A newly revealed plan to develop a sprawling 1,760-acre segmented industrial park near the Cantonment community is being met with a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism.

Called "The Bluffs — Northwest Florida's Industrial Campus," the project is a partnership among Emerald Coast Utilities Authority, Ascend, Gulf Power and the University of West Florida.

The proposed industrial park sites would occupy four large parcels of land that lie north of the UWF campus and east of U.S. 29.

All four parcels — ranging from 580 acres to 258 acres —  are situated along bluffs that follow Escambia Bay and the Escambia River.

The plan was unveiled last week by FloridaWest, the lead economic development agency for Escambia County to generally favorable reviews.

"Seeing a project like this successfully come to fruition would have a multi-generational effect of creating jobs, and above-average wages, not just in District 5 but in all of Escambia County," said Escambia County Commission Chairman Steven Barry, whose District 5 includes the proposed park sites.

Barry said The Bluffs project has the potential to re-create the kind of robust economic environment that harkens back some three decades when Ascend (then Monsanto) and International Paper (then St. Regis Paper Co.) had workforces in the thousands and were paying comparatively high wages.

Today, those companies have dramatically reduced workforces, numbering in the hundreds.

While some welcomed the project, others in the Cantonment community were withholding judgment until they could gather more information.

Questions abound about the massive project, said Josh Womack, co-chairman of the Cantonment Improvement Committee.

"My concern is what kind of markets are these parks going to bring into this area, and are we going to have our kids and our workforce trained and ready for those markets," Womack said.  

Womack said his committee also is wondering why its members were not given the opportunity for input prior to the unveiling of the industrial park plan.

"We have not been approached yet about this project," he said. "But with them (FloridaWest) knowing all the work we've put in to Cantonment, and trying to improve this community, I would figure they would come to us and ask us what we think about this project."

Cantonment resident Jacquelyn Rogers echoes Womack's concerns.

"I heard about it last week for the first time, and I know some of the people who live up here are asking why are we just now hearing about," Rogers said.

"Obviously, everybody likes the idea of jobs for Escambia County. But some of the people I've been talking to are worried about what kind of jobs will be located at this proposed industrial park," she said. "Will it be office complex jobs, or factory jobs? And, of course, what will be the environmental impact?"

FloridaWest officials in discussing the project said it would be important to maintain the natural and environmental assets of the area. The project’s website notes: “the master-planned The Bluffs will integrate the location’s natural assets for a unique setting providing business benefits, access to nature, and a variety of recreational benefits to workers and residents of the area.

“When complete, the campus is envisioned to be an environmental showcase, providing a model backdrop balancing the needs of industry with a work environment that helps to attract and keep a diverse, dynamic workforce.”

In early stages, some questions arise

Beyond the environmental and economic impacts, Rogers also questions whether there is a need for such a large park when the county's 240-acre Central Commerce Park, near Cantonment and just off U.S. 29, is largely empty of tenants.

"A little bit north of where I live is the Central Commerce Park," Rogers said. "So, we're real good about building these things, and clearing the land and putting in infrastructure. But we're not real good about making sure it's a viable plan, and making sure these things get built and are actually occupied by tenants."

The 240-acre Central Commerce Park's roads and infrastructure improvements were paid for with some county matching money, but primarily with two federal EDA grants totaling $1.7 million that were allocated in 2001 and 2002.

Rogers cites the Pensacola Technology Campus in downtown Pensacola as an example that disproves the adage: "Build it and they will come."

The 9.5-acre tech park, at Ninth Avenue and Gregory Street was developed with a $2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Agency in 2010.

So far, not a single tenant has leased space in the facility, which has all underground utilities in place.

FloridaWest is finalizing a contract with Space Florida to build a $9 million office building on the site. Caldwell and Associates were selected by Space Florida last year to design the building, which would accommodate an as-yet-unnamed aerospace industry supplier.

"There are no guarantees that if they build these parks companies will come and lease the land," Womack said. "So, to me, to make this whole thing more attractive to outside companies, you've got to have the workforce training to match the skills these industries are looking for."

Rogers said she is hearing from her neighbors who are asking how much taxpayer money or RESTORE Act dollars from the BP oil spill fines will go into developing The Bluffs, a cost expected to be well into the tens of millions of dollars.  

Both Womack and Rogers said there are many existing infrastructure needs in the Cantonment area, including paving several unpaved roads.

"They are using taxpayer monies to do the feasibility studies on these four park properties," Rogers said. "And I'm sure they will be asking for more money from the state. So the taxpayers should have a say in all this. If this were being done with private dollars, then I'd say, '"Hey, it's their land, their money.

"But if they're going to be asking for tax dollars for infrastructure improvements, then we should have a say in it," she said.

Long-range plan will take time to unfold

Despite the concerns, Barry is guardedly optimistic the project will move forward.

"I think the potential of The Bluffs is really fantastic and it's exciting; but it's going to be a long-term project," he said.

"It certainly appears from the economic feasibility study that just came back that the combination of infrastructure in the area — the high-grade rail line, natural gas line, two barge terminals, ECUA and the Gulf Power Crist generating plant — that is a huge grouping of assets that's somewhat unique in the state.

"I know that economic development is something that we as elected officials talk a lot about, and this is the very type of economic development that could really have an impact," Barry said.

Tim Haag, is on board of FloridaWest. He also is director of government affairs for ECUA, which owns property that covers Live Oak and Longleaf bluffs.

“What makes this exciting is the potential for bringing in additional industrial and commercial jobs into the area,” Haag said. “We have readily accessible infrastructure with the Central Water Reclamation Facility in place.”

The facility, which went on line in 2010, provides reclaimed water to Gulf Power and International Paper for their uses. That could be an option as well for any future Bluffs tenant.

While the project is in the very early stages, Haag said, for example, should a prospect want to buy or lease a portion of The Bluffs that ECUA owns, FloridaWest would be the gatekeeper for the early stages of such a project, but the utility’s board members would have say on any property transaction.

Haag noted the project’s tremendous potential, and stressed that this is a long-range economic development effort.

“It will take a while to fully unfolded,” he said.