Achieving Momentum

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves is not a fan of winging it. Whether funding routine city maintenance, improving downtown parking or touting the city to potential employers, he prefers a carefully crafted plan.

“I’m not a cross-my-fingers-and-hope-someone-else-is-doing-it kind of guy,” he said. “Let’s control our own destiny.”

That mindset is what fueled Reeves’ industrious, fast-paced first year in office — a year that saw the creation of a new economic development office, a new playground at Sanders Beach Park, the expansion of Palafox Market farmers market to Plaza Ferdinand, repairs to the Roger Scott Tennis Center, the acquisition of a new SWAT vehicle for the Pensacola Police Department and Reeves’ appointment to the CareerSource Florida board of directors by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

He opened a new police substation at Pensacola State College, added 6,377 linear feet of sidewalks to city streets and placed a front-desk attendant in the downtown City Hall lobby to improve customer service.

One of Reeves’ decisions that has literally paid off for Pensacola was the creation of a central city grants office that went on to win more than $72 million in grant funding in 2023. Among the awards are $25 million for the Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park; $5.5 million to demolish and rebuild the Fricker Center; $5 million toward the acquisition of the old Baptist Hospital property; and $5 million for redevelopment along the Cervantes-Pace Boulevard Corridor.

The creation of a Sanders Beach Playground and the expansion of the Palafox Market farmers market to Plaza Ferdinand were among accomplishments made by the City of Pensacola during the first year of D.C. Reeves’ service as mayor. Immediate priorities for Reeves ranged from economic development to infrastructure. Photos Courtesy of City Of Pensacola

The office also secured $15 million in grants to build a dock, boat ramp and a Center for Maritime Excellence at the Port of Pensacola, where the American Magic sailing team could establish its headquarters in late 2024 and add 170 high-paying jobs to the local economy.

“Those guys have been great. They have been a godsend, certainly, to the city, but also to our departments, which now get to focus on running departments and not having to check every grant website,” Reeves said. “They have certainly made me look smarter than I am, so I’m very appreciative of that.”

When he looks back on his administration’s first year, Reeves, who grew up in Pensacola and graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School, is proud of what his team has accomplished.

“We have started the ball rolling on so many impactful, generational projects in the city,” he added. “It has really set us up for the next three years to now just go out and execute.”

At the top of that list is obtaining $70 million for the expansion of the Pensacola International Airport terminal, which welcomed a record-breaking 2.65 million passengers in 2023. Most of the airport’s footprint is currently over capacity, and the project would add five gates to the airport’s existing 12, as well as security capacity and space for concessions.

Mayor D.C. Reeves has made seeking $70 million for the expansion of the Pensacola International Airport terminal building a priority. The airport saw a record-breaking 2.65 million passengers in 2023. The contemplated project calls for the addition of five gates to the airport’s existing 12, as well as provisions for added security. Photo by Mike Fender

Reeves, who envisions the state, city and the federal government each covering a third of the cost, said the project is his No. 1 legislative priority in 2024.

“From a growth standpoint, from a business and economic development standpoint and a tourism standpoint, it is our greatest need,” he said, “just because it opens doors to so many other things.”

Reeves sees the airport expansion as vital to attracting a new generation of permanent residents to the city.

“This is the most remote, mobile workforce that the world has ever seen,” he added. “And what does that mean? Well, you might be able to live in Pensacola if there are more direct flights for wherever you’re from or wherever you work.”

Another priority for Reeves in 2024 is housing, and he’s addressing it on multiple fronts.

“If we want to solve the housing issue, we have to solve it at every level of housing,” Reeves said. “All the data suggests, if we want to start to plateau rising housing costs, we have to have inventory at every level.”

He plans to propose an operator for the old Pensacola Motor Lodge, which the city purchased in 2023 for $1 million and plans to convert to 28 affordable housing units. His administration is exploring the potential for market-rate housing developments at Maritime Park and still working on long-term plans to incorporate affordable housing into a redevelopment of the former Baptist Hospital property.

The City of Pensacola acquired the Pensacola Motor Lodge property for$1 million in 2023 and plans to convert it to 28 affordable housing units. To further deal with a housing shortage, Mayor D.C. Reeves and city administrators are exploring the potential for market-rate housing developments at Maritime Park and are working on long-term plans to make workforce housing part of the redevelopment of the former Baptist Hospital property. Photo courtesy of City Of Pensacola

“I would say we do have a commitment to trying to turn something that is blight into something transformative,” he said. “That is the city’s role, but it’s going to take all of us — Baptist, the Legislature, the city and county to be able to see this through.”

To some, these large-scale, long-term projects might seem too ambitious for a city the size of Pensacola, but Reeves sees them as necessary to keep the city moving in the right direction.

“We’re in the Panhandle of Florida. We’ve got to punch above our weight class,” he said. “We’re not Orlando or Tampa or Miami. We can’t, you know, just sit back and feel sorry for ourselves. We have to be urgent about the things that we want to have happen.”

Mayor D.C. Reeves sees airport expansion as vital to attracting a new generation of permanent residents to the city. Members of a mobile workforce who have gotten comfortable with working remotely are shopping for desirable places to live, and an airport can be a factor in their decisions. Photo by Mike Fender