Pensacola code enforcement cracking down on owner of crumbling Trailways Bus Depot

The old Trailways Bus Station near downtown Pensacola appears to still be crumbling, despite efforts by the city’s Architectural Review Board to save it.

The city has noticed the owners of the property, Immanuel Lutheran Church, that the case will now go before a magistrate to determine if fines should be levied over the deteriorating condition of the historic building.

The city of Pensacola Code Enforcement Authority said the building is in violation of a long list of codes due to issues including damaged exterior walls, a dilapidated roof and overhang, excessive rusting and peeling paint.

The church has long been aware of the condition of the property but has told the city they’d rather see the building torn down than repaired and remodeled.

How did the Trailways Bus Depot get this way?

A year ago, Immanuel Lutheran Church petitioned the Architectural Review Board for permission to demolish the old bus depot to make way for a parking lot. The church needed the ARB’s approval because the building, located at 301. N. Baylen St., is in the Palafox Historic Business District.

The designation means the board uses special land development codes to evaluate a property owner’s request. Those codes include determining the historical and architectural significance of the building, as well as taking a closer look at what replacement plans the owner has for it.

The ARB board unanimously denied the demolition request saying there are no financial, unusual or compelling circumstances to justify demolishing the historically and architecturally significant building.

The 1960s era building served as a bus station and lunch counter and was often a meeting place for local civil rights leaders in Pensacola at the time. Several residents and city leaders spoke in favor of restoring and repurposing the property.

Last year, Mattair Construction petitioned the city on behalf of Immanuel Lutheran Church saying the building needed to go because it’s falling apart, is unsafe and attracts homeless individuals who often leave trash or human waste on the property.

Members of the ARB said the condition of the property is the owner’s responsibility and the church allowed it to get to this point by making it a case of “demolition by neglect.”

“It is important to the integrity of the district both as a modern tie to a historic area that connects it to the world as a bus station at a time when that was an important link to the world. It is the last of its kind in the area,” the board said.

The ARB also said a parking lot would be a “detriment to the area” and would not solve complaints of homelessness, but preserving the building and reusing it, perhaps as a business, would deter vagrants and earn money for the church.

Previously: Trailways Bus Station spared from demolition and deemed significant to Pensacola history

What happens to the old bus station now?

At the code enforcement hearing Immanuel Lutheran Church will have the opportunity to make its case before the special magistrate rules on it.

City officials have said the church has already had a year to either make repairs or appeal the ARB’s decision and did not follow through on either. Most problem property owners only get about two weeks to appeal a decision.

The church could be assessed fines of up $250 a day if the magistrate determines violations exist and are not corrected, and up to $500 a day if a repeat violation is found.

If at some point the city believes issues are not getting resolved, code enforcement also has the authority to abate the violations and place a lien on the property to recover any costs.

The quasi-judicial hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. April 16 in the Hagler-Mason Conference Room at City Hall.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Immanuel Lutheran Church Trailways Bus Depot is crumbling