After previous estimations targeted the start of this month for when a defunct, multi-parcel property in downtown Pensacola could officially transfer ownership to a development group seeking to revitalize it, several more weeks must pass before the transaction can take place.
The Escambia County School District’s former headquarters at 213 W. Garden St. still awaits remediation before the school district can finalize its sale of the 4.85-acre property. The school district agreed in September to offload the site for $3.4 million to Two Hundred Garden West Inc., a business registered to local attorney and developer Jim Reeves. But the property still requires restoration from pollution caused by a gas station that existed on the corner of Garden and Spring streets.
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $90,000 grant for a portion of the clean up, which is to be administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Brandy Smith, a spokeswoman at the department, said the expectation is for the source removal to begin late this month or early April.
Malcolm Thomas, the school district’s superintendent, expressed optimism the work would start in the next 60 days, but he lamented the school district’s inability to speed up the process.
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