Rick Outzen December 30, 2025 1 Comment
The selection of Bayou District Group as the development advisory consultant for the redevelopment of the old Baptist Hospital site fell apart when the item was pulled from the Pensacola City Council agenda earlier this month.
At today’s press conference, Mayor D.C. Reeves stated that his focus on the project is the demolition of the hospital building. “At the moment, we’ve got a monstrosity of a project ahead of us for the next 18 months, which is to demolish the building.”
- He added, “And one thing I feel real positive about in community feedback is that no one wants to keep the building. So if we all can agree on that, on 100% consensus on something, let’s not leave an abandoned hospital, then we’ll go ahead first into that. I think fencing’s up now around the building, and we’ve got plenty to do there.”
Demolition Miracle?
Baptist abandoned the campus in the West Moreno District in September 2023. Mayor Reeves bragged that no city had put together a similar demolition project as quickly as he and his team.
“I think what gets lost in this, which is a $13 million demolition taking place only a couple years after someone left it. I don’t have the data, but if someone’s taken down an abandoned hospital quicker, funded the way that it was funded, I haven’t heard of it yet,” the mayor said…