Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves opened the Civic Leaders Summit on Wednesday, outlining his vision for the city’s future. He emphasized significant investments in infrastructure, housing, and economic development that will position Pensacola as a destination city.
- The speech could serve as his campaign message in 2026, once he files to run for re-election next year.
Strategic Planning
Reeves highlighted the city’s first comprehensive strategic plan, which engaged over 1,000 residents in the planning process. “We had more community engagement with our strategic plan than Austin had with theirs.”
The plan established eight key initiatives that now guide every city council decision.
- “Every single council agenda item that goes in front of our council marks the eight key initiatives that our community told us were important,” Reeves said. “So that now when you go back 20 years, if you go ahead 20 years from now, you’ll be able to look back at every single action that we took that was tied back to the things that our community said were important.”
American Magic: Planting Pensacola’s Flag
The mayor touted securing the headquarters for American Magic, the sailing team competing in the America’s Cup. The $20 million, 56,000-square-foot facility opens on Nov. 6 and represents a 75% investment from state and federal partners.
- “We are going to lose this opportunity over my cold, dead fingers,” Reeves said, describing his determination to keep the team in Pensacola. “These types of opportunities to say you’ve got the most advanced sail team in the United States and one of the seven most advanced in the world don’t come by even each generation.”
The facility is already generating additional economic activity, with the GL52 circuit announcing eight events, including their world championship for next year.
Tackling Housing
Addressing the housing crisis, Reeves advocated for an approach that includes all price points. “We need every level of housing. We need everything from homeless transitional housing to market rate housing.”
- The mayor cited data about housing supply: “For every hundred market rate units built in the community, within two and a half years, through five migrations of people now moving up to something nicer or bigger that they can afford, it takes two and a half years to create 41 affordable units out of that hundred market rate.”
Infrastructure Investment
Reeves emphasized his focus on maintaining and repairing existing infrastructure, calling it “maybe the most unfun thing you can do” in politics but essential. The city is investing seven figures in City Hall improvements and has allocated $21.7 million through “Direction 25” to upgrade the city’s 94 parks.
- The mayor shared that his childhood experience was finding park amenities often broken. “I want kids to grow up here assuming that the water fountain works and that the bench works.”
Place-Making
The mayor outlined an economic development strategy focused on building “a really cool place to live” rather than chasing outside businesses. “When we build a really cool place to live, the residents like yourselves get to enjoy it, and it also becomes the place where people want to move to.”
- To prove his point, Reeves cited Pensacola recently being ranked as the top coastal city in the United States among 143 coastal areas and earning recognition as one of LinkedIn’s top mid-sized cities for young professionals.
Looking Forward
Major projects on the horizon include a $6.5 million protected bike path from the Chappie James Bridge to the port, airport expansion with the addition of five new gates by mid-2027, and the redevelopment of 38 acres at the former Baptist Hospital site.
- “This is a get-to type of job,” Reeves concluded, reflecting on his role leading the city during what he called “an amazing time in our city’s history.”
Background: The Civic Leader Summit is a three-day conference taking place in Pensacola through today. It brings together national and local civic leaders, city officials, community builders, and urban development experts to share tactical, proven approaches for fostering economic growth, health equity, and a strong sense of belonging in cities and towns.
The Center for Civic Engagement, in partnership with Strong Towns and CivicCon, hosts the event.