The City of Pensacola is kicking off the 12-month design and engineering project to reimagine Hollice T. Williams Park and the Long Hollow Stormwater Pond with a Community Event on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the E.S. Cobb Community Center, 601 East Mallory Street.
The project will focus on improving the 1.3-mile park area and amenities, expanding and beautifying the stormwater pond, and connecting the park and pond to the surrounding neighborhoods. With input from the neighborhood, the city hopes to create a beautiful, resilient, and interconnected park that celebrates local heritage and supports community gathering for future generations.
January’s event is the first of several outreach and engagement events to be held over the next several months to collect ideas, input, and feedback on the park and stormwater pond design and amenities. The event will feature discussions on the history of the land and neighborhood, a project overview and timeline, and a brief survey. The project team spearheading these efforts includes Geosyntec Consultants, Michael Van Valkenburgh & Associates, and Jerry Pate Landscape Design.
Mayor D.C. Reeves, who led this most recent effort to improve the park, says the design and expansion of Hollice T. Williams Park and the Long Hollow Stormwater Pond are a generational opportunity for Pensacola.
“Just a few generations ago, this area under the Interstate was a vibrant neighborhood, which we now know as the ‘Lost Neighborhood.’ I’m hopeful that this project will culminate with a park design that is worthy of the people who lived—and live—there, and be an exciting, engaging community space for generations to come,” says Reeves.
Over the past 20 years, several efforts have been made to improve the Hollice T. Williams Park area, which was left when hundreds of residents were displaced during the construction of the I-110 overpass in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The current park design effort, following the recent Equitable Development Framework Plan and the City’s new Strategic Plan, will work to involve residents in the planning process and integrate the history of the Lost Neighborhood into the overall park design.
Long Hollow Stormwater Pond, largely hidden from public view, is located adjacent to Hollice T. Williams Park and is one of a series of retention areas that overflowed during the 2014 rainstorm. This contributed to massive flooding in downtown Pensacola and untreated water runoff into Pensacola Bay. The Hollice T. Williams Design and Expansion project aims to address these and other stormwater issues by expanding the Long Hollow Pond and improving flood control throughout the park area.
Ultimately, park planners hope that with community input and feedback, this project will connect neighborhoods and create a space that all Pensacolians can enjoy and be proud of.
To take the public engagement survey and to receive more information about this project and future public engagement events, please visit https://htwpensacola.com/, Facebook, or Instagram (HTWPensacola).
