Mayor Ashton Hayward wants to attack one of the biggest blights in Pensacola – W.A. Blount Junior High School. The building, which was in built in 1930, has been closed nearly 30 years.
The school, located on a full city block at Gregory and C streets, has passed through several owners since the mid-1990s. City code violations have been piling up against it, but prior city leaders have done little more than assess fines, many of which have gone unpaid.
As part of his neighborhoods initiative, Mayor Hayward plans to center a major neighborhood improvement project around the building. Mayor Hayward and Sheriff David Morgan will give more details at a news conference there this afternoon at 3 p.m.