In April of 2011, the owners of the historic building at the foot of Florida Blanca overlooking Pensacola Bay suffered a fire that essentially destroyed their landmark property.
An electrical short caused a fire that quickly spread throughout the building and burned over an extended period of time in the high April winds as firefighters battled the blaze.
The building’s heavy timber foundation system was damaged nearly to the point of collapse. Brick piers and the load bearing walls were compromised across a large part of the building. Every finish was rendered useless as the building suffered what everyone assumed were irreparable damages.
To emphasize the severity of the damages, one need only know that the insurance company determined the building to be a total loss after just a brief inspection.
Repair seemed like an impossible task and replacement was impractical due to code requirements that simply would not allow a similar building to be built in
place. What had been a 5-unit office located on one of the most visible sites in downtown Pensacola appeared to be about to fade into the past.
Not content to just give up, the owners, pressed on.
