City council suspends enforcement of lien at 211 W. Cervantes for up to 24 months to allow historic restoration and creation of six rental units; vote 4-1

Pensacola City Council voted 4–1 on Oct. 9 to suspend enforcement of a code-enforcement lien on 211 West Cervantes Street for up to 24 months and to authorize the mayor to execute documents to release the lien upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy if the work is completed within that period. The motion was moved and seconded during the regular agenda and passed after public testimony and council discussion.

The request was presented by Annette Chandler of Chandler and Company Construction and Chandler Property Management. Chandler told the council she had negotiated with the lender to acquire the property, would fully restore the structure and convert it into six two-bedroom, two-bath “attainable housing” units for the North Hill district. She described the property as a 7,400-square-foot building on the south side of Cervantes between Spring Street and Barcelona; she said the lender’s takeover and prior bad actors had left the structure destabilized.

City staff and the mayor framed the vote as a pilot for a draft lien-relief policy that would offer suspended enforcement based on demonstrable public benefit — for example, historic restoration, removal of…