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Council approves land donation for affordable housing on former Malcolm Young property
Summary
The council approved a land donation and development agreement with the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust for 925 East Jackson Street, authorizing donation to Habitat/CLT for long-term affordable workforce housing (motion passed 6–1); council also approved a related homebuyer assistance amendment.
The Pensacola City Council on Feb. 12 approved a land-donation and development agreement with the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust for the redevelopment of 925 East Jackson Street, the parcel formerly associated with the Malcolm Young Community Center.
City staff and the Community Redevelopment Agency described the transfer as a land donation to be held in perpetuity by a community land trust to support long-term affordable workforce housing. Councilman Baer said the plan calls for roughly "6 to 12" units and that the proposal currently envisions building nine units for families who otherwise could not afford housing in the city. The council vote to approve the donation and development agreement was recorded as 6 to 1.
Public commenter Sherry Myers, who said she helped organize a petition drive to save the Malcolm Young gym before it was demolished, criticized how the demolition was handled and urged the council to remember the site’s history. Council members acknowledged that history, but several said with the property now in the city’s control the land-trust approach offered an opportunity to lock in long-term affordability for the parcel.
The council also approved a first amendment to the Homebuyer Assistance Program to align ARPA funding and program terms with the land-donation agreement; that amendment passed unanimously. The land-donation action authorized the mayor to execute and administer the documents necessary to carry out the agreement consistent with the city charter.
Why it matters: The land donation transfers a formerly public recreational site into a community land trust for workforce housing, raising trade-offs between preserving community recreation assets and producing permanently affordable units. Council debate highlighted those tensions and the site’s history.
What’s next: City staff, Habitat for Humanity and the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust will proceed with the agreed development steps; council authorized the mayor to execute related documents.
