USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 19, No. 7
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
February 13, 2019
1 Section, 8 Pages
Escambia County staff and commissioners exchange deeds with officials from Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast at the county headquarters in downtown Pensacola on Jan. 29.
With OLF-8 in hand, county must decide Beulah’s future BY WILL ISERN
On Tuesday, Jan. 29 a Navy helicopter ceremoniously lifted off from a roughly 600 acre field adjacent to the Navy Federal Credit Union campus in Beulah and Escambia county finally took possession of the property known as Outlying Field 8. The Navy, in return, got a new, $17.5 million helicopter field in Santa Rosa County. The land swap brings into Escambia County’s possession what is arguably the most desirable and important piece of property for the future economic development of Escambia County. “When you look at all of our property adjacent to the interstate, this is the only tract we have,” said FloridaWest Economic Development CEO Scott Luth. “Everything else we have has been developed, has topography issues or potential wetland issues … I’m not going to say it’s the only one, but it is the largest one closest to the interstate.” At 636 acres with frontage along 9 Mile Road, the land has the potential to create jobs and bring sorely lacking amenities to an area of the county that has seen explosive growth as Navy Federal has expanded its Pensacola campus to employ more than 6,000 people. The trick will be striking a balance between the county’s desire for jobs, Navy Federal’s need for more space, the private sector’s
wishes for the property and the needs of Beulah residents. Offers to buy portions of the land have already come in. Navy Federal has offered $4.2 million to purchase 100 acres abutting the western border of its campus, and a group of private developers have offered $18 million for the remaining 530 acres. Meanwhile, Escambia County has its own plan to use $30 million in BP oil spill money develop the property as a commerce park and create 1,000 jobs. And all of these plans are likely contingent on the results of a master planning process which could take more than a year to complete. OLF-8, as its known, was identified more than 20 years ago as important asset and economic development heads have worked since to see it come into the county’s hands. The question facing county leaders now is, “What is the highest and best use for the land?” District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh represents Beulah on the Escambia County board of County Commissioners and
lives across Nine Mile Road from the OLF-8 property. Bergosh is adamant that the property be used to create the necessary 1,000 jobs so as to qualify for the $30 million in BP oil spill money. Practically, Bergosh said he envisions shops and restaurants along 9 Mile Road and mixed-use development further from the road. “We need more amenities for the community provided by the private sector, and I mean restaurants, shops, things of that nature,” Bergosh said. “It’s sad to say right now if you want a hot meal in Beulah, you’re only option is a Tom Thumb gas station … So if I had to guess right now I think you’ll see amenities, shops, restaurants on the frontage of Nine Mile Road, you’ll probably see a center portion dedicated to some job creation and probably the back maybe some mixed-use, maybe some lofts, something like that, and some sort of a town center feature. That’s what I anticipate the master planner will come up with, but that’s about a year away.” Alongside its offer to
purchase the 100 acres, Navy Federal has also offered to pay up to $2 million to fund the master plan for the property. The company is currently constructing two new massive office buildings at its Heritage Oaks campus that, when complete, will double the amount of office space from one million to two million square feet. When those buildings are complete, company spokesman Bill Pearson said, parking will become a challenge. “That’s where the OLF-8 property really comes in to play for us,” Pearson said. “We would use some of that property to expand some of our parking for that side of the campus, and then we also are committing to creating some recreational space for both our employees and for the public to use.” If the county agrees to sell the 100 acres Navy Federal wants, the company has promised to create an additional 300 jobs, or roughly a third of the jobs necessary to secure the BP money. Navy Federal is on track to have 10,000 employees working at its campus by 2022. Not long after Navy Federal made its offer for the 100 acres, private developers Hemmer Consulting LLC and 68 Ventures LLC put forth their offer of $18 million for the lion’s share of the property. Hemmer developed
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the Huntington Creek subdivision in Beulah and is working under the county’s mid-west sector plan to build more than 10,000 homes. Hemmer said he supports the master planning process for the site and would hope to develop a town center project. “I see it as a good opportunity where we have a huge investment in this area,” Hemmer said. “We think the master plan that the county will go through is what should be done there. We think that by letting the county control that planning process it would result in something that we would enjoy developing.” For all the years and dollars it has taken for the county to get to this point with OLF8, the project is effectively at square one. It remains to be seen whether the county will accept either of the offers it has been presented, or whether it will be able to secure the $30 million in BP money. One thing is certain, however. Whatever happens with OLF-8 will change Beulah forever. “I think it’s going to produce something that’s a win-win for the business community, a win for Navy Federal, a win for residents like me who are looking for a couple restaurant options, perhaps a big-box grocery store,” said Bergosh. “I think there’s a lot of good things in store for Beulah and this will just be one part of it.”
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