Home Sellers See Flat Summer

Insurance could prove dark cloud for housing sales

According to the PNJ housing sales and prices in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties held steady through the summer months, but are down sharply from a year ago, based on recent data from Metro Market Trends. August's new-home sales numbers in Escambia, for example, were down by nearly 50 percent over the same month in 2005, while total resales of existing homes dropped by 25 percent.

Despite the year-to-year drop, August sales numbers and prices were little changed from June and July figures. And that's good news for sellers, MMT co-owner Al Muller said. His company's research of all homes sold in the two-county area shows median home prices have leveled off since March and remain stubbornly high, despite a sluggish buying market. Muller said the median price for new and resale homes has flattened out at $133,000, after bottoming at about $90,000 in January 2005. Carlton Proctor - PNJ

Where are the buyers? Are the houses still overpriced? Is the current economic uncertainty prohibiting people from moving forward with home ownership? Let's discuss the current housing situation.

Maritime Park Drives Construction Downtown

Voters' approval of the Community Maritime Park project last week was big morale booster for downtown developers, but the good news didn't prompt a flood of phone calls from prospective customers. Pragmatic condo buyers are taking a long hard look at soaring insurance costs and property taxes, with many concluding it's better to wait for better times. Many say the heady days of flipping condos for big bucks are long gone. "The maritime park was a huge boost," said David Bailey, director of the City of Pensacola's Community Redevelopment Agency. "But (casualty) insurance is a serious issue. Insurance costs have more than doubled. "Serious, indeed, for many developers like John S. Carr, who recently saw his casualty insurance costs on a $5 million downtown building leap from $27,000 to $190,000 per year.

"There are signs that things are happening downtown," Bailey said. "We're seeing some interesting and unusual stores and shops opening on Palafox Street. "Bailey believes redevelopment of downtown areas comes in waves. "As a couple of people move into new units it tends to attract a wave of people," he notes. "We're 10 years into the momentum of downtown turning around, and I think there are a lot of good things to come."

- PNJ Sept 10, 2006

VOTERS OK Maritime Project

Yes, it's official. The residents of Pensacola have spoken. We want a downtown waterfront project. The $70 million project passed in the referendum vote yesterday. This is the artist's rendering of the park:

Stay tuned for updates. Time schedule seems to indicate 1 year for plans, permits, raising money, etc and then another year before it gets going. Looks like we may be moving Pensacola into the 21st century (kicking & screaming)!

Digging History in Pensacola

Written By Diane Lacey Allen

Flags of five different nations may have flown over downtown Pensacola, but it was recently the unmistaken territory of busy archaeologists.

In a continuing effort to dig up history on this area, the University of West Florida turned land behind the T.T. Wentworth, Jr., Florida State Museum into an active excavation site.

Expanding research on a Colonial commanding officer's compound, the downtown field-training project was a visitor-friendly undertaking continuing the school's dedication to public archaeology. Visitors were not only welcome to watch UWF graduate and undergraduate students at work, but encouraged to participate in the process.

Although you couldn't actually get in the trenches, visitors were able to help with what is called "rough sorting" through the beginning of August, 2005. What was great about this initial phase is that by virtue of the proximity to the dig and your task, visitors could become one of the first to discover an historical find – such as the double-barrel well the dig uncovered that dates back to the Spanish colonial period. Archaeologists are currently sifting through their finds to see what other rarities can be revealed.

Pensacola, after all, is one of the oldest National Register Historic Districts – a city that dates to 1559 – and the community's rich heritage goes deeper than a few inches of topsoil.

The Pensacola area is the product of many influences, having been home to Spanish sailors, French Creole settlers, British soldiers, Confederates and modern-day residents. But thanks to preservation efforts, Pensacola's past can be covered on foot via the Colonial Archaeological Trail.

The trail is set off in downtown by metal markers that identify the remains of structures, a commanding officer's trash pit as well as remnants of an outdoor oven and British fort.

If you have questions, stop by the Tivoli House in the Historic Pensacola Village. The village is another downtown walking exhibit that explains Pensacola's history through buildings and practical artifacts.

Important to this educational cluster of varying architecture is the T.T. Wentworth, Jr., Florida State Museum. It was built in 1907 and is the former Pensacola City Hall.

The museum is known for its Renaissance Revival design, rotating exhibits and children's Discovery section. This June, it will look at meteorological history with a presentation that contrasts and compares Hurricane Ivan and an unnamed 1926 storm. A display on the African American press in Pensacola is another new exhibit opening in July.

Historic Pensacola Village also features the Museum of Industry, which demonstrates the importance lumber once played in this area. The Museum of Commerce, meanwhile, shows how early vendors sold everything from hardware to bakery items with realistic storefronts.

The Julee Cottage, an 1805 building, is devoted to the memory of the "free woman of color" who lived there. That independent spirit continues as you stroll from the village to the Seville Quarter's restaurant and nightclub complex.

Pensacola's past is also well represented at the University of West Florida Archaeological Institute's Museum, which is on the school's campus. The museum's artifacts come from shipwrecks and Colonial times and cover everything from cannons to ceramics.

SEPT 8-24 - OKLAHOMA is coming to town!

PENSACOLA LITTLE THEATRE MAINSTAGE SERIES, OKLAHOMA!

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, having set the standards and established the rules of musical theatre still being followed today. Set in a Western Indian Territory just after the turn of the century, the high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smooth, with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love’s journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. That they will succeed in making a new life together we have no doubt, and that this new life will begin in a brand-new state provides the ultimate climax to the triumphant OKLAHOMA! Ticket prices from $75 - $100; For more information about these Pensacola Little Theatre productions and events, please call 850.434.0257 or 850.432.2042

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

EXPANSION OF DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

Please be advised that Resolution No.18-06 was approved by the City Council of the City of Pensacola on Thursday, July 27, 2006, calling for a public hearing to be held on Thursday, September 14, 2006 at 7:00 p.m., in Council Chambers, first floor of City Hall, 180 Governmental Center.

The purpose of the public hearing will be to receive public comment respecting a proposed ordinance to be entitled:

AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE PENSACOLA DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT BOARD, A SPECIAL TAXING DISTRICT SUBJECT TO AD VALOREM TAXATION; PROVIDING FOR THE INCORPORATION OF NEW AREAS INTO THE PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED DOWNTOWN AREA SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE OWNERS OF CERTAIN FREEHOLDS WITHIN EACH SUCH AREA; PROVIDING FOR REFERENDUM ELECTION OF FREEHOLD OWNERS WITHIN EACH AREA; REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

The proposed ordinance provides for a separate referendum election for each of the areas depicted and described below, except for the area labeled “Downtown” which currently is in the Downtown Area and under the jurisdiction of the Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board. The City Council reserves the right to eliminate any lands from an area, as published, in the final determination of the boundaries.

Take a Virtual Tour of Homes in North Hill

The Historic North Hill area has many beautiful homes for sale.
Click on the address for your virtual tour of the home.

920 BAYLEN ST N
208 GADSDEN ST W
14 GADSDEN ST W

Call me 850-393-5134 for a personal tour of any home.
Visit www.TheParadiseHomeTeam.com website for a complete list of homes available in the Downtown Penacola area.

Meet-N-Greet - Aug 25 - 4-6pm

You are invited to a Meet-N-Greet on Pensacola Beach, Aug 25, 4-6 pm to meet me and my new associates at Paradise Coastal Realty.

Drive over to Pensacola Beach or dock your boat at the Paradise Bar-n-Grill and take a short walk to our office for FREE food, drink and friendship.

Paradise Coastal Realty, Inc is located at 29 Via De Luna Dr, just past Paradise Inn look for Paradise Home Rentals. We can offer it all to you.

Welcome to Blogging Downtown Pensacola!

Downtown Pensacola is unique with 5 distinct neighborhoods.

Belmont/Devilliers Mixing diverse culture with education, this historic African-American business district is now home to glass-blowing artistry, the Belmont Art and Cultural Center, the city’s public library and Pensacola Junior College’s downtown campus.

Old East Hill A true historic preservation district on the east side of downtown Pensacola, Old East Hill is a place rich with traditions. Preserved for it’s historical significance in one of Florida’s oldest cities, Old East Hill enjoys charming, traditional homes, new condominiums and a neighborhood steep with tradition.

Gateway The Gateway district is alive with a full spectrum of nearby restaurants, businesses and parks. Just a step away is Pensacola’s very own “restaurant row” – home to unique spots for you to enjoy the day’s fresh catch or watch the famous sunset over the bay.

Waterfront Scenic vistas dominate this neighborhood known for its proximity to both Pensacola Bay and Palafox Street. A perfect combination for those who want to live close enough to the water to fish practically off their front porch, while still being able to go to work just a few blocks away.

Seville Historic District Unique shops, restaurants and businesses in restored shotgun houses and beautiful victorian homes. A place where you know your neighbor and you enjoy the historic nature of downtown Pensacola.