The City of Pensacola has reopened the door to redeveloping the former Pensacola Motor Lodge, issuing a Notice of Intent to Dispose — a required public notice signaling the city’s intent to sell publicly owned land and inviting proposals to buy and redevelop it. The two‑parcel site at 2301–2305 W. Cervantes St., totaling about 1.69 acres, sits within the Westside Community Redevelopment Area and has long been a visual shorthand for the corridor’s struggles with blight and public safety.
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City officials say the notice is meant to reset the project after an earlier attempt in 2024 stalled, while keeping the end goal intact. As Mayor D.C. Reeves put it during a Sept. 2 press conference, “The mission for the motor lodge is no different than what it was before it went to disposition.”
What the city is seeking
Under the solicitation, the city intends to sell the property — rather than ground‑lease it — subject to deed restrictions that require for‑sale and/or rental homes affordable primarily to households at or below 120% of the area median income (AMI). AMI is the federal benchmark the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses to determine local income eligibility for affordable housing. HUD’s 2025 data show the Median Family Income (MFI) for the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent metro at about $88,600 for a family of four. (Local housing programs typically use this same figure when referencing “Area Median Income.”) That means 120% of AMI would be roughly $106,000, before adjusting for household size. The notice prioritizes mixed affordability and requires a mechanism—such as deed restrictions—to keep units affordable over time.
The city is also steering design. Proposals must follow the Westside CRA Urban Design Overlay, a local rulebook aimed at fitting new buildings to neighborhood character. That means street‑facing buildings, cohesive site plans with clear “fronts and backs,” pedestrian features such as shade trees and sidewalks, and materials consistent with market‑rate projects so income‑restricted homes are not stigmatized.
How big a project is possible
The zoning framework allows for meaningful scale on the site. Multifamily housing is permitted under C‑3 zoning inside the CRA overlay. The base density is 35 homes per acre. On a site this size, that could translate to roughly 50 to 60 apartments under current rules, depending on the final site plan. The code also offers density bonuses for green‑building commitments or through a residential‑bonus program; the city may sponsor “donor‑site” bonuses that shift unused density from one site to another. Separately, Florida’s Live Local Act—a 2023 state law designed to fast‑track affordable housing—can allow higher density and height (potentially up to about 135 homes per acre here) if statutory affordability thresholds are met. The CRA overlay caps height at up to 10 stories, with a path to as much as 150 feet, subject to Planning Board review under city code. The city also offers expedited permitting for qualifying affordable‑housing projects.
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Because the buildings are more than 50 years old, any demolition would first go through the city’s Historic Building Demolition Review process. A historic reviewer has already referred the site to the Architectural Review Board (ARB). The ARB cannot prohibit demolition but may delay it up to 60 days.
Why the process changed
The change in how the city is approaching the project is more about method than mission. In 2024, Pensacola pursued a ground lease with a single development team, meaning the city would retain land ownership and lease it long‑term while the developer built the project. Construction depended on winning federal housing tax credits. After that application was unsuccessful, the city opted to reopen the field and switch to a conditional sale with affordability covenants—aiming to reduce administrative burden, broaden participation, and move faster while keeping enforceable guardrails in place.
“All we’re doing is going from the ground lease, where we’re handling all the admin, to more of a sale with a big asterisk that says if it’s not going to be meeting these metrics, then you can’t buy it. Or if you don’t do what you say you’re going to do, then we can take it back,” Reeves said.
He described the procedural shift as “completely ministerial.”
Broader Context
The Motor Lodge stands at the intersection of policy and symbolism for the West Cervantes corridor, which serves neighborhoods in and around Brownsville on the city’s west side. For years, the property was associated with frequent police calls and code violations; city acquisition halted that pattern.
“We had 2,300 calls for service there in 10 years," Reeves said, "and now we don’t. We have zero calls for service."
Turning this highly visible nuisance property into a neighborhood asset aligns with recent city policy. The Westside CRA Plan — updated earlier this year — calls for mixed‑income housing, anti‑displacement strategies, and context‑sensitive infill that “learns from great neighborhoods.” CRA's are special districts that reinvest a share of future tax growth back into the neighborhood
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The city’s 10‑year strategic plan, Strive to Thrive: Pensacola 2035, sets goals for “Attainable Housing for All Income Levels,” “More Walkable, Mixed‑use Districts,” and “Neighborhoods that Celebrate Culture and Honor Legacy.” In that framework, the Motor Lodge is both a housing project and a test of whether redevelopment can reinforce identity and expand opportunity for existing residents.
At the same time, the notice threads a needle that will likely shape public discussion: it flags tools that can enable higher‑density housing—state law and local bonuses—while reiterating the requirement to meet the CRA overlay’s urban‑design standards. How those pieces come together in a winning proposal will determine the project’s feel on the ground, from height and massing to street life and pedestrian safety.
Reeves has cast the city’s involvement as a way to ensure public goals drive private investment.
“If you control property as a city, then you can help control the destiny and outcomes of these neighborhoods,” he said. “... If we want subsidy, if we want affordable housing, we have to get involved. The city has an obligation to do so.”
What’s next
Developers will submit qualifications and concepts showing their experience with affordable or mixed‑income projects, preliminary unit mix and site plan ideas, and how they intend to meet the affordability and design criteria. City staff will evaluate proposals and negotiate the terms of a sale—including affordability covenants, performance milestones, and remedies—before advancing a recommendation to the City Council.
