Inspired Communities of Florida is looking to execute its long-held lease option on a parcel at Community Maritime Park to build a new $150 million apartment and hotel complex across the street from Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Pensacola City Council will vote Thursday on another 30-day extension of its lease option to allow for a vote on Aug. 8 on an actual lease, that if approved, would essentially clear the way for the project to move forward.
Inspired Communities of Florida is partnering with EJ Smith Enterprises, the real estate development company owned by Emmitt Smith, to build a 240- to 280-unit apartment building and a 125- to 150-key hotel building.
Representatives of the company gave a presentation to the City Council on Monday afternoon during its agenda conference.
The two developments would occupy what is known as "Lot 5" directly across Cedar Street from the main entrance to Blue Wahoos Stadium. Both buildings would be built on parking deck "podiums" of at least three stories, and they would be connected with a third-floor breeze-way that would also host retail or restaurant options, Tamara Bowens, president and chief operating office of Inspired Communities of Florida, told the News Journal before the meeting.
The parking deck would have cutouts that allow for pop-up markets or other uses such as game days at Blue Wahoos Stadium, Bowens said.
With the three-story parking deck, the apartment building will be approximately 12 stories, which is double what the zoning under the West Main Master Plan allows.
However, developers plan to use provisions of the Live Local Act to allow them to build up to those heights.
The Live Local Act pre-empts local governments' zoning regulations if the project is going to be used for affordable or workforce housing.
Developers plan to have 40% of the apartment units designated as workforce housing with rents affordable for individuals who make between 80% and 120% of the area median income for the Pensacola area.
According to the latest income figures from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, apartments with rents between $1,366 to $2,079 a month for a single-income household would fall into the 80% to 120% of AMI.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves appears to be taking a hands-off approach and pushing the City Council to decide whether to allow the project to go forward with a final lease.
"It's Community Maritime Park, and it's a community decision about what we want to see there," Reeves said. "My name is on as the sponsor because that's how our government works. Someone's got to bring it forward. We're certainly ready, and again, we appreciate and are grateful to the developer for investing lots of time, energy, and money into getting us to where we are today. And we've reached that point now where we've got something for consideration, and I want to hear feedback from the community."
There's a long and complex history of the development of Community Maritime Park, but as it stands today, Inspired Communities holds a lease option for all but one of the developable lots at the park. The option essentially gives the company the exclusive right to negotiate a lease to build on the property.
Bowens said the company is working on a master-planned mix-use residential and entertainment development, and Lot 5 is the first piece of the plan. The company has hired international architect firm Gensler to design its proposed buildings for Maritime Park.
The lease option on Lot 5 expires on July 31, and a one-month extension must be approved on Thursday to allow the council to vote on an actual long-term lease on Aug. 8.
Bowens said the lease would require all construction permits to be issued one year after the lease is signed.
The full lease has not been finalized as city officials want feedback from City Council on the project, but Reeves said he did remove a provision that would grant the developer a 10-year property tax break that had been negotiated in 2021 under the previous administration when the Silver Hills development group held the lease option.
However, providing workforce housing under the Live Local Act will enable the developers to seek a tax exemption from the state of Florida and the Escambia County Property Appraiser. The tax exemption must be recertified every three years.
Because the Live Local Act would be used to pre-empt local zoning regulations, the units would have to stay in the workforce housing rent range for at least 30 years.
Only the units with a qualifying rent are exempted from property tax while units with market-rate rents and commercial property like the hotel will be fully taxed.
Bowens met last week with members of the City Council to provide information about the project and answer any questions or concerns.
Some members of the council are expressing caution in moving forward with the project.
Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier said she's not sure if now is the right time to move forward with a project like this at Community Maritime Park.
"I just want to make sure that it's done really intelligently and that we're very conscientious about how we go forward," Brahier said. "We want to make sure that our intentions are clear instead of just racing to get something on there."
Brahier said part of the Community Maritime Park project's original goal was to spur new development in downtown Pensacola, but in the nearly two decades since it was proposed, new development is everywhere downtown.
"It's hard to argue that we need to spur development right now," Brahier said.
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