Pensacola CRA presents Urban Core Redevelopment Plan update; board discusses project priorities but takes no formal action

A city consultant on Thursday presented a draft update to the Urban Core Redevelopment Plan that recommends new housing, pedestrian and trail connections, waterfront activation and targeted demonstration projects; board members discussed priorities for the plan’s five-year project list but, because a quorum was not present, no formal votes were taken.

Megan O'Hara, a consultant with Urban Design Associates, told the Urban Core Redevelopment Board the update rests on four steps: analyze and listen, test concepts, test feasibility and adopt the plan. "It was an honor really to help guide this process to update the CRA plans," O'Hara said, adding the team heard from "over 2,000 individuals" during engagement and that a post-workshop survey had 74 respondents, more than half living in the CRA districts and "over 90% being full‑time Pensacoleans."

Why it matters: the draft lays out specific demonstration projects and topic-based recommendations that would guide how Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds — including tax increment financing (TIF) revenue projections prepared by James Lima Planning & Development — are prioritized and spent in the urban core. Board members emphasized housing, residential property improvements, and continued momentum for waterfront and park projects as immediate priorities.

Key recommendations and demonstration…