THE FUTURE OF THE BAPTIST SITE IS AT STAKE
Learn the truth about the Bayou District plan—and why Pensacola must demand community control
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The City of Pensacola is preparing to hire Bayou District Consulting, the same development group behind Columbia Parc, a controversial New Orleans project that displaced nearly a thousand Black families. Mayor D.C. Reeves has called this development “the model” for what he would like to see at the Baptist site, even using city funds to bus local leaders there last year for a sales pitch.
City Council is voting this Thursday, December 11th, to award a $300,000 contract to those same out-of-town developers. This contract would give Bayou District control over the first 180 days of planning for the 40-acre Baptist Hospital site.
This is one of the biggest planning decisions in recent Pensacola history, and most residents have heard almost nothing about it.
While City officials minimize our concerns and misrepresent the role Bayou District will play, they simply have nothing to say about the fact that these out-of-town developers are notorious for erasing and replacing Black resident in pursuit of profit.
We don’t want these people playing any role in the planning of our neighborhood. We want them gone, and we want control of our neighborhood!
What’s at stake for our community
The Baptist site is the heart of our neighborhood. The development choices made in the next few months will shape:
Affordability: Who can live here
Displacement: Who will be pushed out
Public Land Use: Who benefits from our land
Traffic and Infrastructure: How we move, work, and live
Neighborhood Identity: What kind of community we become
Bayou District’s model is built around outside control, managed engagement, and “mixed income” redevelopment that often prices out the very residents it claims to serve. What’s worse, they continue to promote the racist lie that our neighborhoods are safer and more prosperous when we drive out and replace poor and Black residents. This model has no place in our community, and it is shameful that the City is even considering it.
We deserve control over how our public land is developed in our neighborhood. We don’t want or need outside developers with a track record of racist displacement to come in and take the wheel.
MYTH vs. FACT
Bayou District and City officials have been misleading us about the nature of this contract. But we remember the false promises City Hall has sold us before: Aragon Court, Maritime Park, the Tanyard area, Hawkshaw, and more. We see the bait and switch technique our leaders use to keep us confused and quiet.
Here are some myths that our elected leaders have been pushing to justify this contract:
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FACT: While city officials keep insisting that these developers are “just advising” and “seeking community input,” the contract and the bid outline much more than that. The contract gives Bayou District Consulting the power to set the redevelopment model, guide land-use decisions, shape public engagement, and write the blueprint future developers will follow.
While City officials claim that they will maintain control over the development process, we know from experience that the City does little more than rubber-stamp the decisions made by developers behind closed doors.If City officials really want the community to maintain control, they shouldn’t hand the planning over to predatory developers. We demand new structures for this development that let us write the plans, not just give meaningless “input” after the plans have already been written.
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FACT: “Public engagement” will be run by a PR firm, Impact Campaigns, and all messaging will be filtered through Bayou District. That means the developers get to frame what’s said, how it’s understood, and how it’s incorporated into the plan. This is not a recipe for community control—it’s a playbook for making sure the developers’ interests always come first.
The people of Pensacola have seen enough of these “public input” schemes. We know that as long as the developers are in the driver’s seat, genuine community voices will be sidelined and drowned out. -
FACT: Columbia Parc is a national warning. It replaced more than a thousand deeply affordable homes with a “mixed-income” development that shut most former residents out. Fewer than 10% ever returned.
Bayou District’s public relations videos tell us that after they destroyed the St. Bernard housing project, crime rates dropped, graduation rates went up, and public health outcomes improved. But none of this was accomplished by investing in the existing community—it was accomplished by replacing the community. This is a racist, predatory model that has no place is our city.A Black neighborhood was wiped off the map and replaced with a development built for someone else. That neighborhood wasn’t “revitalized.” It was wiped out.
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FACT: There are many tested and proven community-driven models that prevent displacement—community land trusts, resident-led planning, democratic Neighborhood assemblies—but the City did not consider any of those options before choosing the Bayou District model.
There is no reason why developers should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to planning the future of our public land. The only reason this is being presented as our only option, is because the City spoke to the developers first, and the people second.
articles and receipts
“How poor people in New Orleans were displaced by a golf course” The Outline
An article that shows the lies behind the "positive spin" given to the Columbia Parc development by its supporters. Shows the on-the-ground effects, and how out of step the framing of developers and city officials are when put alongside the actual experiences of the displaced neighborhood.
“Right to Return Weekend: Housing IS a human right!” SF BAYVIEW
The article describes how in May 2010, the group Survivors Village organized a “Right to Return Weekend,” during which displaced residents and supporters occupied the offices and land of the Columbia Parc site in New Orleans to demand their right to return to their own homes.
The article highlights how the redevelopment replaced an entire public-housing community with mostly market-rate units, offered few affordable spots, and actively excluded former residents.
“Whose City is It? Hurricane Katrina and the Struggle for New Orleans’s Public Housing” Nonsite
Traces how mixed-income redevelopments like Columbia Parc were politically engineered. It notes that the Bayou District Foundation (BDF) was composed of “powerful local business officials connected to real estate,” and became a key partner in redeveloping St. Bernard.
“At old Baptist site, leaders ponder what's reusable, what's not and how to fund what's next” PNJ
The article reveals that city officials held a closed-door meeting about the site’s future without public notice, prompting neighbors and advocates to demand transparency about what is really planned. It notes Mayor Reeves explicitly championed using Bayou District Consulting, casting doubt among community members that the process will center public needs and not outside developers’ interests.
“Residents of St. Bernard: First Put Out, NOW Locked Out!” Communities rising
Documents how residents attempted to stop their displacement at the hands of Bayou District Foundation. Police and barbed wire were used to protect the first openings of the Columbia Parc development. The article also makes clear that the housing was affected but not destroyed by Katrina and could have been one of the first areas cleaned and reopened. People were not able to return to their homes, which were demolished with their belongings still inside.
“New Orleans turned 50 acres of blight to homes and opportunity. Can Pensacola do the same?” PNJ
The article explains that Mayor Reeves has openly promoted the Columbia Parc redevelopment as a “model” for what he wants to do at the old Baptist Hospital site. He used public money to bus local power players to New Orleans for a sales pitch from the Columbia Parc developers, and echoed racist talking points that frame the removal of poor Black residents as progress.
TAKE ACTION NOW
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CONTACT CITY COUNCIL
Speak out! Call or email (or both!) your City Council Member today.
Let them know: We say no to the Bayou District Contract. We demand community control over the Baptist Site!
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COME TO CITY HALL
Thursday @ 5:30 PM at City Hall
Show Up and Speak Out this Thursday, December 11th.
Let City Council know that we reject racist developers having any role in planning our neighborhood.
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Get Involved!
Our campaign is not just about an election. It’s about building a movement to end the rule of the developers in Pensacola.
Working people make this City run—we should run this City!