Construction of the Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel and Rythm Lofts apartments at Community Maritime Park is planned to begin construction later this year, but any locals in the construction business wanting to get a part of more than $200 million have one more chance to get involved before the project gets underway.
Wisconsin-based Corporate Contractors Inc., Inspired Communities of Florida, also known as The Dawson Company, and Emmitt Smith’s E Smith Advisors are building the 12-story, 147-room hotel and 16-story, 248-unit apartment tower at Community Maritime Park.
In December of 2025 and January 2026,CCI hosted information fairs for Escambia and Santa Rosa County subcontractors at the Maritime Place office building to find qualified local contractors and suppliers to work on the project. The last information session will take place on Feb. 2 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Gulf Coast Minority Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Wyer told News Journal the event is especially important for minority and women-owned businesses to attend. The job fair is open to everyone, however.
“Oftentimes, there’s lots of work to be had and to be done out there, but people just don’t find out about it, to get a chance, to have an opportunity to bid for those jobs,” Wyer said. “So it’s important that CCI is giving people an opportunity to get in a room together, find out more, and find out ways that they can get involved with working with them.”
Joshua Wallace, a senior project manager with Jacobs Solution, attended the first session in December and said the participation from minority-owned businesses has been low, so he’s also been trying to put the word out. Wallace worked with the Dawson Company, which is itself minority owned, on its 52 World project in Beulah through his position with Jacobs.
“If there’s something in construction that you can do, I think it’ll be good for you to attend it,” Wallace said.
Wallace added that session attendees will also get to hear directly from CCI on the type of information needed to bid on a subcontracting role on the project.
Wyer said sometimes small business owners may think the projects are too big to be involved with but he said these times of events are important to learn the ways even a small business can contribute and benefit from a large project.
“They can do this job, and they can do a piece of it, and they can work on some of these projects,” Wyer said. “And once they understand that they truly have the ability to feel like they can, they can conquer any challenge.”
The fairs were advertised in classified ads and mentioned in coverage of the development, but Wyer said it’s easy to miss those notices.
“This is now a chance where we have to spread the word,” Wyer said. “If anyone knows of any small businesses, whether you are one of those small businesses, or you have a friend or co-worker that’s involved, just please spread the word out and help to make sure that people can find out about it.”
The meeting begins at 8 a.m. on the first floor of Maritime Place at 350 W. Cedar St. on Feb. 2.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola’s Hard Rock project gives last call for local contractors
Reporting by Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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