[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:00] Everyone, it's about two or five. So I think we're going to go ahead and get started. For those of you that are online, we just ask that you put in the chat, your name and the organization that you are representing, just trying to get an account of who is in attendance today.
[0:16] My name is Victoria DiAngelo. I am the City of Pensacola CRA Division Manager.
[0:23] And we are here today to talk a little bit about the requests for letters of interest, solicitation that was put out recently.
[0:32] So we're going to start today just kind of going through a brief presentation kind of outlining all of the elements of the project.
[0:40] And we'll follow this by a site visit if you're interested, we'll go walk across the street and walk a little bit in the area.
[0:47] I'm going to take a look at the site.
[0:52] Fine.
[0:59] Okay, so a little bit on the purpose of the solicitation that we have here.
[1:04] This is called a request for letters of interest and you may have heard that in different ways in different cities.
[1:10] But the way that we're using it here is we're using it as a mechanism to gauge interest.
[1:16] And it also has a way to encourage partnership and collaboration, so it's intended to be a fairly informal process, so it's not a closed request for proposals where we can't talk, so we have open communication about ideas and information on the project, and so we just want to kind of clarify that.
[1:40] Now, when we get to the end of this process, you know, we're asking for letters of interest, we're asking for certain things within those letters of interest.
[1:48] But the goal is ultimately obviously to select a development partner.
[1:52] We could do that in a myriad of ways. It's kind of just going to depend what the response is as to whether or not we go to something more formal or if we go into direct negotiations.
[2:11] But just a little bit of information on 101 West Main Street, which is the principal site, the subject of the solicitation.
[2:20] So if you've looked at the site, you've noticed that there is an office building, a one-story office building located within the site.
[2:27] It is right next to the waterfront. It's pretty much right on the waterfront right next to Bayland Slip.
[2:34] You're one block away from Palifox Street, which you know is our busiest downtown street, and then another block in the other direction is the Blueahu stadium, which is kind of your other hub of entertainment downtown.
[2:49] It's about 0.62 acres, and we are looking at a long-term ground lease as the conveyance type for this parcel.
[2:59] Next slide.
[3:05] It's just briefly on the zoning and development.
[3:08] This is located within the South Palafox Business Street District.
[3:13] Within this district, you have by right maximum height of 80 feet.
[3:18] However, there was just approved a opportunity for a height bonus up to 150 feet.
[3:26] We did take a look at this around an area and we do want to be mindful of kind of the transitional nature of this site.
[3:33] So we do have you'll see within the ROI some preferred heights.
[3:39] With just the intention, like I said, to be kind of a transitional site.
[3:44] Your max density here is 108 units per acre which equates to about 67 units, however there are opportunities for various bonuses and transfers that could increase your density.
[3:58] You do not have any setbacks with the exception of compliance with fire safety codes.
[4:06] So
[4:12] the other part of this project that you might find interesting is that right next door,
[4:19] there are two adjacent sites, which we call the Harbor View sites, which has a six story,
[4:26] waterfront office building as well as a three story parking garage.
[4:30] Three story parking garage is directly next to the 101 West Main site.
[4:37] These sites, the city, does lease through a very long-term land lease to a private owner.
[4:46] And these sites are currently listed for sale.
[4:48] So if you have interest in these, there is the listing located within the RLOI,
[4:54] and that is the mechanism by which you should reach out.
[4:58] So these two sites, the parking garage site offers another .72 acres.
[5:05] office building is a 0.46 acres.
[5:11] Next slide.
[5:20] A little bit more on the zoning here. So the parking garage site same zoning as the 101 West main there exactly the same little bit larger site you could get 77 units here again eligible for bonuses and transfers.
[5:35] again we have some preferred heights on this site and then the office building is a different zoning
[5:41] districts. So for details on that you can refer to the section that's linked within within the
[5:46] document or you can reach out to the planning department. We do have representatives here today if you
[5:51] have questions about that.
[5:55] Next slide.
[6:02] I know the image for those here today. This is a little bit
[6:05] small on the screen. I wish it could be a little bit bigger for you. But what we're trying to show here
[6:12] is that there are a lot of amenities, a lot of planned amenities in this area. You've got really a
[6:21] cluster here. So, like I said, you're right down next to Bayland slip. And then as you go to the
[6:35] redevelopment parcels. There's a lot of activity kind of planned there. As you go to the south,
[6:41] you have Palphax Pier. The ferry landing site, Plaza de Luna, as you move east, obviously you're moving
[6:48] towards towards the beach. You would pass by the Port of Pensacola, which has a lot of exciting
[6:55] things going on right now on Monday. We just signed the lease with the American Magic. We have Erika
[7:01] here today who can talk to you a little bit about that if you're interested. And then pickleball
[7:07] courts coming. So a lot going on, most directly to this we have two, we have a pair of kind of
[7:16] waterfront trail segments that we have planned for this area. You know, some people have heard of this,
[7:23] some people have hence I just wanted to kind of call it out to you, but it's definitely a big part
[7:28] of this particular area.
[7:30] With Cedar Street being targeted right now under design for waterfront trail improvements, as well as Main Street as kind of your principal biking corridor.
[7:44] So that's intended to connect to Eastern West, long various amenities, various parks along the way and ultimately down all the way down to Pensacola Beach through the new Bridge Trail that was created.
[7:59] Next slide.
[8:09] So within the RLRI document, you'll see we go very deep into depth on a lot of these elements,
[8:16] but I tried to call out kind of the high level ones that we're looking for.
[8:21] So certainly on 101, we are looking for high density, residential, and warm mixed use.
[8:28] And what we're really looking for here is to create kind of a district in this area.
[8:33] This is an area that's kind of in the middle of everything
[8:36] that needs to be connected.
[8:38] It's a node along this path.
[8:41] So we're looking to and live in that
[8:43] and have this be something that generates activity downtown
[8:47] and visitation and all those elements that create a lively downtown.
[8:52] We want to create active streets.
[8:55] You'll see in the document, we're looking for ground floor
[8:58] activation along Main Street, potentially park,
[9:02] pocket parks, things like that that support the waterfront trail along Cedar. So creative ways to
[9:08] create areas for people and for people biking, walking, and just enjoying this general downtown
[9:15] area. Obviously, we're right along the waterfront. We'd like to link to the waterfront. So any
[9:22] features that help to create public access, public enjoyment of the waterfront, something that we're
[9:30] And then everyone loves to talk about parking so certainly parking is something that we know
[9:37] maybe a challenge on the site with the size and is obviously something that can be challenging
[9:42] downtown as well. So create a solution to that is something that's very desired as well.
[9:50] Fine.
[9:57] So just to go briefly into some of the submittal components, you know what we're really
[10:02] looking for here, we don't want to scare your way, but what we're really looking for here
[10:07] is to enable us through your letter of interest to understand the elements of the project
[10:15] as they relate to what we're asking for, the feasibility of the project, and also the timeline
[10:20] of the project. So when you look at the document, I'll give a lot more description into this,
[10:26] but those are the general items that we're looking for. Additionally, we really want you to give
[10:31] us feedback. Please don't be shy. Contact us beforehand. If there's something you feel we should know.
[10:40] You know, if you feel we have the timeline set right now to close on the 17th. If that is something that's going to be a challenge for you. We do want to we do want to know that.
[10:51] When you submit if there is something in this document that you feel that we need to be aware of please give us that feedback.
[11:01] Next slide.
[11:10] So, just a little bit of, on the timeline, so right now, you know, obviously the 29th February, we're doing the info conference, we'll do the site visit.
[11:19] We will be posting this recording to the website for anyone that has missed it today, wasn't able to attend.
[11:28] We're also going to target March 8 to try to put up some responses to questions that we're hearing.
[11:34] So that'll be posted to the website and currently close date is scheduled for March 17th.
[11:41] Like I said earlier, next steps will kind of be determined upon the kinds of responses that we get.
[11:48] Either way, however, we will notify you what the next steps are if you respond, we will let you know.
[11:56] Next slide.
[12:05] So we do want you to stay in touch.
[12:08] I do I can't stress enough, please register for notifications.
[12:12] You know, this will be the first of many development opportunities that are to come.
[12:17] This is kind of the first, first one we put out, but there are definitely going to be more going forward.
[12:24] So, the main way to register, you know, we are trying to keep record of who's reaching out to us
[12:29] and reaching back out, but the best way to do this is to register through these lists, the CRA project updates list,
[12:37] And the bid postings list through the notify me, and that'll give you text alerts and e-mail alerts when something goes out.
[12:46] And then of course check the website, and this is the e-mail address redevelopment at cityappensacola.com for any questions or to reach out to us.
[12:57] Why?
[13:06] Like I said, more development opportunities to come if affordable housing is something that you're interested in.
[13:12] We do have another opportunity down on West Servante Street that is out right now and that is on the website as well for more information on that.
[13:21] So right now I'm going to turn it over to Eric Liff, who is with Landbird Advisory.
[13:27] He's just going to give you a little bit of information kind of a snapshot on some of the market conditions around this project.
[13:33] Right. Thank you, Victoria. Again, my name is Eric Liff. I'm going to pull up a quick presentation
[13:42] if every just in front of. Can you see it? Yes. Okay. Okay. Again, I'm a principal of
[13:52] Lambda advisory. We are an economic development in real estate consulting firm and we're working
[13:57] with the City of Sierra on the one-on-one West Main Street development opportunity. I'm going
[14:02] to just again quickly highlight the opportunity and mostly in the context of the market and
[14:10] at a very high level, which I'm sure a lot of you know, what is going on, but I'm just going
[14:15] to kind of preview, you know, kind of some broader, broader stroke background information.
[14:23] You know, just as recently as last week, the Wall Street Journal, you know, came out with an
[14:26] article with a spotlight on, on Pensacola and highlighting, you know, the level of interest
[14:31] in investment in the region, post-pandemic, and it alludes to just to how robust the economy
[14:38] is and poised for future growth. It really is considered to be an emerging market.
[14:44] Specific to the the the the 101 West Main Street property is victory dimension. I mean,
[14:50] it's really envisioned to be a multifamily residential development really a singular use,
[14:58] But, you know, but for some some ground food.
[15:00] Or retail, but really that multi-family residential focus. However, and again, as Victoria stressed, you know, the redevelopment really expands with the inclusion of the Harborview office building and the parking structure. The Cedar Street properties. Obviously, this becomes a a larger and more evolved, involved planning and, you know, redevelopment exercise.
[15:24] But the fact is, collectively, this presents just a tremendous opportunity to develop a unique
[15:30] large scale mixed use redevelopment that contemplates residential, office, hotel, and some
[15:39] ground floor retail.
[15:42] So I'm going to just quickly touch upon really high level, some economic and market components.
[15:48] I mean, you know, the city, the city of Pensacola with its population of 55,000 is slightly less than 15% of the county.
[15:56] The household incomes in the city are fairly strong, particularly compared to the county, more than 10% higher than the county.
[16:02] And in Bogewell, obviously, for new housing development.
[16:06] And then mix of home ownership and rental housing within the city and broader region is fairly balanced and healthy and indicative of being able to accommodate new housing
[16:17] in particular, in this case rental, which we believe would be a strong opportunity.
[16:25] While the, you know, the growth, the population growth rate in the city was lower than
[16:31] that of the county in the past decade, it still was fairly stable.
[16:35] And what we did start to look at was the transportation, the regional transportation,
[16:40] and planning, the transportation planning organization, put out their forecasts for population
[16:45] on a region-wide basis, and for the county, it's projected to grow at about 0.5% per annum.
[16:52] And that, again, compared to historical, is a little bit lower, but still fairly steady.
[16:58] And the city should continue to capture its fair share of this growth and probably even
[17:02] more as the city continues to, you know, make these investments and encourage the joint
[17:08] developments that Victoria had been referring to.
[17:12] And I think there's one of the statistics that I thought was interesting in this high-level research.
[17:18] And that was the TPO's projections of employment for the region.
[17:23] And actually the employment is forecast to almost far outpace that of population.
[17:31] And I think that's a very important indication of the opportunity for economic development,
[17:36] especially, you know, it's that employment that really drives that that opportunity among
[17:41] everything, whether it's residential, office, professional business and tourism. So I think that
[17:49] again, both well from a broader economic standpoint, from this perspective. Talking about specific
[17:55] uses very quickly, I'll just go through starting with multi-family rental. There were nearly
[18:00] five hundred and fifty market rate units introduced to the to the greater down
[18:07] time area in the past few years. Rents within these developments are fairly
[18:11] strong pushing twenty one hundred dollars a unit per month and you know on a
[18:16] price per square foot basis of about two twenty plus per square foot. You know
[18:22] levels that start to support, you know, new quality luxury development and high
[18:27] intensity development, occupancies right now overall at 94 percent. But that includes the
[18:34] Palmea, which is still in its lease up stage at about 83 percent from what we can tell estimates.
[18:41] It's about it's absorbing about 12 to 15 units per month with this fairly, you know, fairly strong.
[18:46] And at that pace, you should see, it's a matter of time before occupancy is in the mid to upper
[18:53] upper 90% range, which is healthy and capable of absorbing new inventory.
[19:00] In terms of office, there's been about 320,000 square feet of office-based built in the
[19:05] greater downtown area in the last 10 years.
[19:09] While rates are fairly modest at the low $30 per square foot range full service, there is
[19:17] very limited space available, especially in quality offices, and that's just not in this
[19:22] we're seeing in several markets and it's that location and quality space that's attracting
[19:28] you know these new businesses and really performing well and I think in time you're going
[19:33] to see these rates really start to push up and start to be able to support again a new wave
[19:37] of office development. And then lastly is the hotel. The hotel market there's been two new hotels
[19:44] that have been added to the greater down to an area in the past six to seven years in terms of
[19:52] Robert daily rate ADR, they're pushing $150 average annual, which is considerably higher than
[19:59] it was pre-pandemic when it was in the low 20s, 120 range, and that's just, again, indicative
[20:05] of a market that just continues to show resilience number one and to support new development.
[20:12] And we're actually starting to see a lot of interest at least in the hotel within the downtown.
[20:16] And again, just a great opportunity from a mixed use standpoint to anchor projects such
[20:22] as this. And so with that, I'm going to turn it back over and I look forward to reviewing some
[20:28] of the responses. Thank you. Thank you, Eric. So at this time, we're going to close the presentation
[20:36] and we want to open it up to you, those in the room and anyone that might be here online for
[20:42] questions. For those online, I guess if you can we see if they raise their hands. Okay, I guess
[20:49] raise your hand if you'd like to speak online. So we'll open it up to those in the room first and then we'll
[20:55] we'll look online for questions online.
[21:09] Okay, it doesn't look like we have any questions in the room. So
[21:12] we're going to move online.
[21:17] Did I see Brian Spencer's hand up? It is.
[21:24] You're ready for my question and
[21:26] comment. We are ready. Thank you. Good presentation. Victoria, thank you very much. It's great to see
[21:35] of Pensacola presented so professionally, so thank you.
[21:40] Quick comment, you all have an incorrect location
[21:43] for the Marriott residents and on your map
[21:46] that's showing somewhere, well, it is very close,
[21:53] it's on the opposite side of East Chase Street
[21:56] from the Marriott Court yard.
[22:00] That's just a comment since this may be circulating to others.
[22:07] Okay, yep, we'll make sure, okay. Thank you. Thank you for that. And I'll just, well, we'll make sure that before the get circulated, that's just gets updated.
[22:14] Right. Thank you. Secondly, there is an amenity that you mentioned that I think is, isn't very powerful component that I hope is not aspirational. Could you comment on the...
[22:30] The district crossing that is shown across the railroad tracks leading into the port, which I'm
[22:39] a big proponent of, and I have experienced it in other cities in the U.S. as well as Europe.
[22:46] The close by example is New Orleans. As one is a pedestrian going down, say, canal or
[22:54] and then gets closer to the river and is able to enjoy a pedestrian experience along the river and you do cross river tracks.
[23:05] What are we going to be able to expect about the timeline of that?
[23:12] And is it a reality or are you all showing that is a, again, aspirational?
[23:19] I would not say that we can really say that it's aspirational.
[23:25] We're going to be going into re-looking at the design of the Cedar Street segment.
[23:30] So we will be going out for another solicitation to identify a design consultant that will
[23:35] again look at that segment.
[23:37] So obviously it's something that is a difficulty.
[23:42] There's definitely some challenges there.
[23:44] I know other cities, you know, obviously have worked through railroad challenges in a
[23:51] myriad of different ways. So we will be looking at it again, can't say definitively
[23:58] timeline at this point, but definitely it is something that we will be looking at again.
[24:04] All right. Thank you, Victoria. One other comment, we were the architects for the
[24:10] Pensacola Board of Realtors building 25 years ago adjacent to this site that you were presenting.
[24:19] So we have electronic surveys when we worked on that project. There were some parking arrangements that were negotiated with the Board of Realtors when they would need to use some of that parking.
[24:34] So we're going to need to look and see the duration of that parking agreement with the
[24:43] Board of Realtors.
[24:45] Secondly, our survey, Victoria, shows that the parcel is represented as a boundaries.
[24:55] The boundary lines actually extend out into the middle of Main Street.
[25:00] Can you offer commentary about that?
[25:06] Yeah, I'll speak first to the boundary lines. Now, we did recently amend the boundary lines donating that portion that was encroaching into the right away to public right away. So that's all being cleaned up and what you see in terms of the acreage reflects that change.
[25:23] I'll let Dina speak through the parking arrangements.
[25:28] And is the before we leave that survey discussion of the boundaries.
[25:32] So am I able to access the revised survey after the donation of the piece within the package?
[25:42] Yes. The survey is within the RLOI document. It should be the revised survey.
[25:49] All right. Thank you so much.
[25:52] Hey, Dean Stahlworth, property lease manager.
[25:55] In the termination of the lease with Pitzacola Sports Association
[25:59] to vacate the building, they did have an arrangement
[26:02] with the Pitzacola real estate office directly next door to it,
[26:05] or adjacent to it.
[26:07] That agreement was terminated with the lease.
[26:10] And when it communicating that to the park,
[26:13] they told the understand that they're parking may be impacted
[26:16] by whatever happens with the one-of-one
[26:19] with mainstream property.
[26:20] So it's all good. No one I'll put any restrictions on 101 West Main Street in the development of it in case anyone's interested in this day
[26:30] Thank you. That's that's valuable information since I was involved in that negotiation glad to hear that you were able to
[26:38] Sunset it so speak. Oh, yeah, thank you very much your involvement to us. I saw your name on some of the documents. Now. I was looking at the history. Oh, okay. Well
[26:46] I'm just going to say what I was trying to do when they lost their site to a fire is
[26:51] persuade them to stay in downtown Pensacola instead of move to Creighton Road, which was their number one choice.
[27:00] Excellent move for the city.
[27:02] Thank you so much.
[27:10] Fairification, density, that units, that was that known in Clayton replies strictly to dwelling units.
[27:19] Am I correct?
[27:21] That's correct, right?
[27:23] Let's see.
[27:24] Yes, that's correct.
[27:25] All right.
[27:29] And just for clarification, I know that we're,
[27:34] you mentioned mixed use and retail.
[27:39] We are subject to the minimum blood elevation for the ground floor,
[27:46] so I would say any habitable retail space needs
[27:52] to be approximately five feet above the current
[27:56] Main Street sidewalk level.
[28:00] And if you all want to say that's up to us
[28:02] to further confirm, that's fine,
[28:05] but I wouldn't mind if someone said
[28:07] you're approximately right.
[28:11] That
[28:16] sounds about right to me,
[28:18] but we'll definitely confirm that.
[28:20] Okay, all right, if you would add that,
[28:23] I appreciate it.
[28:25] I know there's been some discussion about
[28:28] When the city is adopting that, when it's enforcing it and the basically the threshold or the date that when permitting, when documents are received, which elevation that would be, be nice to know, and then also the, I want to say thanks for even giving all of us the heads up that the extension date may be
[28:57] extended, or I should say this submission date, be extended.
[29:04] Just a little piece of history, one of the advantages of being 66, as you've got now,
[29:10] I have 40 years of history of working with the CRA.
[29:13] I remember when Jennifer Fleming, who occupied your position, Victoria, issued an RFP for the development
[29:23] of Palafox Pier, which was a, basically, a parking lot for the municipal auditorium.
[29:31] But that RFP resulted in one respondent, one response, which was Ray Resonberger.
[29:39] That deadline stayed, it was a hard fix deadline, don't know if health fate may have
[29:46] been changed if that had been extended.
[29:48] But what is your decision going to be too extended, would it be because there's not enough respondents or...
[30:00] Or hearing feedback from us that immediately we were asking for a new day, or consideration for a new day.
[30:10] That'll ultimately be decided by the mayor's office as to whether or not to extend, but certainly I would submit in writing if there is an extension request until when you would be wanting to extend it until.
[30:26] All right. Thank you.
[30:35] Any other questions?
[30:42] Okay. Well, I want to thank everyone for coming today because we did say the site visit would be about three o'clock
[30:49] We will just kind of wait until then
[30:52] To do that so we could we can just anyone that's in the room that wants to do the site visit. We can just stay here and we'll just walk across the street maybe about five or ten minutes before three.
[31:06] Thank you everyone online
[31:08] Thank you.
[31:09] Nice to meet you.
[31:10] Thank you.
[31:11] Thank you Victoria.