Over the past several days, multiple documents, land records, bond filings, and meeting archives revealed that major decisions about the redevelopment of the former Baptist Hospital campus have NOT been happening at the CRA or Pensacola City Council meetings like the public was led to believe.
Instead, many key decisions, including financing, project details, developer partnerships, and public hearings, have been happening through a different board entirely.
ECHFA (Escambia County Housing Finance Authority)
YES, there is another governing body involved.
YES, they hold their own meetings.
YES, several meetings were held recently about the proposed developments on the Baptist campus.
What the public wasnt told.
The developer connected to the Baptist property (Paces Foundation / Soho Partners) also operates under multiple names:
Paces Preservation Partners
The Paces Foundation, Inc.
Soho Housing Partners
Avery Place Apartments LLC
Kupfrian Manor LLC
This makes it VERY difficult for the average resident to track what is happening. ECHFA held public hearings on these projects, without the CRA or City openly announcing them.
According to the records:
Avery Place Apartments: Public Hearing held on November 6, 2025 at 1:20 p.m.
Kupfrian Manor Apartments: Public Hearing held on November 6, 2025 at 1:30 p.m.
These meetings approved important parts of the redevelopment plan. Most residents had no idea these meetings even existed.
The land itself changed hands quietly.
Documents show:
CRA bought a parcel in 2020 but Baptist still owned other parcels.
The City vacated streets (ordinance 1-25) on January 29, 2025. Closing portions of Mallory St, and alleys. Exactly where Avery Place and Kupfrian Manor are going.
In February 2025, Baptist sold pieces of the property directly to Avery Place Apartments LLC (Paces). This was done through a “Special Warranty Deed” recorded for multiple parcels.
Zoning and codes are inconsistent with what the public has been told.
Several parcels are still coded as:
Warehouse/Distribution
Parking Lots
Why this matters..
Our neighborhood deserves:
Full transparency
Clear communication
Notice of ALL meetings affecting our communities
Environmental safety disclosures
Honest zoning information
Public input in redevelopment of historically Black neighborhoods
Right now, decisions are being made behind the scenes, outside the public eye, using boards that most residents do not even know exist.
The community deserves answers about:
1. Why major decisions went through ECHFA without open public notice.
2. Why developers are using multiple corporate names.
3. Why land transfers were not clearly disclosed.
4. Why zoning codes do not match the stated project plans.
5: Why wasn’t the environmental assessment report (Phase 2) not shared with the public; which the city had since last year? The Phase 1 assessment report is over 2,000 pages long and has several contaminations reported.
If I’m not mistaken, there is a restrictive covenant on the Baptist site due to water contaminations. I am currently waiting to hear back from FDEP on all of this. Especially since it was stated that FDEP signed off and approved demolition to take place. Where are the official documents that FEDP has fully signed off?
There was a fire on November 5th, at the old Baptist Hospital site (owned by PACE), and someone was seriously injured. Possibly caused by batteries. You have to click on the post to know the details (which isn’t much), on WEAR3 Facebook page. Pensacola News Journal, did you cover this story?
There is much more I need to say, but it’s late. I’m up until the wee hours of the morning, researching and trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Why? Because every time I look deeper, I find more information that the public was never clearly told.
Our Black communities here are dealing with environmental issues that get glossed over. We’re being pushed out of our communities due to gentrification. Our communities are being labeled as “blight”, so our tax dollars can be funneled downtown and on other projects that do not benefit us.
We’re rent burdened. Being pushed out of generational homes. Living below the poverty line. Living in food deserts…
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH…
More to come.