externally illuminated wall signs along with smaller wall signs and projecting blade signs for retail tenants.
The applicant is seeking broad feedback from the board on building materials, siting, and massing before advancing to a full review. Because the property sits within the Palafox Historic Business District and is zoned C-2A in City Council District 6, the project must meet the board’s design standards for the historic corridor.
The ARB meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 19.
