A photo of garden district cottage homes

Garden District Cottages enters phase two

Garden District Cottages, located at the former Blount School property, is beginning to take shape. ParsCo has been busy at work constructing 26 single-family homes.

Eight homes total have been sold. ParsCo is now moving into the second phase of selling and building the homes. You can view phase two availability and homes by visiting ParsCo's website.

ParsCo, LLC designed four different home floor plans for the site: The La Rua, The Baylen, The Belmont and The Gadsden. Homes start at $189,000, come with a one-year warranty and do not have HOA fees.

Six of the 26 homes were designated to be used for the City Housing Incentive Program. One incentive home has already been sold to a police officer. There is currently one incentive home for sale at 959 West Gregory Street.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:
City of Pensacola purchased the property in 2011 using mostly grant funding from the Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block grant. The buildings that housed the former Blount School were demolished and City of Pensacola put out a request for proposals to build. ParsCo won the bid for the sale and development of the property. All of the proceeds were voted by the council to be allocated to the Housing Initiatives Fund.

Jimmy Buffett stops by Port of Pensacola to meet with American Magic team

Jimmy Buffett speaking with Skipper Terry Hutchinson

Jimmy Buffett speaks with Skipper Terry Hutchinson at the Port of Pensacola about American Magic's Mule. The American Magic team is using the Port of Pensacola and Gulf Coast waters to train during the winter for the 36th America's Cup.

Verizon names Pensacola as a best city to start small business

Pensacola made Verizon's list of the 50 best cities to start a small business.

The Go.Verizon.com team gathered data from nearly 300 cities across the country and focused on certain factors that would categorize them as small. The team looked at elements that indicated financial climate and an overview of demographics. Those elements included population, education, travel time to work, income per capita, broadband access, loans per capita and tax scores.

Pensacola placed 17th overall. Logan, Utah placed first with Sarasota and Coral Gables following.

You can read the entire list by visiting Verizon's website.

NASCAR driver Kyle Petty is bringing his charity ride through Pensacola in May

On May 9, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, one of the most successful and popular charity rides in the country, will visit Pensacola Beach during its 25^th Anniversary motorcycle trek.

Former NASCAR driver and NBC Sports racing analyst Kyle Petty will lead 250 participants on a nearly 3,700-mile route, traveling from Seattle to the Keys, to raise funds and awareness for Victory Junction– a camp dedicated to providing life-changing camping experiences for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.

As a result of the Ride, more than 8,185 children from across the country have attended Victory Junction at no cost to their families. The camp has served as the Ride’s primary beneficiary since its establishment by Petty and his family in 2004 in honor of his late son, Adam.

Please find more information at www.kylepettycharityride.com.

A woman and her daughter put food cans in a box

Check your mail! Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is May 11

On Saturday, May 11, 2019, the letter carriers of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will join forces to help Stamp Out Hunger in our community.

In its 27^th year, the National Association of Letter Carriers’ (NALC) annual food drive has grown to be the largest national single-day effort that benefits millions of Americans who struggle to put food on the table. In the last 27 years, communities across the nation have donated 1.67 billion pounds of food. Last year’s food drive netted 71.6 million pounds of food to help feed those in need. Locally, organizations received nearly 125,000 pounds of food from the drive.

A donation of just one dozen cans provides three days’ worth of food, or nine meals for neighbors in need. Residents are encouraged to leave a bag of non-perishable food items, such as canned chicken, canned tuna, canned fruit in 100% juice, dry breakfast items (oatmeal, grits, whole grain cereal), canned vegetables, peanut butter, rice, and/or dry beans next to their mailbox prior to regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 11.

Escambia and Santa Rosa letter carriers will collect food donations for local food banks including Manna Food Pantries, Feeding the Gulf Coast in Pace and Milton, ACTS Ministry of Holley Assembly of God in Gulf Breeze, We Care Ministries of Navarre United Methodist Church, and Warrington Emergency Aid Center.

Join us Sunday for free yoga with Breath Yoga Wellness

It's the start of a new month and that means a free yoga class is coming up.

Join us Sunday, May 5 from 10 to 11 a.m. at Community Maritime Park for the class with Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center instructor Ashlee Brown.

The event is open to all ages and levels of experience, and features certified instructors. The class is free, but you will need to BYOM (Bring Your Own Mat) and any other accessories you would like to use. Water will be provided, but you will need to bring your own bottle or container.

We hope to see you there! Held the first Sunday each month.

Free concert at Brownsville Community Center on May 10

Are you ready to hear some amazing voices?

Join us at the Brownsville Community Center on Friday, May 10 for a concert with the Blue Anchor Belles.

The Blue Anchor Belles will bring their three-part harmonies for a beloved WWII-era bring your own lunch concert. The show will feature top hits from the 40’s and 50’s. This event is for people ages 50 and up.

Concert runs from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Save the date, Sacred Heart Mission in Motion is May 14

sacred heart doctors stand next to a health van

Sacred Heart Mission in Motion is Tuesday, May 14 from 9-11:30 a.m. at Gull Point Resource Center. Heart-health screenings will measure blood pressure, blood sugar and total cholesterol, and can detect anemia. This event is for people ages 50 and up.

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Photo of the lighthouse at NAS Pensacola

Photo Credit: @nutrition.nuggets