DPZ CoDesign last August survey the members of NAIOP -Â professionals involved in commercial real estate. According to its website, the local chapter has 90+ members. Twenty-four responded to the OLF-8 survey.
What percentage of the land at OLF8 should be planned for this type of commercial development and employment initiative?
100%: Â 3
90%: 1
80%: 4
70%: 4
60%: 1
50%: 4
Total wanting 50% or more: 17- 71%
40%: 2
30%: 2
20%: 1
10%: 2
Total: 7 – 29%
Are there any land uses that you do not view as being viable in the foreseeable future? Answered: 14 Skipped: 10
1. heavy industrial
2. This community can’t properly develop its current industrial parks. It would be a real shame if that’s the approach that is taken with this property. It’s the 21st century for goodness sake, time to develop like it!
3. Industrial park
4. Conventional office space is in flux due to COVID and a large number of organizations have learned how to work remotely. My view is, creating more office space that may not have a place in our future , would be a missed opportunity to do something better for the community.
5. single family homes is almost last choice. Just minimal return for affordable housing options 8/20/2020 11:52 AM
6. We don’t need another subdivision without producing more jobs
7. This property should be used as the originators planned, for a commerce park. We have a void  in the County of developable heavy commercial and light industrial properties.
8. Housing, retail, Entertainment, hotels, Medical, etc. 8/13/2020 1:29 PM
9. Industrial/warehouse/distribution. While attractive in some respects (proximity to interstate, etc.), it is antithetical to the significant residential development happening immediately adjacent to it, and ignores the 1000+ acres shortly to the north that are poised to host those same type industries in a more appropriate (and less densely residential) area.
10. non job producing activities
11. We have plenty of property in the county for residential of any kind.
12. We do not need any more low value single or multifamily housing.
13. I don’t think that luxury homes would do well there.
14. traditional industrial park
What other land uses should be considered for development?.
Answered: 16 Skipped: 8
1. Academic branch of colleges and universities
2. This is a tremendously exciting opportunity. The site should be used to bring quality of life improvements to the Beulah area. A mixed use development that includes a town center would be a major asset to the entire region. I have many clients who correctly understand that a majority of the county doesn’t enjoy the downtown Pensacola experience. Here’s an opportunity to do something that really meets the needs of the central county community.
3. solar energy development–mainly on building rooftops or on top of parking areas
4. School and town center
5. Mixed use of affordable homes, rentals and industrial business use.
6. Central Park. Walking, biking, skating landscaped paths; or Space force- Technical Park-Computer/Tech contracts jobs!
7. High Tech businesses similar to Navy Federal.
8. None
9. The OLF-8 property was originally conceived of as a Light Industrial / Warehouse and Distribution hub adjacent to I-10. I think these economic development applications are perfect for the property.
10. Upscale Commerce Park
11. Integrated recreation and outdoor areas with whatever mixed use is developed to be used by the surrounding incoming homeowners as well as employees of the park and NFCU.
12. set aside 50 acres for the space force
13. Only good use for the property is for the creation of above average wages.
14. I like the idea of holding part of it for a new tech industry that will bring higher paying jobs than retail. Walking paths throughout would be nice as well.
15. public uses/services (town center/community center/park/library)
16. Advanced Manufacturing
Please offer any other insights, opinions, or suggestions that may help to guide the planning process at OLF8:
Answered: 16 Skipped: 8
1. Provide development that will work with the existing surrounding community and not increase the current congestion of the area. Review possibility to develop a pedestrian oriented community for both commercial and residential development.
2.  They say  time around, let’s listen to the experts, like the master planner and the community.
3. This should be designed in a traditional layout with a mix of uses. That means a tight street grid, plenty of public park spaces, walking and bicycling favored over cars. This is what milennials want, and it’s hard to attract that young talent to suburban areas built around cars alone.
4. Hi tech, low traffic
5. Â a 50/50 mixed use of property – create jobs through new industry and work-force housing for the employees would be a win-win for the county.
6. no national chain restaurants— small local Wine bars, sushi bar, speak easy, entertainment for D1
7. The property was originally pursued by the community as much-needed economic development acreage. The community still desperately needs this light industrial / distribution site inventory and the new jobs that would go with it. Good jobs with good wages helps to resolve our lingering problems with successful family formation.
8. Completing the Beulah Interchange at I-10 and the Beulah Beltway will be a critical transportation component
9. limited manufacturing should be included……….we need to gwet the jobs that we were told would happen
10. OLF8 is the only available property for high wage job creation close to I-10. This will benefit all citizens. Residential and retail does not have to be close to I-10 and only benefit a few selected developers.
11. As a commercial real estate broker with over ten years of experience selling and leasing properties in the area, I can tell you firsthand that our county lacks any viable options for any large scale warehousing and distribution centers that have become so prominent in other markets. Due to the lack of any large parcels available within a close vicinity to Interstate 10, OLF-8 is the ONLY option we will ever have to compete for these types of businesses. As a community we cannot let this opportunity to diversify our economy pass us by. That is why the vast majority of the site needs to be dedicated to attracting these types of businesses like Amazon, Aldi, Wal-Mart, etc. that we have seen build large distribution facilities in neighboring counties and states. We have plenty of land parcels that can accommodate the future residential growth in the County and this strategic site should not be wasted for residential purposes. With approximately 4,500 feet of frontage on West Nine Mile Road there is more than ample room to carve out the frontage for general commercial uses including for retail, restaurant, office, medical, hotel, and even some multi-family apartments. This frontage commercial area could then be separated by a buffer area to the rear of the property where the rest of the site is utilized as a light industrial/warehousing complex. As we saw during the BP Oil Spill in 2010 and are now seeing through the COVID-19 pandemic, our area needs to do all that it can to diversify its employment base to be less reliant on tourism. In my opinion, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do just that and provide opportunities to locate large-scale business operations in our community. Chris Palmer SVN Southland Commercial Real Estate
12. We have to get a return on the substantial investment we made in OLF X……. That enabled us to get the OLF property
13. Residential developers have many other options throughout the county to develp and make a profit. The county does not have any other propery availbel in close proximity to I-10 for high wage job creation.
14. Â Please try to keep as much of the work done as possible by local labor.
15. Â It should be master planned with input from residents in the area, not politicians.
16. She site’s primary purpose should be in bringing basic economic, verses tertiary, jobs to our community.
