Pensacola

Pensacola

 The City recently embarked on a project that included a breakwater, a 92-slip marina, the 7,200 square foot Harbormaster Building housing a restaurant and professional offices, and a 21,000 square foot Class-A office building known as the Ice House. The building took its name after being built on the site of  E.E. Saunders’ Ice House that supplied Pensacola’s red snapper fishing fleet with ice at the turn of the century.

The second phase of the development, the construction of two buildings totaling 72,000 square feet of mixed-use space, was recently completed. For sale in the building are 12 high-end residences, all with dramatic views of Pensacola Bay, and for lease are 36,000 square feet of retail/office space. The mixed-use condominium is a model that offers interesting possibilities to creative developers.  As a part of the public/private partnership, the city invested $1.2 million along the pier to construct a waterfront promenade, landscape pedestrian plazas, and install new railing and historically styled lighting.  Walkways, benches, a fountain and outdoor dining at Lillo’s Italian Restaurant invite people to linger for the spectacular sunsets over the marina.

Phase three of Palafox Pier is in the planning stages, awaiting a decision on the future of the Bayfront Auditorium.  One idea, if the existing auditorium is demolished, is to create a large, open plaza for picnics, concerts, and fishing tournaments and that would provide the public with a place to view the panorama of Pensacola Bay.n overlay district that would allow denser development in the downtown.