Developers of the Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel are in talks with Pensacola officials on the next Community Maritime Park project, which could be a major entertainment, shopping and residential development.
Developers are hoping to attract a small grocery store like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or Sprouts along with restaurants along the lines of Cheesecake Factory and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and entertainment options like a premium movie theater, indoor skydiving and even the potential for a “highly confidential” Top Gun aviation concept that would be backed by Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise, according to a presentation sent to city officials and obtained by the News Journal through a records request.
Everything in the presentation in conceptual and tentative as the developers are pitching the idea to develop Lot No. 4 at Maritime Park. The lot is directly next to the Reverb Hard Rock development and used today as the main parking lot for Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Who are the developers?
Inspired Communities of Florida, also known as The Dawson Company, partnering with EJ Smith Enterprises, the real estate development company owned by Emmitt Smith, began project the Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel and an apartment development named Rhythm Lofts at Lot No. 5 at Maritime Park last year.
In July, the team got a huge capital backing when Wisconsin billionaire businesswoman Diane Hendricks announced she would co-own and co-develop the $200 million project. Hendrick has invested in several large-scale development and redevelopment projects, including in her hometown of Beloit, Wisconsin.
What is being pitched?
Tamara Bowens, president and chief operating officer for The Dawson Company, told the News Journal that everything in the presentation is still tentative, but they hope it can quickly follow the Reverb hotel project.
Bowens said they are targeting construction on the hotel and apartments to begin in the summer of 2026.
“We’re calling it our ‘eatertainment’ district,” Bowens said. “We would have restaurants, bars, retail and immersive entertainment. So think virtual reality places, flight simulators, all kinds of fun stuff like that.”
Bowens said they are targeting both national businesses and local businesses to locate at the complex.
“We want this to be for all Pensacola,” Bowens said.
The concept pitched is a seven-floor complex that would have 190,100 square feet of retail space, 119 residential units, 39,100 square feet of office space, and a 1,300-space parking garage, according to the presentation.
From the street, the complex would appear like a single building with the parking garage hidden from view, but on the inside would have an outdoor courtyard space on the roof of the garage that would seamlessly connect to the outdoor courtyard planned in the Reverb hotel and Rhythm Lofts project.
Bowens said the courtyard would serve as a public space that could be a gathering place and pointed out that the courtyard will have a theater stage in the center.
“We do view this as something for Pensacola,” Bowens said. “It is not making this some private development where you have to have some code to get in or anything like that. This is truly for the public.”
Below the courtyard would be the parking garage that would also connect to the Reverb Hotel’s parking garage. The two parking garages would have a combined 1,611 spaces.
The office space would occupy the second floor facing Main Street, and three floors above that would be the residential space, which would wrap the parking garage. On top of the parking garage, along with the courtyard, would be the retail and entertainment complex.
What’s the city’s role?
City officials have long viewed the development of Lot No. 4 as the key to unlocking further development of other lots of the buildable area of Maritime Park, as it’s been seen as the key location for a parking garage for Wahoos Stadium on other lots.
The development history of Maritime Park is a complex story with multiple past proposals that never got off the ground. The Reverb hotel development is on a course to be the first project to begin construction at the park in over a decade.
Since the city approved the lease for the hotel and apartment project last year, The Dawson Company had the option to lease all but one of the remaining buildable lots at Maritime Park. Those options technically expired at the end of August, but they remain in force until the city officially notifies the company via a written letter.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves told the News Journal the proposal he’s seen so far makes a lot of sense in light of the development underway at Lot 5 but a lot will depend on how it fits in with the community.
A lot of the negotiations with the city will depend on how the parking situation on the property is handled.
While development of Lot 5 was entirely privately funded, previous proposals at Lot No. 4 by other developers have envisioned the city having some type of ownership stake in the parking garage.
Reeves said that he hasn’t seen a specific proposal about how the parking would work yet.
“I’ve told these developers, what I tell every developer in the city is, I do the same math you do, and the expectation of city funding, taxpayer funding, is that we have a clear understanding of what that return is, be it economic impact or actual dollars,” Reeves said. “And so we’re going to see what investment you’re expecting from the city and what return on investment that we’re getting, and that should be how we look at every one of these projects.”
Reeves also pointed out that Marina Khoury, with DPZ, one of the primary planners behind the West Main Master Plan, which is meant to guide the development of Maritime Park, will review the designs, just as she did with Lot 5, to ensure they meet the spirit of the plan.
“This is certainly an organization that knows what right looks like and knows how to get a large transformational project done,” Reeves said. “So looking forward to the conversation. We have not obligated ourselves to anything at this point, but we’re excited for these initial conversations to see what that would look like.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Next Maritime Park project could be entertainment complex with stores like Trader Joe’s
Reporting by Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
