Pensacola, Fla.-based Baptist Health Care is being asked by the city's mayor to contribute $3 million toward the demolition of the old Baptist Hospital property to make way for an affordable housing project, the Pensacola News Journal reported Jan. 25.
The city is negotiating with the health system to donate most of the 50-acre campus to Pensacola and allow the municipality to demolish it and find someone to redevelop the site, according to the report. Baptist has been unable to find a buyer for the property on the private market.
It is expected to cost $16.4 million to demolish the main hospital and towers along with other Baptist-owned buildings on the campus, according to the report. The city is contributing $1 million and seeking contributions from Escambia County and the state as well as grants.
Another $2.9 million for the demolition will come from the sale of a portion of the property to the Paces Foundation, according to the report. The sale hinges on whether the Paces Foundation can obtain funding to build 214 affordable housing units.
A Baptist spokesperson told the news outlet the system is exploring whether it "will make additional contributions to the redevelopment project beyond the proceeds from the Paces sales and the campus donation."