Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves wants Baptist Health Care to contribute $3 million to the plan to demolish the old Baptist Hospital property to make way for a new development focused on affordable housing.
Reeves laid out his funding plan on Tuesday to obtain the full $16.4 million needed, including the full number he is requesting from Baptist Health Care. The plan also includes a request from Escambia County for $2 million, while the city would be committing $1 million to the project.
The full summary of the plan came after Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola – who is working in the legislature to obtain state funding to aid in the demolition – questioned the city’s commitment to the projec t.
The city and Baptist are in negotiations for the health care provider to donate most of its 50-acre campus to the city and allow the city to demolish it and find someone to redevelop the property.
The stakes are high for both Baptist Health Care and the city in the negotiations. If the donation goes through, the city could shepherd through a potentially transformative, affordable housing development that could reshape the west side of the city, while Baptist will be free of the burden of maintaining a 50-acre campus it’s trying to divest itself of after failing to sell it on the private market.