Fred Hemmer’s first business trip to Pensacola was four years ago.

Now the St. Petersburg banker and developer is thinking of making the City of Five Flags his home, while continuing to build investments in the local real estate market.

His latest acquisition is a high-profile spot in downtown Pensacola -- 215 W. Garden St., the old Vernon McDaniel building. Hemmer’s company, Hemmer Consulting, LLC, bought the 4.82 acre parcel from the Escambia County School District for $3.25 million in a sale approved by School Board members this week.

Hemmer says his plans for the parcel include residential units and mixed use development, assuming all goes well in the 150-day due diligence period. The closing date shall be within 30 days after the end of the investigation period, which can be extended for two, 30-day periods by making additional $25,000 deposits for each extension.

“(Residential use) is why we first looked at it,” Hemmer said. “(the McDaniel building) will keep its present character. We want to enhance that.”

This is the "100-year wall" at the old Vernon McDaniel building. The commemorative stone at the foot of the middle crape myrtle, dated 1997, honors the 100th anniversary of the "National Congress of Parents and Teachers". 

Hemmer said plans would be to keep the two-story administration building, the "100-year wall" and raze the rest of it.

The price point for those units would be “not as high end as some of things being announced for Palafox Pier and not subsidized housing. We think there’s a demand from people who want to live downtown but can’t find something that is affordable.

“My partners and I are excited about this.”

Hemmer said there is another local business that is going to occupy art of that property, and they have the option of using the two-story building or we would look at constructing a new place for them on the corner.

Before this unnamed partner became involved, Hemmer says the plan was to convert the two-story building into residential units and then put mixed use on the balance of the property.

“If the other group says they want the two-story building, we’ll have to re-look at that,” Hemmer says. “I’d like to see that worked out in the first 30 days.”

In the meantime, Hemmer says, they will pursue the permits for demolition on the parcel and move forward with specific soil sampling that will need to be done on the Spring Street side of the property.

“There is some unusual settling in the old armory, so we have some issues to deal with and that could impact our plans,” he said.

If they turn the two-story into residential, that area could be an office building with the silent partner taking up space in some of that building and potentially leaving room for other businesses or entities to use it,” he said.

Justin Beck of Beck Properties, which handled the sale for the district, said Hemmer investment in the community is a sign that the growing positive buzz about Pensacola is spreading.

“I think it’s fantastic that a guy from St. Pete is excited about what’s going on here,” Beck said. “I think outside capital coming in to a community is a great thing.”

Clearly, Hemmer has been paying attention to the Pensacola area market.

Thursday afternoon, he said, his company closed on 163 acres on U.S. 29 in Quintette that is contiguous to the county industrial park, and they have a parcel under contract in Beulah that is another residential piece.

For that, thank the influence of Navy Federal Credit Union.

“The Navy Federal impact is strong up there and the sector plan that is in the works up there,” Hemmer says. “When you look at Pensacola, one of the only places it can grow is up there.”

According to the company’s website, they have several other dealings in the area including:

-- Buying and selling a condo in Perdido Key in October 2012; a warehouse mortgage in Pensacola in 2013; it owns the note for another condo in Perdido Key.

-- Developing a 127-lot subdivision set to open in August of this year, Huntington Creek, “the newest upscale community in West Pensacola” located on Mobile Highway just east of Beulah Road, “just six minutes away from Navy Federal Credit Union” the site says.

The development merges “luxury lifestyle living with country charm.”

-- Purchasing 960 acres of undeveloped land in December of 2013 in Pensacola; 1,400 acres of a residential subdivision in Milton is under contract.

For this particular project, though, downtown Pensacola’s renaissance was a factor.

“I’ve seen what’s happened in just the four years I’ve been coming up and we had our eyes out,” Hemmer said.

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