Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward announced today that he has formed a seven-member Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee to guide the continued growth and development of Pensacola's downtown.

Over a four-month period beginning in February, the committee will be tasked with assisting the Mayor in implementing the redevelopment of the CRA District, including downtown, the waterfront, and the surrounding neighborhoods. Consistent with his 20 Solutions for 2011, Mayor Hayward has encouraged the committee to develop policies that incentivize development of housing with a wide spectrum of affordability and convert vacant and surplus public property to active uses.

“The City has planned and studied the redevelopment of our downtown and waterfront for long enough,” Mayor Hayward said. “There are several redevelopment plans just sitting on the shelf collecting dust.  This is a tremendous opportunity to take action and redevelop our City correctly. We’re seeing some very positive things happening in downtown and along our waterfront, but we have a limited window of time to capitalize on our present momentum, and I’m asking this Advisory Committee to help me formulate an action plan.”

“As a downtown resident and business owner, I’m excited to see Mayor Hayward shift focus from the planning phase to taking action,” said Brian Spencer, Chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency. “This is a great opportunity to focus on the execution of our redevelopment efforts.”

Much like the advisory committees on port and pension issues established last year by Mayor Hayward, the Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee will be asked to produce a report outlining specific recommendations. In a letter to committee members, Mayor Hayward outlined nine goals to guide the committee’s work:

• Build a community that is competitive in today’s economy.
• Replenish the income of the CRA through new capital investment.
• Make productive use of the large inventory of public land.
• Create jobs and a sustainable future for this community.
• Create a walkable community by increasing mixed-use density.
• Insure that opportunities created and resources expended will benefit all.
• Create a waterfront that is a thriving public space.
• Create housing with a wide spectrum of affordability.
• Restore the value of the authentic, historic character of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Mayor Hayward has asked the committee to envision what downtown Pensacola can realistically become in the next three to five years and to determine what actions should be taken to achieve those goals. “It’s my hope that this committee can be a springboard and catalyst for further growth and investment in downtown Pensacola,” Hayward said.

The seven members of the Mayor’s Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee are Dr. Ken Ford, Teresa Dos Santos, Christian Wagley, John Myslak, Brian Hooper, Stephanie Powell, and Shana Neuhaus.