Editing Trillium property

The '''Trillium property''' is the most common name of the 27.5-acre parcel of waterfront land that sits south of [[Main Street]] roughly between [[Spring Street|Spring]] and [[De Villiers Street]]s, overlooking [[Pensacola Bay]]. It is owned by the [[City of Pensacola]] and will be the site of the [[Vince Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park]].

==Previous tenants==
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==Purchase by City==
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On [[March 28]], [[2000]], the [[Pensacola City Council]] voted 8-0 to purchase the property for $3.63 million.<ref>"City OKs contract to buy Trillium site." ''Pensacola News Journal'', March 29, 2000.</ref>

==Festival Park==
{{main|Festival Park}}
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On [[May 31]], [[2001]], a [[Festival Park]] project was proposed by [[Bullock Tice Associates]] to occupy the site. The $40 million plan, which included a 16-acre public park, an $18 million auditorium (to replace the aging [[Bayfront Auditorium]] on [[Palafox Street]]) and space for future development, was approved by the [[Pensacola City Council]] on [[November 21]], [[2002]]. Initial work had already begun, including a massive concrete group called [[Citizens Against Trillium]] petitioned for a referendum on the project. On [[March 25]], [[2003]] the citizens of Pensacola voted to overturn the Council's decision and scrap the plan.

==Community Maritime Park==
{{main|Vince Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park}}
In late [[2004]], months after [[Hurricane Ivan]] devastated the Pensacola area, city leaders including City Manager [[Tom Bonfield]] and Mayor [[John Fogg]] met with retired Vice Admiral [[Jack Fetterman]] and others to discuss ideas about a possible "maritime park" project for the Trillium site. The [[Community Maritime Park Associates]] (CMPA) was formed and presented a preliminary proposal to the [[Pensacola City Council]], which approved the concept on [[January 18]], [[2005]].

In opposition to the proposed development, [[Charles Fairchild]] (a leader of the earlier [[Citizens Against Trillium]] group) organized another group called [[Save Our City]] with [[Marty Donovan]], the only [[Pensacola City Council]] member to vote against the plan. The group gathered enough petitions to force a voter referendum on the issue. The [[Community Maritime Park]] project survived the [[September 5]], [[2006]] election.

Under the plan, the Trillium property will be managed by the non-profit [[CMPA]] organization (for a perfunctory $1/year lease) and will include a multi-use stadium and ballpark for the [[Pensacola Pelicans]], a 50,000 square-foot [[maritime museum]], [[University of West Florida]] classrooms, a conference center, mixed-used commercial developments, and large public green spaces along [[Pensacola Bay]]. All net revenue collected by the Park will be deposited into the [[City of Pensacola]] budget.

==References==
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[[Category:Properties owned by the City of Pensacola]]
[[Category:Community Maritime Park]]