Nine-story hotel may take place of New World Landing in downtown Pensacola

Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal
·2 min read

Another hotel is being proposed for downtown Pensacola.

Developers are requesting to tear down New World Landing at 600 S. Palafox St. and replace it with a nine-story, 231-room Hilton-branded hotel.

Grace Construction Consultants is developing the new hotel for the 3H Group Hotels out of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The new hotel will be a dual-branded Hampton Inn and Suites and Home 2 Suites By Hilton.

The new building will feature a roof-top bar and pool, as well as meeting space. The ground floor will have a restaurant and bar as well as a space for a potential retail tenant, according to conceptual plans submitted to the Pensacola Architectural Review Board.

The view of a proposed nine story hotel that may replace New World Landing as viewed from Palafox Street.
The view of a proposed nine story hotel that may replace New World Landing as viewed from Palafox Street.

New World Landing has been a well-known landmark for events in downtown Pensacola since it opened in 1983 as a redevelopment project of a former warehouse of a St. Regis Paper Company cardboard box factory. The boutique hotel has offered 16 rooms for visitors and served as a popular venue for local political events. The Panhandle Tiger Bay Club used the venue to host many of its events, bringing in high-profile speakers to the city.

The building was damaged in Hurricane Sally, forcing the restaurant Skopelos, housed in New World Landing, to close its doors.

The warehouses that were redeveloped in the 1980s date to the 1950s, according to the property appraiser's website, while the factory they were attached to was built in the late 19th century. However, the factory was demolished in 1978 after the factory closed in 1976, according to News Journal archives.

Developers are seeking a permit to demolish the New World Landing complex at 600 South Palafox Street to make way for a new hotel.
Developers are seeking a permit to demolish the New World Landing complex at 600 South Palafox Street to make way for a new hotel.

The New World Landing building is listed as a "non-contributing structure" to the Palafox Historic Business District by the city, meaning the building does not contribute to the historic preservation elements of the district.

New World Landing has been listed for sale since February.

This latest project is at least the fifth pending hotel development proposed for downtown Pensacola.

Other proposed locations for new large hotels include Palafox and Romana streets, Jefferson and Chase streets, Gregory Street and 13th Avenue, and across the street from the latest project is a pending hotel project with the city at Jefferson and Cedar streets.

The ARB will meet to discuss the proposed demolition and concept for the new hotel at 2 p.m. on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Hampton Inn and Homes 2 may replace Skopelos, New World Landing