Commissioner May asks full board discussion of Baptist Hospital redevelopment; item set for April 3

Commissioner Lumen J. May raised the Baptist Hospital redevelopment as a major upcoming agenda item and said March 25 he wants more public discussion before the board moves forward. May said the project affects approximately 54 acres within District 3 and called it “one of the largest projects that will happen in the city of Pensacola in our lifetime.” He asked the board to place the item on the April 3 agenda as a discussion item so citizens and commissioners have more time to review details.

Chair Michael S. Kohler acknowledged the request and said the item will be on the April 3 meeting agenda. Kohler and other commissioners expressed concern that releasing contracts or bid documents to the public prior to appropriate review could be premature; Kohler said he was worried about the timing of bid releases. May said he had spoken with Baptist representatives, the mayor and state officials and reiterated that while he represents only one of five votes, he wanted his position and the district’s interests on the record.

Later in the meeting, a Baptist representative described a plan to donate remaining acreage of the legacy campus to the City of Pensacola so the city can pursue redevelopment, and said the Paces Foundation is developing a portion of the property into senior and multifamily attainable housing (214 units). The representative said initial studies show the site could support up to 700 additional housing units. Commissioners asked for more detail on proposed funding sources, demolition costs and any conditional grants or state money attached to the transaction.

No formal county appropriation or binding agreement occurred at the March 25 meeting; commissioners agreed to discuss the project in detail at the April 3 meeting and to provide questions to staff and Baptist representatives ahead of that time.