CRA approves funding for ‘Reimagine Palafox,’ recommends City Council award construction contract after broad public debate

The Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency voted to reallocate CRA funds to the South Palafox Pedestrian Improvement Project on Nov. 10 after an hours‑long presentation and a public comment period that included both staunch supporters and worried small business owners.

Adrienne Walker, the city staff member who presented the item, said the single‑phase project will include major stormwater upgrades, universal accessibility modifications and streetscape improvements. Walker said construction fencing is scheduled to go up on Jan. 5, 2026, and that the project team plans to provide 414 free parking spaces on Jefferson, Spring Garden and North Palafox during construction and to seek a reallocation of up to $768,000 in unclaimed incentive funds to support rent relief administered by the Downtown Improvement Board (DIB).

Steve Dana of Jerry Pate Design described the stormwater work as a major foundation for the project, saying the new piping will provide roughly 93,000 gallons of storage — about 1.5 inches of water across the project area — and that new inlets and regrading will shrink individual watershed areas and reduce street flooding. "That is the difference between a storefront being flooded and sandbags needing to go out or not," Dana said.

Board members pressed staff and the designers on costs, construction sequencing and maintenance. Several business owners and merchants urged delay or a phased approach so that shops would not lose income during construction. Patrick Elibash, a downtown business owner, said the reduction of 19 parking spaces along key blocks is “really harmful to retail businesses that depend on convenient parking to survive.” Retailer Katie Basso said comparable projects elsewhere produced sharp short‑term revenue drops for merchants and asked the city to consider 0% loans or other direct relief.

Other speakers — including developer and donor Quint Studer and owner Deborah Dunlap — urged the board to proceed, arguing that the long‑term benefits to accessibility, safety and economic development outweigh temporary disruptions. Studer offered to make financial accommodations to help affected merchants.

After deliberation about value engineering, timing and mitigation measures, the CRA adopted the supplemental budget resolution to carry forward and reallocate urban core CRA funds to the Palafox project; the chair announced the motion passed 5–2. The record shows board members sought explicit mitigation: free parking, a $100,000 city marketing line item, exploration of reassigning unclaimed early‑completion bonus funds to rent relief, and a staff commitment to active business outreach during construction.

On a separate but related item, the CRA recommended that City Council award the base bid portion of Bid 25‑045 (South Palafox Pedestrian Improvements) to Site and Utility LLC of Pensacola as the lowest and most responsible bidder. The agenda packet listed a base bid of $7,687,942.50; staff also referenced the project’s early‑completion incentive and a reported total in the meeting materials (the transcript contains typographic errors in the arithmetic). The board’s recommendation to award the contract was approved 6–1; final contract execution and any contract adjustments must be completed by City Council.

What happens next: CRA staff said they will return to City Council with the award for final authorization, continue outreach and parking/marketing planning with the DIB, and develop proposed forms of tenant relief if early‑completion funds are unclaimed. Construction is scheduled to begin in early January 2026, subject to City Council approval of the contract and final permits.

Votes and motions: The CRA adopted the supplemental budget reallocation for South Palafox (resolution 2025‑83) by 5–2 and recommended awarding the base construction contract to Site and Utility LLC by a 6–1 vote.The board recorded no named roll‑call opposition in the transcript beyond the numeric tally.

Funding and budget notes: In discussion the board and staff described a multi‑source funding package that includes urban core CRA bond funds, CRA fund dollars and previously committed utility funds from FPL (the staff presentation referenced these sources; members asked for and received clarification about what each source may be used for). Staff characterized the total project budget in discussion as approximately $10.7 million; summary documents and the transcript include some inconsistent arithmetic in the printed bid totals, which staff said they will reconcile in the contract paperwork.

Why it matters: The project aims to address recurring downtown flooding, improve ADA access and pedestrian safety, and catalyze private investment in downtown Pensacola. The board’s actions seek to balance those long‑term objectives with short‑term support for downtown businesses during construction.