Escambia County Charts New Course on 100-Plus-Acre Superfund Site

Mixed-use development plan targets jobs, housing, and community investment

Escambia County, FL (Newsradio 92.3) -- Escambia County commissioners are moving forward with a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the hundred-plus-acre superfund site on North Palafox that could bring manufacturing jobs, affordable housing, and long-delayed investment to a historically marginalized neighborhood.

The site, contaminated by the Escambia Wood Treating Company from 1942 to 1982, has remained largely undeveloped since the EPA transferred it to the county in 2018. Thursday's Escambia County Commitee of the Whole meeting outlined three primary uses: precision manufacturing and warehousing (northern parcels), affordable housing (southern parcels), and a three-acre community center for Englewood Community Church.

Lifting Restrictions Through Testing

A key breakthrough is a new path to removing EPA residential-use restrictions. The county will conduct soil testing on southern parcels to determine if uncontaminated areas can be opened for affordable housing development. This addresses a decades-long promise to the Palafox community, which saw nearly 400 families displaced during the original environmental cleanup—the third-largest forced relocation in U.S. history.

"The majority of this land was not contaminated," District 3 Commissioner Lumon May told the board. "There's a lot of safe land where children were eating."

Economic Development with Community Benefit

For the northern parcels, economic development officials are targeting precision manufacturing and warehouse operations that would create jobs. However, commissioners rejected the idea of full tax exemptions, insisting that businesses contribute to neighborhood improvements.

"The county should be receiving funds," Commissioner May said. "We need to figure out how lease fees stay within that geographical area."

Next Steps

County staff will present soil-testing cost estimates at a meeting later this month. Appraisals and a master plan are expected by late January. Commissioner May is also planning a trip to EPA headquarters in Washington to explore federal support for the project. The redevelopment comes as the county seeks to revitalize a neighborhood that has struggled for decades with infrastructure gaps, flooding, and limited economic opportunity.