PENSACOLA
Pensacola’s first ever permanently affordable housing project is official
Jim LittlePensacola News Journal
Updated Aug. 21, 2026, 9:03 a.m. CT
Pensacola has officially “sold” the former Malcolm Yonge Gym property to be part of the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust and the future site of nine homes that will be required to be affordable for at least a century
The transfer of the property closed Aug. 19, and Pensacola Habitat for Humanity now owns the land as part of its Northwest Florida Community Land Trust. Additionally, the city is paying $590,000 into the Land Trust to subsidize the construction of the homes and provide homebuyer assistance
Pensacola Habitat’s Northwest Florida CLT uses what’s known as a shared-equity model to keep the homes affordable for at least 99 years, but also allows the owners of the home over that time to build equity while still keeping the home affordable for the next owner
The legal structure is set up so that the annual housing cost, including utilities, is no more than one-third of a person’s income, for someone making between 80% and 120% of the area’s median income. At the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s current estimate for Pensacola’s area median income, that would mean the maximum cost for these homes, including utilities, would be between $1,374 and $2,061. Pensacola Habitat has not yet released its estimates for what these homes will cost.
Pensacola Habitat for Humanity will build the homes and find qualified buyers
The CLT is designed to solve a problem that has plagued previous non-rental affordable housing projects done by the city or non-profits like Habitat for Humanity, where homes built with subsidies are only affordable for the first owner. The development of the former Blount Junior High School in 2018 is an example. The affordable homes were sold to qualified buyers at $180,000, and in some cases just two years later, those same homes built with city subsidies were sold on the private market for as much as $394,000.
Pensacola Habitat for Humanity CEO Sam Young explained to the City Council that earlier this year CLT homes can be a path to full homeownership. He explained that under the Land Trust, a home could sell to the first buyer for $210,000. Ten years later, the home could be worth $500,000 on the private market but would sell to the second qualified buyer for only $250,000, while the first owner would get up to $100,000 from the home’s equity
“Our goal with this project is to make homeownership possible for working families in a part of our community where rising housing costs have put it increasingly out of reach,” Young said in an Aug. 20 city press release. “These nine homes are being built for the families and individuals who make our community run, and the Community Land Trust ensures this investment will continue serving working families for generations
Reeves said that signing the legal documents turning over the property was one of the first things he did when he came into his office the morning after his reelection
“It’s been a long journey and a heavy lift to do something unprecedented in our city to get that many houses permanently affordable, but we’re very excited to be here,” Reeves said
Demolition of Malcolm Yonge was Reeves’ first controversial decision
The decision to demolish the old Malcolm Yonge Gym in 2023 and turn it into affordable housing was one of the first decisions from Reeves that drew real controversy at City Council meetings, with members of the public turning out to oppose the closure of the center
The gym was no longer being used by the city but rather leased to a private school. The building had to close even to the private school, as the unique arches made of laminated wood that held up the gym were rotted, and city engineers said they would have to be fully replaced
The cost estimates at the time were $1 million for the repairs just to make the building safe and not even address other issues. Reeves recommended it be demolished so the land could be donated for affordable housing
The decision drew backlash from opponents at the time, who argued the city’s estimate was too high. At least two of the people who spoke out against it would run for mayor against Reeves in 2026: Ann Hill and Jermaine Williams
The City Council voted to approve the demolition in a 6-1 vote, with Councilman Charles Bare voting against
Councilwoman Teniadé Broughton, whose 2024 election opponent used her support of the gym’s demolition as a mark against her, reacted to the news of the land donation on Aug. 19
“I will absolutely never let y’all forget that y’all chose a privately used gym on public land in D5 over affordable housing, then attempted to have us removed from office for trying to build Habitat Homes,” Broughton wrote on Facebook
Cobb Center avoids same fate
The Cobb Community Center’s gym has a near-identical design using the glulam arches, and the city is rehabilitating that gym’s arches as part of the Direction ‘25 program to catch up on long-deferred maintenance at city parks and community centers
Reeves said that the city had spent $1 million on the Cobb Center project that has restored the arches there. The project also included repairs to the roof, windows, doors and gutters
“The Cobb Center was in much better shape than Malcolm Yonge ever was, or anywhere close to, and it was about a $1 million fix,” Reeves said
Reeves said the Cobb Center will need more work, but the large project to restore the arches is complete
“That was the big one, and if we didn’t want it to see the same fate, where it was unsalvageable, we had to get that done,” Reeves said
Jim Little is the City Government Accountability Reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. If you have a news tip, please send it to jwlittle@pnj.com
