Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves held a press conference Tuesday covering the Bay Center feasibility study, restructured hurricane recovery housing funds, and a string of weekend events downtown.
Bay Center Report Due by the End of the Week
The city has received a 130-page draft feasibility report on the Bay Center’s future, with final survey data still being integrated. Reeves expects to release it to county commissioners and the press by Friday.
He is meeting with Council President Allison Patton and Commission Chair Ashley Hofberger to map out a joint discussion timeline. On financing, Reeves said the roughly $75 million in available bed tax would likely be consumed by a Bay Center renovation alone, making any broader vision dependent on a public-private partnership.
- “If we have daydreams of conference centers or sports facilities or ice rinks, those will not — nor should they be — solely funded by bed tax,” he said.
On the question of city ownership of the Bay Center site, giving Pensacola legal leverage over the county, Reeves brushed it aside: “This is too important for our community to get into who has the contractual high ground.”
USL Soccer: Still Waiting on a Stadium Site
A year after signing a letter of intent with the USL Soccer, Reeves said market interest remains strong, but the central obstacle hasn’t moved — finding and funding a downtown stadium.
- “All the other boxes are checked,” he said. “It just comes down to the big elephant in the room, which is a multimillion-dollar stadium.”
He ruled out the Tech Park as a viable site and said USL has no interest in playing at a temporary facility for years while waiting on construction.
CDBG Hurricane Funds Restructured
After Tallahassee had signaled a 0% chance of an extension, Reeves spent four days negotiating a restructured plan for the city’s $5.8 million in Hurricane Sally CDBG funds: $1 million for home repair, $1 million for voluntary flood-zone buyouts, $1.5 million partnered with Escambia County for six tear-down-and-rebuild projects inside city limits, and $2.3 million for port infrastructure. The remaining $3.5 million returns to Florida Commerce. The plan still requires a council vote.
Other Updates
The city is finalizing a donation of one parcel from the former Baptist Hospital campus to Community Health Northwest Florida for low-cost healthcare and dental services. A council workshop on all three Baptist parcels is expected before a vote at the second March council meeting.
Reimagine Palafox storm infrastructure is 70% complete, with full project milestones tracking for late April. A neighborhood meeting on the Baptist demolition is Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Fricker Center. The next bulk waste cleanup is on March 28, north of East Hill.
Chief Eric Winstrom began his first day with the Pensacola Police Department on Monday.
