(PENSACOLA, Flor.) – For the second time in ten months, citizens voiced their concerns regarding the City of Pensacola hiring Bayou District Consulting, the group set to handle the old Baptist Hospital site project. Initially tabled back in December 2025, councilmembers voted 6-1 in favor of moving forward with the contract at the October 22 meeting. While public turnout may have been smaller this time around, the message was still clear: they don’t want out-of-towner, Bayou District Consulting.
Their biggest concern was that the old Baptist Hospital would become the next City of New Orleans’ Columbia Parc.
Photo Credit: City of Pensacola | Council members and residents gather to discuss hiring Bayou District Consulting for the old Baptist Hospital site project
The City of Pensacola acquired the Baptist Hospital property, located at 1000 W. Moreno St., through a donation agreement in September 2025. Around the same time, Bayou District Foundation filed for the Florida based LLC, Bayou District Consulting, which would allow for bidding on the Baptist Hospital project. According to Bayou District Consulting’s Jacob Peters, securing the bid also puts Pensacola people to work, with 80% of the contract using local residents and resources.
Photo Credit: City of Pensacola | Bayou District Consulting Representative Jacob Peters clarifies local impact
Bayou District Foundation is a New Orleans-based non-profit known for its post-Hurricane Katrina redevelopment of the St. Bernard Housing Project neighborhood. Prior to Katrina, St. Bernard was the largest public housing complex in the city. After storm-related catastrophic flooding, much of the area was deemed uninhabitable, ultimately leading to the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) and Bayou District Foundation, along with other federal and local organizations, to clear the St. Bernard property and rebuild it as the mixed-income community, which incorporated social services and early childhood education programs, now known as Columbia Parc.
Of the original 900 St. Bernard families, 150 returned to live in Columbia Parc, numbers that have not gone unnoticed by the citizens of Pensacola.
Pensacola’s Historic Westside neighborhoods, where Baptist Hospital is located, are deeply rooted and multi-generational. This working-class community doesn’t feel heard, and worries that the proposed project will not only end in them losing their homes and community, but could potentially price them out of the area completely.
In the recent aftermath of Hurricane Isaias, they can’t help but see the similarities of what happened in St. Bernard after Katrina, which is widely debated, and has many arguing that the urban renewal of St. Bernard was just a way to mask post-disaster gentrification. Taking advantage of down-and-out communities facing the enormity of natural disaster clean up. Residents fear false promises and lack trust, while council members and Bayou District Consulting representatives assure this is the best option.
Council Member Charles Bare asked what the updated $695,000 one-year contract with Bayou District Consulting included, and Associate City Administrator for Strategic Initiatives Cliff Collins explained.
“This is now a multi-phase contract, phase one, which previously did not exist, covers community engagement – deploying a dedicated community engagement lead, door-to-door outreach, and specific engagement milestones up to 180 days, along with corrective outreach, should parts of the community become underrepresented.”
Photo Credit: City of Pensacola | Associate City Administrator for Strategic Initiatives Cliff Collins explained the updated plan under the new $695,000 bid
Redevelopment, when done correctly, can be a fresh start for communities like St. Bernard and West Pensacola. Offering amenities and services not previously available, but building public trust is vital. With the updated contract and additional plan in place for community engagement, council members and those in favor of hiring Bayou District Consulting believe they have shown they’ve taken the first steps to gain that trust. Following through and listening to the people will be the next.
This is a developing story. OpGov.News will continue to follow this story as updated information becomes available.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact Rebecca Russell at rebecca.r@lead4earth.org
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