Save Pensacola

05/18/2024

Post by Councilman Charles Bare: In case you don't know me, I am the District 2 Pensacola City Councilmember. I was just wondering if residents of the East Hill Neighborhood have any thoughts on the mayor's proposal to have the city council declare as surplus the real property located at 925 East Jackson Street (Former Malcolm Yonge Center) and authorize the Mayor to dispose of the parcel via direct negotiation with a community land trust non-profit organization.

This is being done with "the intent to redevelop the site for attainable/workforce housing." I realize I don't represent your district, but as a councilmember I am interested in how residents feel about this. Feel free to email me at:

[email protected]

Repost: East Hill East Hill Neighborhood Association Facebook Group post

04/18/2024

"Are you allowed to deem something un-historic by blight, by self-inflicted blight."
-- Mayor D.C. Reeves

Oh, we're talking about the old Trailways Bus Station on Baylen Street, not Malcolm Yonge gym, not the John Sunday house, not the USO and School Admin building on Garden.

A code enforcement magistrate says Immanuel Lutheran Church must address several code violations at the old Bus Station or be fined $100 a day.

The church asked permission to demolish the building a year ago because of its poor condition, but that request was denied, as the city says the building and its architecture are "historically significant."

It has become an eyesore for the community. But the architectural review board says that's only because the church didn't do it's job to keep it up.
"The building has continued to decay -- demolition by neglect at this point," said Ross Pristera, historic preservationist.

"If you've owned it for some 40 years and it's blighted and then the argument to knock it down is because it was blighted, you can understand there's a little bit of a disconnect there," Mayor Reeves said.

The city wants to keep the building for its historical significance.

There are three benchmarks for establishing a historical building:

if it's over 50-years-old
if it's architecturally significant
if it's culturally significant
"This one also seems to meet that one too with the civil rights movement in Pensacola," Pristera said. "This was a meeting space for African Americans at that time."

The building meets the criteria, so the city will not let it demolished. Even if the building wasn't over 50 years old at the time it was sold, it still meets the other benchmarks.

The church hasn't used the space for a number of years except for parking, but the city says that doesn't mean they can let it go into disrepair.

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The City of pensacola is threatening to fine a church fined for blight.... And more fines could be on the way.A code enforcement magistrate s

03/25/2024

DeSantis signs bill that makes demolishing historic buildings easier.

By Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday making it easier for local developers to level historic buildings near Florida’s coast, potentially threatening Miami’s iconic Art Deco architecture.

The bill, SB 1526, limits local governments and local preservation boards from protecting notable establishments from being torn down, which would affect the Miami Beach board that controls the fate of 2,600 buildings in its locally designated historic districts.

It was one of 25 bills DeSantis quietly signed on Friday without a press event.

Bill proponents have said the changes are crucial to ensuring that buildings are up to code near Florida’s coast, where flooding is a problem since older buildings aren’t always the sturdiest.
And there’s language in the measure that would exempt St. Augustine, Key West, the town of Palm Beach and buildings along Ocean Drive in South Beach, House sponsor Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, said just before the bill was sent to the governor.

But many buildings in the Mid-Beach and North Beach neighborhoods of Miami Beach could still be affected. That includes Art Deco hotels along Collins Avenue like the Faena, Sherry Frontenac, Casablanca and Carillon.

Roach also said the bill doesn’t override local zoning requirements, and that any new structure built in place of one that is demolished would need to conform to local regulations. (A different policy, Live Local, does allow developers to sidestep local zoning if they agree to build workforce housing.)

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday making it easier for local developers to level historic buildings near Florida’s coast, potentially threatening Miami’s iconic Art Deco architecture. The bill, SB 1526, limits local governments and local preservation boards from protecting notable establ...

03/11/2024

"Days of our Pensacola." Using his unique brand of humor, Andrew McKay illustrates the great divide between the mayor and the city council vs. those who want Malcolm Yonge gym rebuilt.

Sherri Myers J Garrett Green Pensacola Liberation Center Jasmine Brown

Save Pensacola

03/11/2024

www.SavePensacola.com

03/09/2024

Join us tomorrow,
Sunday, at sunset for a candlelight vigil at the Malcolm Yonge Gym at 925 E Jackson.