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7-Story Office, Apartment Tower Proposed For Highway 297A Just Off Pine Forest Road
July 24, 2023
An investment company is proposing a seven-story tower with professional offices and apartments near the intersection of Highway 297A and Pine Forest Road.
Goeller Investments of Pensacola has submitted plans to construct the 8,000 square foot building on 1.89 acres at 4101 Highway 297, just off Pine Forest Road.
According to those plans, the mixed used building would have 6,000 square feet of professional offices on the lowest level, above parking, with a mix of 32 one, two and three bedroom apartments above in the seven-story building reaching 98 feet high. The building footprint is proposed at about 66 feet by 120 feet.
An initial application has been submitted to the Escambia County Development Review Committee for a pre-application meeting on Wednesday, July 26 at 1 p.m. at the Escambia County Central Complex Building at 3363 West Park Place.
NorthEscambia.com graphic, click to enlarge.
Comments
33 Responses to “7-Story Office, Apartment Tower Proposed For Highway 297A Just Off Pine Forest Road”
The county needs to consintrait on mataining what already here.flooding during a little bit of rain is insane.real good engineering can not take of now just imagine more problems i keep being told they are professonals. How many places flood now that never did before.
I hate to see large numbers of trees cut down and rural areas decimated for new construction while there is lots of property not being used or underused that could be renovated or otherwise improved to increase the value of existing urban areas. I would also submit the owners of these large pastures, farms, and woodlands are not losing any money selling out to these nasty developers.
Neighbors & anyone living in this neighborhood need to make sure we all go to the meetings once they are posted & VOTE THIS DOWN! This will increase traffic, cause more accidents in the area and lead to more chaos, this needs to be stopped! There are horses & a lot of wildlife in the area. If this ends up being built, then that will make way for other builders to try to build in the area and that area cannot support all the people & traffic that would be added as well as it would be uncomplimentary to the area.
@Becky & @Scott: The Old hexagon parcel. Has an issue with contamination from old exterminator building that residential would not want to touch. I have lived here for years and see that wooded area being rezoned on Pine forest also was a construction land fill years back and when someone builds on it, its going to be a sink hole in a few years (Had a friend who had half his house did that but builder had filed bankruptcy and insurance wouldn’t cover it. so folks better do their homework.
@Renee Bell
Who has horses at the corner of 297A and Pine Forest? This is a suburban area, not pastoral farmland.
We may not like it, but the old days are gone. That corner hasn’t been a helicopter field for 30 years. It hasn’t been rural for almost as long.
I vote for STORAGE FACILITY on the first floor and a Dollar Store on the top floor with a circle k on floor 3….
This is ridiculous. This is a rural area people have horses out here. These people with money are inconsiderate and do not think about the people that live here and put up with the traffic. This is not conducive to this area. You are just making it overcrowded and increasing the risk for more crime and places for the homeless population to hide. Try building that on Airport or downtown in East Hill. We cannot even cross the road safely here or pull out on Pine Forest Road.
It’s one thing to have something built there but it’s another to have a twin peak style building in that area. Folks complaining about the folks complaining probably don’t live by here
Imagine a Dollar General on the top floor.
How Cool that would be !!
Over half you people still stop at the through lane coming off 297a onto Pine Forest…so your onions dont matter
It is zoned HC/LI.
Permitted uses include, “Residential. Any residential uses outside of the industrial (I) future land use category, but if within the commercial (C) future land use category, only as part of a predominantly commercial development”
That is basically what is being proposed and a 66′X120′ building will fit, even with the FPL easement running across the property. Not quite sure how the county could tell them no even if they wanted to.
@ Scot Dixon – the parcel with the hexagon building has a “building permit application” pending for “Zips Car Wash”. While this project has been in the works for 9 months, I wouldnt hold my breath that it will actually occur, as that parcel of property also has limitations as to what can be built due to the existing FPL easement that runs thru the parcel.
@Scott, just wanted to comment that the “hexagon” building you referred to in your comment was already demolished several months ago, and that land already ready for building again.
The existing infrastructure cannot support that many more people. Once the infrastructure (roads) is improved, then the focus should first be on building on existing abandoned (eyesore) sites and not cutting down more trees to destroy existing green space. Honestly, the county needs to be planning parks and green space preservation before they keep approving these unwanted projects. Make no mistake: this isn’t about some altruistic attempt to provide affordable housing. This is all about the developers making money. 100%. These “improvements” need to be paid for, though, through infrastructure and parks planning, and the developers need to be chipping in for that. To ask the residents to pay for the improved infrastructure so that the developers can make a quick buck and leave us with more buildings that will possibly be abandoned in a decade… well, it’s just wrong, IMO.
If there is such a demand for office or retail space, why does the new strip center on W 9 Mile road (south side) mostly sit vacant? The mini donut shop failed, the “Fistful of Dough” place never opened, and most of the rest of them are just empty.
If someone wants to build, why can’t they use the adjacent lot with the existing hexagon-shaped building that has been many things (a long time ago) including office space and a disco? That place could be torn down and a new facility could be built… but that would cost a few extra dollar of demolition I suppose.
I’m completely against this development, but I’m sure that doesn’t matter. The community was overwhelmingly against the new Dollar General at Kingsfield and 297A, but that marched forward anyway, because money. Follow the money. Everyone involved in pushing these projects forward stands to gain from them. They don’t care what the community looks like a decade from now, because they’ll have their money and will have moved on. I lived in Atlanta for a while, and it was the status quo. Develop, sell, and run.
We need to replace our current representatives at the local level before our lovely town is just another sprawling suburban cesspool. As always, just my humble opinion.
Same whiners, different day.
Stupidest thing ever! Too much traffic now!! Come on Escambia County. Don’t allow this to happen!
Is this really what’s needed? The traffic at pine forest and 297 is already crazy, and this will just add to the madness. I’m not sure our commissioners are looking at the entire picture. Could be time to re-think when election comes around.
Here’s my two cents worth – Just No! Just because there is an acre doesn’t mean you have to build on it! I live 3 miles from the interstate and it can take as long as 40 minutes to get there!! $$$ talk but what a filthy, dirty shame!
The volume of people moving to Pensacola supports more housing. There’s a huge shortage of housing that can’t be met within 10 years.
This area is growing fast. The train has left the station and can’t be bright backwards, for all those wanting farms….. it’s long past the time for larger land with less people.
People are always screaming about affordable housing and if you’re not developing properties with apartments like this you’re driving home prices up beyond most peoples’ ability to pay for them.
The county has to think bigger ore they’ll get smashed. This is a great project. Thanks Goeller Investments!!
When will we hold our county commissioners responsible for the poor planning and in adequate infrastructure that they are dumping on us?
It seems that they will ok most any plan despite it not being properly supported by either the infrastructure or the wishes of the local people affected.
I say vote them all out and start over with people who actually care about the citizens of the county more than the dollars from developers.
I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, BUT:
Our area is no longer a quiet farming community. It hasn’t been for 25 years (or longer.) Farmers are not flocking to the intersection of 9 Mile and Pine Forest.
I’m a Beulah native that has lived in both Atlanta AND New York City. The violent crime rate here (35.7) is higher than New York (28.2) but lower than ATL (55.3) This is per thousand residents. Everyone wants to say “we don’t want the city crime rates here,” IT’S ALREADY HERE.
The county needs to focus on strengthening infrastructure and public/emergency services so that these developments don’t sit empty and the already terrible systems in place don’t get worse. More people are coming, we can’t do anything about that, but we can improve the quality of life.
OMG … Lived in Pensacola for 52 years… came back through the area I was raised in and “nothing looks the same” … thats called PROGRESS!
Forbid any progress every take place in the North Escambia area … Never seen such a bunch of folks that just don’t know what they really want…
Its not even 2 acres!! I feel for Mr. White who has lived there for over 40 years this will be ON TOP of his house!! 32 apartments and offices!! I lived on Plymouth for 3 years and it was quite and nice. This will literary Ruin the area!!!
@christina miller
…which do you want?
If you want affordable housing, that’s going to require the construction of more residential buildings, including apartments.
If you want rural housing with tons of property around it, that is going to reduce the supply of homes and drive up prices, making home ownership more difficult on low-income families.
This is ridiculous. We have way too many apartment complexes. Charging outrageous prices. The public keeps speaking out and no one is backing us. As long as yall make money you don’t care about the community, you don’t care if you’re putting people on the streets. There is no way the a single mom with an average paying job could afford that along with all the other priority bills, that are also outrageous and absurd. No one wants more apartments. We want land. We want our farmers back. Stop allowing people from other countries come here and buying property. LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!
NO. It is difficult to maneuver through traffic now. I do not want to live in or near places like NYC or ATL. I was born and raised in ATL. It used to be a nice town. Now it is like the NYC nightmare I once visited. I NEVER want to go back to either place. We are being over-run.
County once had a code you couldnt have commercial property below residences.EXCEPT EXISTING BUILDIG. SPECIALLY THE EXISTING ONES DOWNTOWN . BUT I am sure that will be bypassed as zoning laws were for DOLLAR GENERAL, WHICH WAS CHANGED TO MAKE ( CENTS !)
Build it…. they will come. 2023 Architecture w/ 1950 infrastructure..
Barf.
Terrible idea. 9 mile Rd and Pine Forest Rd is already a nightmare. Adding this proposed building will make the situation even worse. My guess is the building will be a big flop and will be be vacant in 3 years after completion.
I pray this doesn’t go through. Traffic is horrible since they built that credit building down the road. What use to be a nice quit area has turned into one major traffic jam and to add to that with this? I use to live in Pine Forest Royal on Trailwood Drive. Last time I visited friends there I couldn’t get over the traffic increase and how near impossible it was to get into the subdivision. Just the thought… horrible.
NO NO AND NO!!!! We don’t need this! The traffic around this area is crazy as it it now. And they plan on taking down the red light at 297A and Pine Forest and putting a round about there? This county has gone mad!
Yes that area needs more people and traffic..