We fully support the OLF-8 Master Plan, but Beulah has changed a lot since it was created nearly six years ago. Given current market conditions and the potential for private ownership of the entire site, we believe some updates may be needed.
These are just initial thoughts—we haven’t done the full research yet, as that process would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, something no developer would invest in without first securing the site under contract.
Additionally, any changes to the Master Plan would require rezoning and a public hearing for community input. If we pursue adjustments, we will be transparent and proactive, clearly explaining what changes we propose and why.
Based on what we know now, we may consider exploring revisions to the OLF-8 Master Plan in three areas.
Support & Enhance Design Standards
First, we wholeheartedly support design standards. Those are incredibly important to ensure that the development enhances the surrounding neighborhoods and provides a cohesive experience for those who live, work, visit, or play at OLF-8. We believe that the Master Plan clearly spells out the best practices of form-based code and new urbanism, and we support those.
We would go one step further by tightening up some of the language regarding some of the restrictions. For example, we see some uncertainty in the Master Plan Design Standards that would allow for metal-sided buildings. We would want to prohibit metal-sided buildings, as we believe those would detract from the overall project and the surrounding area.
Reduce Phasing Restrictions
The second element we would want to reconsider is the phasing of the light-industrial “economic development” parcels. When the plan was originally developed, that phasing was a very smart compromise when there would be both public and private ownership of the site. However, if the BOCC is selling the entire site, we would want to have the flexibility to create the best mix of uses as the buildout proceeds.
As an example, the Kentlands community in the suburbs of Washington, DC, a DPZ-developed community, is right next to a beautiful Astra-Zeneca pharmaceutical facility. Closer to home, the world-renowned Institute for Human and Machine Cognition deliberately chose to locate and expand in the heart of downtown Pensacola.
So, if we are successful in recruiting similar high-skilled, high-wage jobs to OLF-8, and those employers want to be in a walkable, urban, mixed-use environment (because that’s where their employees want to be!), then we want to be able to deliver that.
Incremental Density Changes
Finally, given that the original offers on OLF-8 have almost doubled (from $25 million to $42.5 million), we could seek to increase the density in some of the commercial areas to ensure that the project can be financed and delivered successfully. At the current purchase price, the site as currently planned isn’t cost-feasible. This does NOT mean bringing in high-rise buildings, but it does mean that we might seek less warehouse-sized blocks and more office-sized blocks, for example.