REIMAGINE PALAFOX GETS PRELIMINARY APPROVAL

Downtown Pensacola is getting a major makeover. The City Council, who met as the Community Redevelopment Agency on Monday, voted five-to-two to approve more than ten-point-seven million dollars for the Reimagine Palafox project. The council still needs to give final approval Thursday. The project will completely rebuild Palafox Street from Garden to Main with wider sidewalks, better drainage, and brick pavers. The street will be closed for several months starting in January, though sidewalks and storefronts will stay open. Business owners have worried the construction will drive customers away, but businessman Quint Studer pledged to loan money to any business facing cash flow problems during construction. The contractor gets a bonus if Palafox reopens by late May, and the city is making over four hundred parking spaces free during construction. Mayor D-C Reeves says the project will help make downtown a destination for residents and businesses.