Despite Baptist walking away from its guarantee to provide medical services in its old neighborhood, the mayor has tried to work out a deal that would ensure the site on E Street would have a positive impact for west Pensacola.
Basic deal: Reeves gets $18 million and Baptist hands over the land to the city and gets to take the liability off its books.
I was told that it’s a difficult sale in Tallahassee to convince lawmakers and the governor to fork over $18 million to tear down an old hospital for an organization has a $650 million new campus.
The pluses are Sen. Doug Broxson and Rep. Alex Andrade have chairmanships that can help, but can they get $18 million? Maybe.
Mayor Reeves and city officials need to come up a compelling vision for the property – which they can do.
Meanwhile, will Baptist help the city and its old neighborhood as part of any deal? Hint: Serving waffles won’t cut it.