by Abigail Hrabar

(Edited by: Abbie, Marty, MIKE, Arren)

Since then, citizens have been eagerly awaiting the restoration of this beloved Pensacola nature spot. At the time of the closing, however, the city had roughly $200,000 allocated for any Bay Bluffs Park renovations—significantly less than the estimated repair cost of more than $1 million. This lack of proper resources posed a threat to the idea of the park ever being open again.

In the search for funding, the city partnered with Conservation Florida, a non-profit group dedicated to restoring the state’s natural resources, in an effort to raise enough for the Bay Bluffs repairs. Finally, in June of 2023, Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves accepted an award of $2.2 million from Governor Ron DeSantis for the City of Pensacola and Conservation Florida’s work on the project. Conservation Florida wrote on their website that “The funds awarded in the Florida state budget will be used to demolish the condemned boardwalk and revamp the park, incorporating community input to ensure it meets the needs and expectations of residents and visitors.” With plans to use this money towards revamping the Bay Bluffs Park, citizens were left to wait for further updates.

By the end of February, the Pensacola City Council will vote on whether to accept the grant agreement and formalise their partnership with Conservation Florida, accepting the awarded funds and allocating them into Conservation Florida’s management. After that point, the City of Pensacola plans to compile residents’ suggestions and complete the redesign process by March of this year. According to this timeline, construction would start in early 2026 and the Bay Bluffs Park would reopen with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in early 2027.

In the meantime, think of any suggestions you might want to let the City of Pensacola know about what you envision in this new phase of the Bay Bluffs Park.Contact your district city council member to provide input.

Palafox Restoration

While the city of Pensacola is known for its natural beauty, it also houses an ever-growing downtown. With its local music scene, coffee shops, and restaurants steadily attracting more people, the downtown area has become the heart of the city in many ways. In light of this, in August of 2024, Mayor D.C. Reeves announced the “New Palafox” project – renovating Palafox Street to prioritize safety, walkability, and aesthetics. The City of Pensacola is partnering with FPL (Florida Power and Light) for the $5 million project, $3 million of which was provided by FPL. Citizens had a chance to send in the ideas they had for the famous street last fall. Improvements will include more trees, brick paving, wider sidewalks, and more crosswalks.

While the redesign and conceptual designs have been released to the public on the City of Pensacola’s website, these ideas will first need to be permitted by the Florida Department of Transportation before construction begins. The current timeline of events for the “New Palafox” project has construction beginning this upcoming Spring/Summer with an unknown completion date. Any further updates will be listed on the City of Pensacola’s “The New Palafox” page.