CDBG-DR - Owner's Representative and CEI Services - New Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) Facility - HS004

This project is to provide programming, preliminary design and CEI services for the New Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) Facility located on Clarinda Drive in Pensacola, Florida.

The Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) service area consists of Escambia County, City of Pensacola, and a few stops in the City of Gulf Breeze. During the lifespan of the existing ECAT facility, it has suffered flooding damage during every declared emergency event that involved significant rainfall, with the latest flooding occurring on September 16, 2020, when Hurricane Sally made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, near Pensacola, leaving a significant amount of damage in its wake. Hurricane Sally brought heavy rainfall and flooding, causing damage to housing, businesses, and infrastructure in our entire ECAT service area. The high velocity winds, wind-blown debris, and wind driven rain of Hurricane Sally damaged the ECAT buildings including the Administration Building, Bus Wash, Fuel Depot, and Satellite Service Building.

Escambia County requested funding through Rebuild Florida for a new state-of-the-art, energy-efficient and resilient facility for transit operations that will include fixed route and disadvantaged paratransit services. By relocating the facility and operations out of its current flood zone, the new building will be designed and constructed according to the Enhanced Hurricane Protection Area (EHPA) specifications, that will allow it to function as an emergency shelter if the need arises. This project will also mitigate flooding in the area by adding a regional stormwater pond and transportation services to assist in evacuations as needed. In 2024, Escambia County received Community Development Block Grant- Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).