Editing Hawkshaw Village

'''Hawkshaw Village''' (previously known as '''Hawkshaw Eastside''') is a mixed-use development slated for construction in the [[Hawkshaw]] area of [[downtown Pensacola]]. It is a joint venture between Hawkshaw Eastside, Inc., comprised of principals [[Jim Reeves]] (who developed the adjacent [[Aragon]] neighborhood), [[Jim Cronley]], [[Bill Whitesell]] and [[Paul Snider]], and [[Moulton Properties]], led by brothers [[Bob Moulton|Bob]] and [[Jim Moulton]].

[[Image:Hawshaw Eastside rendering.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Artist's rendering of the abandoned Hawkshaw Eastside project]]
In [[2006]] the [[Community Redevelopment Agency]] sold a 1.92-acre parcel of city-owned land near the [[Gulf Power building]] at [[9th Avenue]].<ref>"Empty lot is hot property." ''Pensacola News Journal'', June 19, 2006.</ref> They received five proposals for private developments and on [[August 31]], [[2006]] selected the $20 million plan by Hawkshaw Eastside, Inc., which included 94 residential condominiums and 16,000 sq. ft. of commercial space in four three-story buildings.<ref>"City to choose tract's future." ''Pensacola News Journal'', August 31, 2006.</ref> The members of the [[Pensacola City Council]] liked the plan for the guaranteed 25 percent of "workforce" housing included, and the land was sold to the developers for $1.8 million.<ref>"City opts for more condos." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 1, 2006.</ref>

A competing plan submitted by Moulton Properties, called '''Technology Bay at Hawkshaw''', included 12 [[Wikipedia:Brownstone|Brownstone]]-style houses and 76,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. In the scoring procedure used by the City Council, the Moultons' $36.5 million project was a close second to Hawkshaw Eastside, even receiving more first-place votes. After the Hawkshaw Eastside project was selected, Councilman [[Jack Nobles]] attempted to overturn the decision. "I feel the one that got the most first-place votes should be the one the project is awarded to," he said. He was supported by [[John Fogg]], [[J. D. Smith]] and [[P. C. Wu]] (who said he was "confused by the [scoring] process"), but the motion failed.<ref>"Attempt to overturn downtown project fails." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 12, 2006.</ref>

Soon after site work began, the Hawkshaw Eastside developers found that the soil foundation was softer than expected and would require additional support. The increased costs made the initial plan economically unfeasible, so the group approached the Moultons, who owned two additional acres north of the original property, and proposed a partnership combining elements of both plans.

[[Image:HawkshawVillage.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Proposal (since revised) for the new Hawkshaw Village development]]
The resulting plan, named Hawkshaw Village, will stretch across the combined four acres owned by both groups. The amount of commercial space in the new venture quadrupled to 110,000 sq. ft., but the number of residential units was scaled back from 94 to 30, due to a depressed housing market. However, all 30 units will be priced affordably, up from 24 in the Hawkshaw Eastside proposal.<ref name="details">"For altered Hawkshaw Village plans, the details could be deal-killers." ''Pensacola News Journal'', October 21, 2007.</ref>

The revised project and partnership was presented before the [[Pensacola City Council]] in July [[2007]] and approved 6-3 on [[September 24]].

The new plan also calls for a water retention pond to alleviate stormwater issues. The developers have offered to spend about $1 million to build a landscaped pond (including a water feature similar to Tallahassee's [[Wikipedia:Lake Ella|Lake Ella]]) at [[Admiral Mason Park]], which had previously been considered for such a purpose, in exchange for permission to use the city-owned land. Such a proposal will need to receive approval by the state, not expected until March 2008, before the City Council votes on the issue.<ref>"Hawkshaw Village changes OK'd by development panel." ''Pensacola News Journal'', October 24, 2007.</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Hawkshaw]] [[Category:Downtown developments]]