With so many stalls in the development of the city-owned Hawkshaw property, it may seem the property is cursed.

Realtor and developer Bob Montgomery doesn't buy it.

Montgomery's Privateer's Alley development will lie a stone's throw from the city-owned, two-acre Hawkshaw Property on the east side of Ninth Avenue.

Montgomery said he was not disappointed to hear the City Council recently rejected the latest proposals to develop that property.

"I read that Councilman P.C. Wu suggested the Hawkshaw property was 'cursed,'" Montgomery said. "I called him and said I didn't think it was 'cursed,' but that it was 'blessed' because nothing bad had happened there.

"In my opinion, City Council pulled the plug on something that didn't need to be there," he said. "The value of the Hawkshaw property is not going to go down, so it's okay to wait a while for something great to happen there."

Montgomery's long-held plans for Privateer's Alley, a commercial/residential development in the Aragon neighborhood, are moving forward.

Last week, the City of Pensacola's Architectural Review Board gave preliminary approval to the exterior design of a pair of two-story buildings that will house retail space, a craft bar and restaurant, and, in the second building, a wine shop.

Condominiums will occupy the space on the second floor of both buildings, Montgomery said. "We are moving forward," Montgomery said.

Although still several months from a groundbreaking, Montgomery said he has been encouraged by the interest shown in the project.

"It's unusual, almost a new experience for me, but I've had just about every banker in town call me about this project," Montgomery said. "I've been in business in Northwest Florida for 25 years and our stores are all successful, so the banks are looking at this as a pretty good loan."

"But I haven't pinned down who will do financing because I haven't determined the costs yet," he added.

Montgomery is working with two local architectural firms — Architectural Affairs and Bullock Tice — to finish design plans that will be used to determine the estimated cost of the project.

"Our next step is to go full bore with design plans and drawings so we can get to the pricing," he said. "Then we'll take a step back and see where we need to be and who to go to for financing."

Montgomery has had conceptual plans for Privateer's Alley under wraps for years, held at bay, to a large extent, by local and national economic conditions.

But the growing popularity of downtown Pensacola as a residential and commercial hot spot convinced Montgomery to green light the project.

"People just want to be downtown, and that had a lot to do with my decision to go forward with Privateer's Alley," he said. "But if there was any one thing that pushed me to do it, it's been the park across the street."

Admiral Mason Park, which lies directly across Ninth Avenue from Montgomery's Aragon property, underwent extensive landscaping, beautification and conversion to a holding pond some four years ago.

The park makeover was in conjunction with the construction of the nine-acre Pensacola Technology Park, two blocks north of Aragon at Ninth Avenue and Chase Street.

"We've been looking all over town to put another wine store in, and it just dawned on me one day this is the best location in town," he said. "The view from these two buildings across that park, to the bridge and the bay and the lights of Gulf Breeze is spectacular."

"I don't think there is a better coastal water view in West Florida," he said.

Once built, Privateer's Alley will feature two buildings, separated by a 20-foot wide alley. Parking will be at the rear of the wine shop and restaurant.

Montgomery said the site will be five feet off the grade of Ninth Avenue to protect both buildings from flooding, which occurred most recently in spring of 2014.