After five months of work, 1,700 feet of new stormwater piping, 300,000 new brick pavers and many other additions, the new Palafox Street is open.
Pensacola officials and downtown small business owners gathered on the intersection of Palafox and Romana streets on May 22 to mark the end of construction on Palafox Street as part of the $10.7 million New Palafox Street project.
The street will be open as a pedestrian-only street for the next week, and it will open to vehicle traffic on June 1.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said the project was more than a streetscape project, but also an investment in the heart of Pensacola.
“It’s well beyond 300,000 pavers and five city blocks,” Reeves said. “This is really about having our local people be able to realize their dreams to create job opportunities for Pensacola.”
Free parking stays for now
Reeves told the News Journal that on-street parking will remain free downtown while construction wraps up on the side streets. He added that there could be some more changes this fall, including the addition of senior permits for anyone 65 and up, additional city resident discounts and possibly a second free day of parking.
“Those are some of the things that we’re looking into right now,” Reeves said. “None of that is finalized yet.”
The project has transformed the street with expanded sidewalks, new landscaping and trees—including palm trees—brick-paved intersections, pedestrian safety features and an upgraded stormwater system.
‘New era for Palafox Street’
The project divided many downtown business owners who were upset about a loss of parking in some areas and the closure of the street to traffic for many months.
The city structured the construction contract to include an 10% bonus if the construction on the Palafox Street portion was completed by May 24. At the May 22 ribbon-cutting ceremony, workers with Site and Utility LLC had removed all of their equipment and were pressure washing the south end of the street.
The project will continue to pave and upgrade the sidewalks on the side streets around Palafox Street over the next month. All of the work is expected to be completed by early July.
Nathan Holler, owner of The Dog House, was among the business owners who were skeptical of the project when it was first proposed, but he has been encouraged by how the city handled it.
“A year and a half ago, looking at this giant, grandiose project, we all believed it was a beautiful project, but we were all fearful of how long the project could take based on projects that happened in the past,” Holler said.
Holler said the free parking downtown, the marketing effort included in the project and the project being completed on a faster timeline have helped things. He noted his business likely took a 30% hit during the project, but it was much better than what they feared.
“We all felt it, but it wasn’t as bad as we initially anticipated, or what we saw before four years ago, and when FPL came in and did their construction,” he said.
Despite the hit to the business, none of them shut their doors.
“Everybody is still here,” Holler said. “Nobody shut their doors, and we’re just pumped for Palafox 2.0.”
Councilwoman Allison Patton told the News Journal she was happy the project came out exactly how the contractors said it would in meetings that sold her on backing the project.
“I really do think that this is a new era for Palafox,” Patton said. “All of these businesses, who really did a great job of coming together and being supportive of the project, even though maybe initially they were very nervous about it, they really will benefit from what we now have in our downtown.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Palafox Street opens to pedestrians as project wraps up
Reporting by Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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