Studer Community Institute

Designing the Pensacola Tech Park's future

November 11, 2014
/ Carlton Proctor
/ education

The architectural firm Caldwell Associates Architects has been selected by Space Florida to design a 70,000 square foot building for a "major aerospace industry supplier" in the Pensacola Technology Campus. The Pensacola-based firm was chosen over several other competitors during an October board meeting of Space Florida, the state's lead aerospace economic development agency. Miller Caldwell, founder and principal architect of Caldwell Associates, said he could not comment on the ongoing contract negotiations with Space Florida. He referred all inquiries to Scott Luth, CEO of the newly formed Community Economic Development Association. Luth said Space Florida and Caldwell are in contract negotiations now. "They are getting pretty close to finalizing the contract," Luth said. "I don't think they've encountered any problems." Plans call for construction of a $9 million, multi-story building in the 9.2 acre park located along Ninth Avenue and Gregory Street. The site was developed in 2010 with a $2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration with the goal of bringing at least 650 high-skill, high-salary jobs to the campus. The park has been vacant since opening in August 2011. Earlier this year, Luth successfully negotiated with the EDA to expand its definition to allow aviation and engineering firms to lease property in the tech park. No manufacturing is allowed on the campus. Luth and Space Florida spokeswoman Tina Lange have declined to identify the major aerospace anchor tenant citing ongoing negotiations. But Lange did confirm in late summer that three other aerospace companies have expressed interest in the proposed office building. Once the contract with Caldwell is finalized, Luth said bidding for construction will follow, and the project likely will get under way sometime in the first six to nine months of 2015. It's estimated the Space Florida building will provide office space for as many as 300 people. The Technology Campus is located on land donated by the city of Pensacola and Escambia County. The Pensacola-Escambia Development Commission holds the title to the park property. Space Florida will contract for a long-term lease for the building site. Those details have yet to be ironed out, Luth said. Also unclear are specifics about the building itself. Luth said if it is built on the northeast section of the campus, zoning permits a building up to 10 stories. If it is located near the Aragon neighborhood, zoning allows for a four-story building, Luth said. "Obviously we would love to have a large engineering presence in the community and the tech park would be a great location for them," he said. Long-range plans call for the so-called Tech Campus to accommodate multiple companies and has the capacity to support 1.6 million square feet of Class A office space.

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Designing the Pensacola Tech Park's future

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