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Escambia County Finally Approves Sale Of OLF-8 For $42.5 Million
June 6, 2025
Thursday night, the Escambia County Commission unanimously approved the sale of the OLF-8 property in Beulah for $42.5 million. The sale comes after nearly a dozen offers and years of discussion, public input, and negotiations.
Tri-W Development and Chad Henderson Enterprises of Pensacola II are purchasing the entire 540.89 acres of the property on Nine Mile Road. Tri-W is a partnership between Jim Wilson & Associates (JWA), a Montgomery, Alabama, based commercial real estate developer, Chad Henderson, CEO and founder of Pensacola-based Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate, and former Pensacola mayor Ashton Hayward, now a real estate developer.
“I’m excited. I think we’ve got the right partner in place for what will be a transformational and generational long-term project,” Commissioner Steven Barry said.
“I am impressed, and I believe that you will do a fantastic jog out there,” District Commissioner Steve Stroberger.
“I am truly excited for this tonight,” added District 2 Commissioner Mike Kohler. “I didn’t honestly think we were going to get here…it’s a big deal for the board, but it’s bigger deal for the community.”
“Not everything can happen downtown” Kohler said.
The motion to approve the sale was made by Stroberger and seconded by Barry before the unanimous vote and a round of applause from the audience.
“All of confidence (the commission) and the community has put in us is not lost,” Henderson said “It’s a great honor to try to move this project forward…We don’t take the confidence that you have placed in us and how important this is lightly.”
Following a six-month inspection period for engineering testing, title searches and the like, Tri-W will make a single $42.5 million payment.
Under the agreement, the OLF-8 Master Plan (DPZ Design Code), as it may be amended before closing, will be included as a restrictive covenant on the deed.
The final DPZ master plan approved in July 2021 is a combination of commerce, residential and amenities. It allocates 271 acres to commerce and industrial; 61 acres to residential including duplexes, townhomes and multifamily; 47 acres to a mixed-use center such as residential over retail and office over retail; and 45 acres to trails and public amenities such as a post office, school, day care and community garden.
In January 2019, Escambia County acquired OLF-8 in a land swap with the U.S. Navy for property in Santa Rosa County. The county hired DPZ CoDesign to develop the best plan for OLF-8, and the firm presented four plans ranging from a commerce park-based concept to designs with a mix of commerce, residential and green space on the 500 plus acre site along Nine Mile Road in Beulah.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
11 Responses to “Escambia County Finally Approves Sale Of OLF-8 For $42.5 Million”
Give 50 % of the money to the county fire department.
The other half of the money to E C S department.
Bingo we all win.
All the jobs that are coming are NOT COMING !!!!
More housing and more cars !
We all are losers !
Now, lets see how fast the commissioners can waste $42.5 million.
Now let’s get that money spent.
Finally. Let the work begin.
I’m thankful after 6 years, we’re finally moving forward.
Let us hope and pray for good things to come to this land that will enrich our community and those who live here.
Meh
Build it and THEY will come. The final nail in the coffin.
What could possibly go wrong here?
On the plus side, the sale has finally happened and we can move onto new articles about the development, of which I am positive there will be many over the next few years.
On the down side, there are going to be plenty of sore muscles this morning; facial muscles from all the talk of how great a job the commission and developers have done and shoulder muscles from all the “patting one’s self on the back”.
Now this is what I like to see !! This is going to be huge for the area as it will bring
Jobs, and things for people to do up in Beulah! It will be a reason why people want to move here. Now let’s get this built , let’s clean up the neighborhoods, and build a community that people want to raise a family in.
Well I guess the “FINAL” DPZ master plan approved in July 2021 wasn’t so final. Now we get the OLF-8 Master Plan as it may be amended before closing, I can’t see that going well for Beulah.