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Planning board approves Blue Wahoos batting-tunnel building at Community Maritime Park
Summary
The City of Pensacola Planning Board approved final aesthetic review for a standalone Blue Wahoos batting-tunnel building on Lot 9 at Community Maritime Park. The one-story structure will house two batting lanes and a locker room; board members debated exterior materials before a 3-1 approval.
The City of Pensacola Planning Board on March 11 approved final aesthetic review for a new standalone, single-story Blue Wahoos batting-tunnel building on Lot 9 at Community Maritime Park.
The project, proposed by Northwest Florida Professional Baseball, will provide two batting-tunnel lanes and a locker room with restrooms on a parcel adjacent to the Blue Wahoos stadium. Planning staff said aesthetic review was required because the site sits in the waterfront redevelopment district (WRD1).
Architect Craig Schmidt of Ewen Cole, principal in charge for the design team, told the board the program was driven by Major League Baseball requirements and by a lack of room inside the existing stadium. “The program is the 2 heading tunnels and a female locker room. Those are thing those things are currently lacking from the current, facilities, player facilities in the stadium,” Schmidt said, explaining why the team proposed a small, window-limited structure. He said the design team aimed to match the stadium’s materials, including the same brick and stucco colors, while keeping the long building’s elevations articulated rather than appearing as a “giant brick box.”
Board members asked detailed questions about materials. Planning Board member Gudenhofer asked why the design did not carry brick across the face of the building to better match the stadium. The project architect replied that applying the same brick at a lower single-story elevation produced an overly imposing brick mass, and the team preferred a mixture of brick pilasters and stucco reliefs. Gudenhofer also raised long-term durability concerns about stucco in Pensacola’s humid, rainy climate; another board member said stucco is “harder to maintain.”
No members of the public indicated they wished to speak on the item. A board motion to approve final aesthetic review carried 3-1. Planning staff noted this is one of the first anticipated developments within WRD1 and that the project packet included material samples and a landscape plan.
