Planning board grants conceptual approval for Reverb by Hard Rock project; developer to return for final aesthetic review

The City of Pensacola Planning Board on March 11 unanimously approved conceptual aesthetic review for “Reverb by Hard Rock” and an adjacent mass-timber residential building proposed for Lot 5 at Community Maritime Park. The project team said the plan uses Florida’s Live Local Act to achieve increased height and density in exchange for affordable units.

Dennis Pemberton, executive managing director with the Dawson Company (doing business as Inspired Communities in Florida), told the board the residential tower will be roughly the Live Local maximum of about 150 feet measured from the lowest occupiable floor; the team said 40 percent of units would be reserved for households with incomes between 80 and 120 percent of area median income (AMI). Pemberton said the hotel and residential program are being coordinated so the development will work closely with the adjacent Blue Wahoos stadium and Maritime Park activities.

Lester Ewan, design director at Gensler, walked the board through concept renderings and design principles. The proposal includes a concrete podium (to resist flood exposure) with mass-timber construction above the podium, a multi-level portal and plaza aligned with the stadium entry, public art and mural treatments on large end walls, a rooftop bar (Reverb RT60) visible from the ballpark, and a public plaza intended for programming and performances. Ewan described mass timber as an aesthetic and structural decision: ‘‘We will design the building with glass. Glass, high performance glass performs much better to get today and still allows, visibility through the glass,’’ and said the timber would be used above the concrete podium and be visible in interior spaces.

The development team explained several resilience and stormwater approaches. Ben Webber (Gensler) said the site’s finished-first-floor elevation is about +15 and that the local flood elevation is elevation 9; the team proposed locating primary hotel and residential program above a concrete podium and using floodproof glazing and other measures at grade. Doug Schutte (Gensler) said the project ties into a district stormwater system and the team is studying how to capture and convey stormwater for both typical rain and intense storm events. The team said the project will provide three levels of parking within a podium and that some parking is partially below grade; geotechnical and groundwater issues for below-grade parking remain under study.

Board members and the public focused questions on several recurring issues: the north façade that lies on a shared property line with Lot 4 (the team requested clarity on whether the city can provide an easement or other mechanism so those façades can include windows and not be forced to close if Lot 4 develops independently), potential groundwater and flood risks for subgrade parking, stormwater and permeable-surface strategies for the sidewalk/plaza, and the use of murals and public art. Planning Board member Larson urged the team to pursue windows and public-facing articulation rather than a blank end wall if at all feasible; several board members and audience commenters supported murals and local artists for the façade art.

Planning staff and the applicants clarified this was only conceptual aesthetic review; the project must return for final aesthetic review, which will include floor plans, final material specifications, lot-coverage calculations and other engineering details. The board’s conceptual approval does not change zoning maps; the team said Live Local is a Florida statute that allows increased height and density in exchange for affordable housing set-asides and would be used to allow up to roughly 150 feet and 135 dwelling units per acre where WRD1 otherwise limits height to about six stories.

A board motion to approve the conceptual aesthetic submission carried unanimously. Staff said the development will return to the board for final aesthetic review before permitting.