Beyond the recycling discussion, Mayor Reeves shared he’s interested in acquiring the long-abandoned Medical Arts building at 1750 North Palafox St. The mayor expressed cautious optimism about finally bringing the property under city control after years of failed attempts.
- “That building is a considerable real symbol of blight in our city.” He detailed the ongoing problems the abandoned structure has created, from frequent calls for service to security breaches and people accessing the roof.
The mayor noted the building was “purchased in 2016 and left for dead,” creating negative impacts on surrounding neighborhoods and the city’s image. “On the image of our city, we go in, and we two lane North Palafox, you put a bike lane in and going by an abandoned building that’s been considered an afterthought. It’s not exactly what you want to be biking to and from.”
- The proposed purchase carries a price tag of $1.275 million for 2.1 acres, but Mayor Reeves emphasized this would be “fully grant-funded through the Hollice T Williams $41 million grant that we’ve been able to fortunately get.”
He praised the city’s grants team for making the acquisition possible without impacting the city’s budget.
Background: Real Estate Consultants of Roslyn, New York, purchased the property from ECUA for $75,000 in December 2016, after the utility had built two huge storage tanks behind the building. According to the Escambia Tax Collector’s office, the company did not pay the 2024 real estate and stormwater assessment for the parcel, $8,758.34. The property appraiser values the site at $227,558.
- Dig Deeper: In 2009, the CITY obligated itself in an Interlocal Agreement (OR Book 6511 PG 181) with ECUA to pay $19.5 million to ECUA, payable in $1.3 million annual installments, beginning January 15, 2013, in exchange for relocating the former Main Street wastewater storage and treatment facility away from the City.In December 2015, ECUA closed on the purchase of 1750 N. Palafox St. to build the storage tanks at that location. In March 2016, 22 residential property owners, three corporations, and the North Hill Preservation Association jointly filed for a temporary and permanent injunction against ECUA for the North Palafox tank project. They lost in court.
Environmental Concerns
While optimistic, the mayor acknowledged several hurdles remain before the deal closes. “We have great concern that because of when the construction year it was built that there’s going to be some environmental issues, and we have a due diligence period.”
The City needs immediate building access to meet environmental assessment deadlines required by the grant, with plans to bring the acquisition to city council for approval at the August 14th meeting.
Mayor Reeves added that it’s “way too early to speculate on will it be part of the pond expansion, will it be a park, will it be save the building.”
The focus for now remains on securing the property and completing the necessary environmental assessments before presenting the deal to the Pensacola City Council.