Pensacola's Planning Board gave unanimous approval Tuesday of the initial aesthetic concept for a proposed Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel and apartment development at Community Maritime Park.
Inspired Communities of Florida is proposing to build a 15-story apartment building called Rhythm Lofts and a 10-story hotel under the Reverb by Hard Rock Hotel brand.
Developers presented their initial design concept to the Planning Board on Tuesday afternoon. After Lester Yuen, design director with Gensler architects, walked the board through the project's design, the board unanimously approved it.
Inspired Communities of Florida, also known as The Dawson Company, is partnering with EJ Smith Enterprises, the real estate development company owned by Emmitt Smith, to build the apartments and hotel.
The biggest unknown about the design is whether the city will allow the buildings to include windows on the north side that faces Main Street.
The project is being built on Maritime Park Lot No. 5, and developers also have a lease option for Lot No. 4, which is currently a parking lot. Developers plan on incorporating a future project at Lot No. 4 into the design of Lot No. 5, in which case they could include windows on the north side of the buildings. However, if they don't end up with control of Lot No. 4, then regulations would require no windows be allowed on the north side of the wall of the building, which would be directly on the property line.
Yuen said they would like to see if some type of easement could be worked out with the city that would limit the height of a building on Lot No. 4 to allow the windows to be included.
The other remaining question on the design is whether the building will be able to include the one-level parking underground. Yuen said they are working with engineers to see if that is possible with the high water table on the site, but if any type of pump is required to keep water out, they would look to redesign the parking to fit on the two above-ground levels.
"Many folks are thinking about it right now," Yuen said.
Some of the renderings also included what the buildings would look like if artwork were incorporated into the design of the building.
Many of the planning board members said they liked the artwork incorporated into the design.
"I do like the mural idea, and I do like the windows on the sides," Board Member Char Powell said. "As you go through the city, you see murals all over the place. It just kind of fits into what we're doing anyway."
Other planning board members said they didn't like the dark colors of the building, but understood that was the colors used by the Reverb hotel brand.
"I don't like the dark gray," Board Member Myra Van Hoose said. "Sorry. Is there any way it could be prettier?"
"I appreciate the darker colors," Board Chairman Paul Ritz said. "The night-clubby, the man in black, that kind of whole ambiance. I can relate to that or I can understand that."
One of the major features not included in the design is the plaza between the building built on top of the parking structure, that if Inspired Communities develops Lot No. 4 would also connected to that lot. The plaza features a large "portal" that leads down to street level directly across from Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Yuen said if Inspired Communities does develop Lot No. 4 the conceptual ideas would include retail space, a food hall and a potential theater.
"The important part is we want to think of the plaza as continuous between the two in that it's very entertainment-focused and a people space," Yuen said. "We're creating a portal so that folks can go up there and see it, hear it, and know that it's there. That plaza is not meant to be closed off."
The Planning Board will still have to approve a final design before the project can move into obtaining permits from the city.
Many of the city's other zoning rules won't apply to this project because the developers are designing the project to meet the requirements of the Florida Live Local Act. That law passed in 2023 allows developers to be exempted from local zoning rules if their projects have at least 40% of the residential units designated workforce housing with rents affordable for individuals who make between 80% and 120% of the area median income for the local area.
According to the 2024 income figures from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, apartments with rents between $1,366 to $2,079 a month for a single-income household would fall into the 80% to 120% of AMI category.
When the project was approved by the City Council, concerns over it adhering the the West Main Master Plan were brought up by council members. The council included in the lease that the ground floor had to be activated in some way.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves hired planner Marina Khoury with DPZ, one of the primary authors of the West Main Master Plan, to advise Inspired Communities designing process over the last few months to ensure it follows the spirit of that plan.
Reeves said Tuesday at his weekly press conference that he had a positive conversation with Khoury on Monday about the project.
"They continue to narrate that and be in constant communication to make sure that the West Main Master Plan is respected," Reeves said.