Mayor D.C. Reeves and Project Strategic Initiatives Chief Adrianne Walker unveiled the latest details of the New Palafox Street reconstruction project to downtown business owners this morning, sharing information they had received just days earlier from the selected contractor, Site Utility.
Three Options on the Table
Mayor Reeves made clear that despite ongoing discussions, nothing has been finalized. “Nothing has been signed. The city has to go to council to get funding approval. That has not happened yet,” he told attendees. “This project can go really three different directions as it sits in the city right now.”
- The three options include: doing nothing and leaving utility cuts in the road, proceeding with Florida Power & Light’s basic mill-and-overlay obligation, or moving forward with the comprehensive New Palafox project currently under consideration.
The FPL-only option would provide minimal improvements. “There’s no amenity whatsoever within the FPL project. It is if you’re FPL, we cut up your roads, we are going to put new asphalt back on your roads,” Reeves explained. That approach would require an estimated 60 days of work but would need a new bidding process with an uncertain start date.
Project By The Numbers
Walker outlined the scope of the full project, calling it “a legacy investment” that would transform downtown. The improvements include 46 ADA-compliant ramps, eight handicapped parking spaces, 52 new trees, 114 modular planters, and 44 new drainage structures capable of processing 93,000 gallons of stormwater.
- “We’re a rainy city. We get a lot of flooding events that maybe wouldn’t be a flooding event somewhere else. So this is going to really enhance our ability to combat stormwater on Palafox,” Walker said.
The project would also add four elevated mid-block crossings with rumble strips, reduce crosswalk distances by up to 16 feet, and create over 12,000 square feet of new pervious surface.
Unprecedented Business Support
Mayor Reeves stressed the city’s commitment to supporting businesses during construction. “I can tell you this is an unprecedented level at the city of Pensacola for us trying to mitigate and trying to support the businesses through a road project that’s ever happened in the city.”
The support package includes up to $768,000 in rent relief that would be available if the contractor failed to meet the May 24, 2026, incentive deadline. The Downtown Improvement Board would administer the disbursements. Additionally, $100,000 has been allocated for marketing and promotional strategy, and the city is proposing to waive outdoor seating fees.
Parking—Walker added: “There will be 414 free parking spaces on Jefferson, Spring, Garden and North Palafox throughout construction,” with the community invited to help determine whether they should be two-hour or all-day parking.
Construction Timeline and Approach
If approved by the Pensacola City Council in mid-November, construction would commence January 5, 2026, with an incentivized completion date of May 24, 2026. The contractor, Site Utility—a local company—would receive a 10% bonus for meeting that deadline.
- Accordion Approach: A key revelation from Tuesday’s contractor meeting was the “accordion” construction approach. Walker explained: “We will be working north and south concurrently moving inward. And that sequencing does allow some opportunity to potentially reopen certain areas sooner.”
Crucially, storefronts will remain accessible. “All of your storefronts are still open, they’re accessible, they’ll never be closed, they will never be inaccessible,” Walker assured attendees.
- Construction fencing would be positioned at the drip line of awnings, maintaining a minimum six-foot pedestrian path, with strategic east-west crosswalk access.
Community Engagement Moving Forward
Walker committed to ongoing communication, proposing a communications committee for regular updates. “This is my full attention right now is this project, so I’ll be in constant communication with you,” she said…