Florida Power & Light has sold its Pensacola headquarters, a 250,000-square-foot, five-story office on 13 acres overlooking Pensacola Bay. This weekend, SVN Southland Commercial erected For Lease signs on the property, with Michael Carro as the point of contact.
- Little is known about who bought the building at 1 Energy Place, other than it’s a local investment group. The property was originally listed for $42 million to $46 million. Carro has positioned the building as a multi-tenant Class A office space. When the sale closes, more than 127,000 square feet of leases will be completed.
Available office suites range from approximately 4,000 to 56,000 rentable square feet. The property also includes an approximately 8,350-square-foot waterfront dining room and restaurant opportunity.
- Carro will appear on “Rick’s Blog Live” later this week to fill in the details of the landmark deal. Visit here to review the building and learn about lease opportunities.
History
Gulf Power completed the $25-million, five-story headquarters in March 1987. Its unusual, wavy-look design was intended to duplicate Pensacola Bay’s shoreline. Locals praised the utility company for its Hawkshaw archaeological study and for retaining many of the trees. It was built to house 600 employees.
- The corporate offices also housed a showcase of artifacts uncovered from the 2,000-year-old Indian site on which the high-rise was built.
Gulf Power President Douglas McCrary said the building was intended to convey a corporate image. He told the News Journal: “I hope a progressive image.”
John Tice of Bullock-Tice said the building reflected one of the more positive thrusts in architecture’s direction in the 1980s, in how it integrated building materials and colors and followed the postmodern idea of using materials ornamentally.
- He called the building’s main entryway “humbling.” He said, “As you walk in, you’re somewhat awed.”
According to a News Journal article from April 1987, the building houses a time capsule intended to be opened this year, on Gulf Power’s 100th anniversary. The capsule is loaded with a sample of the coal burned for fuel, a hard hat, a light bulb, and employee letters to the future.
- However, Gulf Power’s parent company, the Atlanta-based Southern Company, sold the utility to NextEra Energy, the parent of Florida Power & Light, in 2019.
Maybe the owners will find the time capsule and open it.
Shortly after I posted this, we received this press announcement:
One Energy Place Sale Closes, Stays in Local Hands, and Opens as a Multi-Tenant Class A Office Building
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The sale of One Energy Place, the iconic 250,000 SF waterfront office building overlooking Pensacola Bay, closed July 31, 2026, transitioning the landmark single-occupant corporate headquarters to a multi-tenant Class A office building under new local ownership.
The five-story building at 500 Bayfront Parkway sits on over 13 acres of prime waterfront real estate at the doorstep of downtown Pensacola. Built in 1986, it was constructed as the corporate headquarters of Gulf Power, which had served Northwest Florida since 1926. When Gulf Power merged into Florida Power & Light in 2021 and the Gulf Power name was retired in 2022, the building continued as FPL’s Northwest Florida headquarters before being brought to market.
For four decades, One Energy Place operated as a single-occupant corporate facility. Its original construction was recognized with a U.S. Department of the Interior award for public/private partnership, and the site’s development helped catalyze the revitalization of the surrounding area — including Veterans Memorial Park, the Wall South, and the upscale Aragon neighborhood.
Under the new ownership, the building will be repositioned as a multi-tenant Class A office property, offering contiguous availability ranging from approximately 4,000 to 56,000 rentable square feet, along with a separate 8,350-RSF turnkey restaurant featuring an amazing dining room with water views. With modern architectural lines, expansive glass façades, a grand lobby, structured and underground parking, and sweeping water views from nearly every floor, the property is well suited to professional, medical, legal, engineering, financial, and business-service tenants seeking premier waterfront space.
Perhaps most significantly for the region, the property remains in local hands. Rather than being acquired by an out-of-market institution, One Energy Place has been purchased by a local investment group committed to preserving one of Pensacola’s most recognizable landmarks and returning it to active, productive use as a cornerstone of the downtown waterfront.
“One Energy Place has anchored the Pensacola bayfront for nearly forty years, and it means a great deal that this landmark will remain in local hands,” said Michael Carro, CCIM, Senior Advisor and Managing Director of SVN Southland Commercial, and the listing broker on the transaction. “Converting it from a single corporate headquarters into a multi-tenant Class A building opens the door for a range of local and regional businesses to call the waterfront home. With this sale closed, we’re excited to bring new energy and new jobs to one of the finest office assets on the Gulf Coast.”
About the Property
One Energy Place is a five-story, approximately 250,000 SF Class A office building on 13.38 acres of waterfront land overlooking Pensacola Bay at 500 Bayfront Parkway in Pensacola, Florida. Built in 1986 as a corporate headquarters, it is being repositioned as a multi-tenant office property offering contiguous office space and a waterfront restaurant opportunity with an amazing dining room with water views.
Media & Leasing Contact
Michael Carro, CCIM
Managing Director, SVN | Southland Commercial
Office: (850) 434-7500
Email: mcarro@svn.com