By Jeremy Morrison
As Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson enters the final stretch of his time in office, some efforts may be fizzling out or at least need to be rethought. The mayor took a moment to address a couple of these efforts during his weekly press conference Monday, as well as counterpointing the challenges with the city’s “good problem” of its rising popularity and desirability.
For starters, a long-term goal of developing retail and residential on two parcels at Maritime Park, along with the parking structure considered necessary to support development, looks like it might be hitting a brick wall in the form of the project’s financials. Inspired Communities of Florida, LLC holds a lease option to develop parcels 4 and 5 at Maritime, but Pensacola City Council is expected to receive a presentation this week informing them of the numbers crunch in the form of rising cement costs and recently raised interest rates.
“I believe the apartments could certainly be built if there were no need for structured parking. The price of concrete has made it very challenging. But the other thing that has also happened is the interest rates that have gone up for financing, in the last six months, have gone up dramatically,” Mayor Robinson explained. “The fact that it was going to require financing and it was going to require structured parking, I think those two things have conspired against it.”
Another effort the city is engaged in — working with Lotus Campaign, Inc. to engage landlord’s in an affordable housing program — may also be hitting some challenges. Pensacola may not have the necessary stock of housing for the organization to offer its services.
“Much of their program is really about unlocking product,” Robinson said, explaining that the city may lack “product” or housing stock. “They believe that if there is product, they could do their service.”
While this housing challenge will require creative solutions from the city’s next mayor — D.C. Reeves, who takes office later this month — Mayor Robinson noted that the cause of the shortage of housing — Pensacola’s uptick in popularity — was ultimately a good thing, or “a problem we want.”
“That vibrancy that we’ve been working so hard to create, that quality of place, it has created a desire for people to come here, and our demand is far outstripping our supply at this particular time. But at the same time, I wouldn’t change anything on the demand side. I mean, we’ve worked really hard to build a desirable community that people want to live in.”
Smooth Sailing
The face of the Port of Pensacola is changing gradually to a less industrial, more diverse space. Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis got an up-close look at one of the port’s newer tenants and a significant component of the facility’s evolution when he visited the city and met the crew of American Magic, U.S. Sailing’s operation that has taken up training in Pensacola Bay as it prepares for a return to the American Cup.
“He obviously went out on the American Magic and went for a sail with them, but what was more important for us is when he returned, we had a chance to sit down with him,” Mayor Robinson said.
Robinson explained that city officials felt good about having the opportunity to familiarize the governor with the aims to shift focus at the Port of Pensacola ahead of Pensacola’s request of Triumph Gulf Coast — the body charged with dispensing financial penalties associated with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill —to help fund its efforts to reimagine the port, a sizable component of which is the presence of U.S. Sailing.
“A large part of that is really looking to become a sailing center, and really the epicenter for sailing, boat-making, sailmaking, a variety of things in the United States, and really a chance to revamp and revitalize U.S. Sailing,” the mayor said, expressing a desire for the city to play a role in the return to prominence of U.S. Sailing.
“Certainly, 30 or 40 years ago, we were the leader in the world, and we’ve sort of lost that place, and I think there’s really an emphasis on wanting to make U.S. sailing again the top part of the sailing in the world and certainly to make Pensacola the number one place for sailing in the United States.”