While Pensacola News Journal posts early morning articles and social media teasers with”breaking updates’ on the redevelopment of the old Baptist Hospital site, the community most impacted by this redevelopment is always the last to know. And the paper trail shows why.
City procurement records show that Bayou District Consulting, LLC had long been on the radar. 2023–2024: Private meetings, tours, and planning discussions occurred behind closed doors. These steps were taken long before any RFP process was publicly announced.
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.
