Navarre Town Center project has been reimagined, its developer reinvigorated

Tom McLaughlin, Pensacola News Journal
·4 min read

The sight of "For Sale" signs on land businessman Bob Benaquis has been trying for years to develop into a Navarre Town Center might give passersby on U.S. Highway 98 the impression the owner of the popular TC's Front Porch restaurant has finally thrown in the towel.

Benaquis was quick Tuesday to dispel that notion.

"It is alive and well and better than it could ever possibly be," he said when asked the status of the town center project.

Benaquis has listed for sale two parcels that stretch for 270 feet along U.S. 98 between Navarre's Presidio and Luneta streets. The two lots together, each 200-feet deep, comprise a 1.24 acre lot for which he wants $1.86 million. A building presently standing on the property is expected to be torn down.

"Redevelopment of this site will be the first step toward the future proposed Navarre Town Center," sales literature put together by the realtor marketing the property states.

The property for sale is offered as a "prime commercial site" offering an unobstructed view of Santa Rosa Sound within sight of the Navarre Beach Bridge.

This is the building on the land that is being sold to make way for a first phase of the Navarre Town Center complex. The land includes two parcels which together comprise 1.24 acres that front U.S. Highway 98 between Presidio and Luneta Streets in Navarre. Landowner Bob Benaquis is asking $1.86 million for the property, which looks out over Santa Rosa Sound and said that interest in the location is keen.

Benaquis envisions high end hotels, condos, or possibly restaurants on the site. He told the News Journal two businesses that would be compatible with the town center concept have expressed interest in the project and the property and a third, "that everyone would be excited about" had been in contact.

"We're getting all kinds of interest," he said. "It's just a matter of who pays the price."

Benaquis said the sale of the property along U.S. 98 is a preliminary step in a grander plan that now calls for the town center Main Street to be located along Esplanade Street on a 6.5 acre property bordered to the east and west by and Presidio and Prado streets. He said the 125-foot right of ways of Esplanade and Presidio will be put to good use in the envisioned walkable neighborhood.

"We've changed the format. The Navarre Town Center is better than ever. It's going to be good," he said.

The idea of creating a Navarre Town Center originated in 2004 and would have been constructed in the same general area in which Benaquis still sees it coming to fruition, but over the years property available for development in acreage bordered by State Road 87 to the west and U.S. 98 to the south has dwindled considerably.

With just 8 acres to work with, Benaquis went to the Santa Rosa County Zoning Board last November to propose consolidating several zoning categories into a single Planned Business District. That would have allowed him to use the property he held behind his restaurant for the mixed-use development he wanted and let him combine multi-family residential, commercial and retail development, all built around a communal area set aside for social gathering and recreation.

His plans called for construction of up to 122 condominiums, and part of his zoning request was for residential and mixed-use buildings that would stand 25 feet higher than the 50-foot limit mandated in the county's Land Development Code. Benaquis also proposed off-site parking to supplement what could be provided within the development and sought to severely limit the landscape buffering around the site's perimeter.

With its staff having raised serious questions about the project's compatibility with surrounding structures, the Zoning Board tabled the measure and offered to revisit the request in February if some amendments could be made to the plan.

In January, Benaquis, also hampered by the loss of a major investor to personal issues, pulled the rezoning, having decided to regroup and consult with local business leaders whose interests lie outside the development profession.

"I've now got the best minds serving on an advisory board," Benaquis said. "We want to do this right. And I'm going to stay in control and orchestrate the destiny of the Navarre Town Center."

Benaquis on Tuesday shared the development team's latest marketing tool. An introduction to "Florida's Most Relaxing Family Friendly Place."

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Within the body of the marketing program, it is announced that Centennial Bank is considering relocating from an existing local building into one of the new multi-story towers envisioned within the Navarre Town Center. Additionally, a building that long ago housed the Cowboys steak house is to be reopened with outdoor seating at the event lawn space.

The site would connect to a boutique hotel with rooftop bar, adjacent to a parking garage, the marketing plan states. Small businesses and residential offices will fill Esplanade Street and multi-story buildings will look out over the central event space.

Plans also call for landscaping and streetscaping that will "foster a sense of community and connectivity," and promise safe access back and forth across busy U.S. 98.

The Navarre Town Center Planned Business District is more than just a development," the marketing program states. "It’s a visionary endeavor set to redefine Navarre's identity, providing a place for families to congregate and have fun, enriching the lives of residents and visitors alike."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Navarre Town Center plans revived by businessman and developer Bob Benaquis