Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves addressed the significance of Diane Hendrick’s Corporate Contractors Incorporated (CCI) partnering with the Dawson Company on the Reverb project at Maritime Park’s Lot 5.
The mayor noted that Hendricks is “the most successful self-made female entrepreneur in the United States” and “an absolute icon in entrepreneurship.” He described her involvement as a strong indicator of Pensacola’s growing national reputation as an investable city.
- “I think this shows not only the strength of investing in the city of Pensacola but the reputation that we’re building nationally,” Reeves said. “The message that sends is that to be an investible city, one that people really are bullish on, there’s no better barometer than saying somebody that’s been as successful as her—with a team that has done hundreds of billions of dollars of projects around the country—is interested in the City of Pensacola.”
Regarding the partnership’s impact on project execution, Reeves added: “Certainly, when you hear that news, we think that’s going to be a huge, significant upgrade to this project. And again, you have someone that is as successful as Ms. Hendricks coming in here and wanting to support a project in Pensacola.”
Fricker Center Meeting Rescheduled Amid Community Concerns
The second community meeting for the Fricker Center renovation project has been moved from its original date to 8 a.m.-9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 13. The mayor cited two primary reasons for the schedule change: the need to properly digest community feedback from the first meeting and building condition issues that require further environmental assessment.
- “We certainly want to go through a lot of that,” Reeves explained about the feedback. “There was some feedback that we got that was very productive, very relevant to what we were working on. We want to be able to marinate on those a little bit. We also have some building issues to look into from an environmental standpoint.”
When questioned about potential concerns regarding the timing change, Mayor Reeves defended the decision. He noted that the city is planning to build only the second senior center in decades, and morning hours might be more accessible for elderly residents who may have difficulty driving at night.
- “The biggest component of this is that we’re going to build the second senior center that’s ever existed in the city. We haven’t built one for decades,” he said. “There is no senior center right by the city on the west side of town.”
The mayor also addressed criticism about the project itself, with some community members expressing concern about gentrification.
- “We have no ulterior motive other than we want to take a facility that has been left behind the same way we’ve done with the community center that’s about to take off $1.7 million,” he said. “We want these to stay, we want these to thrive. And certainly if I felt like the community as a whole, not one or two people, but if the community as a whole said, ‘I don’t think $9.5 million renovated facility is good for our community,’ then certainly we would take heed to that.”
Defending his administration’s community engagement record, Reeves added: “I would certainly put up our track record of community engagements and town halls in the almost three years I’ve been here—on rough math, I would think we’re over a hundred on every project—and I would put that up against any administration that has ever been here.”
- Behind the scenes: Mayor Reeves has begun with Black pastors and community leaders, listening to their concerns and soliciting their support for the Fricker Center improvements and the redevelopment of the former Baptist Hospital property.
Baptist Hospital Project Faces County Decision Deadline
Mayor Reeves expressed growing frustration with the county’s delayed decision on the Baptist Hospital demolition. He has requested that the item be placed on the August 7 county commission agenda for a vote.
- “At some point, I believe we’re month number six now into this conversation about what the county wants to do or not do. And sir, I respect their decision, whatever that’s going to be. But I certainly would like there to be a decision made,” Reeves said.
He quoted Kohler’s recent comments on a separate issue: “I think Commissioner Kohler probably said it best, and I think he was talking about it, obviously it was a separate issue, but he said if you aren’t going to approve anything, just put it on the record so we know which way to go. It’s not fair to these agencies… I couldn’t agree more.”
The mayor warned that continued delays could jeopardize various project timelines, including demolition bids and agreements with Baptist Hospital. Multiple partners, including state agencies, are waiting for the county’s commitment level before moving forward.
- “We have state partners, we’ve got Baptist as partners, we’ve got two hundred-unit buildings going in. There are a lot of people at the table that need to be moving this project forward one way or the other.”
When pressed about what happens if the county doesn’t act by August 7, Reeves said: “At what point does this wait? Can this ambiguity become unreasonable? And maybe we just take that as, or no, I don’t know why. Just let’s put it up for a vote. If three people vote against it, certainly again, I’ll always respect it, doesn’t mean I agree with it, but I’ll always respect a body’s decision to decide to vote or not vote for something.”
Positive Updates on Community Programs
Project Reconnect Success: The mayor highlighted the success of Project Reconnect, a county-led initiative with active city participation. The program has helped 220 homeless individuals, including 10 children, reconnect with family support systems across the country. The program has invested over $41,000 to date and will seek county funding replenishment.
Recycling Program Growth: Pensacola’s curbside recycling program continues to gain traction with over 2,000 customers enrolled. He said, “That’s going up by the hundreds every few days as expected. This is not something that you already expect to have all filled overnight, but we’re pleased with the trajectory so far.”
- Explaining the decision not to include glass, he said: “ECUA does take glass, but it costs them about $550 a load to take it to Georgia to be processed. So yes, they take glass, but no market allows that to be supported long-term. And so our feeling is, hey, let’s use the core four items that can be supported, can be financially supported to make sure it’s sustainable, so we’re not promising to do one thing and having to change our mind a little bit later.”
The mayor also addressed contamination issues at drop-off sites: “The recycling bins on Summit have been full for the last two months, full and contaminated, a hundred percent contaminated… I believe we took in a living room set, we got installed last week at the drop-off location, which clearly is not recyclable.”
Legion Field Lease Finalized: The 46-year lease with SYSA for Legion Field improvements has been executed, allowing the organization to invest $3 million in the project. Permits are expected to be submitted imminently.
Upcoming Events
Residents can mark their calendars for several upcoming events:
– National Night Out: Tuesday, August 5, 5–7 p.m. at Roger Scott Park
– Party in the Park: August 9 and 16, noon to 6 p.m. (part of ongoing community engagement efforts)
Baptist Hospital: perhaps Inweekly could provide an objective assessment of how we got into this mess. To date, I’ve heard lots of politicians mostly spin the narrative. I read the 2014 West Moreno District Assessment. But the December 2016 version posted to the city’s website is described as a “Draft.” Was it really never approved? In 2016, did the Baptist Hospital Board secretly decide it was going to move? Property Appraiser records show that Baptist then began buying up property using shell corporations. When Baptist eventually revealed its intent, I assumed that it was going to build a Baptist Medical Park in the old campus area. It certainly had no shortage of money as it was building other similar facilities. At what point did the Baptist board decide to initiate a “bait & switch”? Also, who in the county thought it was a good idea to build a new hospital with so many fewer rooms? I spoke with a doctor at the new hospital who told me the real intent was to reduce the number of poor and indigent patients. Is that true? Is that what happened?