August 2021 City Scoop: New Orleans
Project Opposition
A proposed relocation of New Orleans City Hall from its current location on Perdido Street to the Municipal Auditorium in Armstrong Park continues to receive pushback from the local community. Plans for the proposed $100-million to $150-million renovation project were presented to the city council in January, with an estimate that the first phase of the renovation could be done as soon as fall 2023.
Protesters gathered on June 17, voicing their opposition to the proposal. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a statement the next day, saying: “We are open to other options for the relocation of City Hall and for the renovation of Municipal Auditorium. … But they have to be viable options—just saying no or opposing what has been proposed simply isn’t good enough.”
FEMA would provide $38 million for the restoration as the auditorium was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. However, the deadline for that funding was July 21. The city was granted a 90-day delay, at which time the city must provide plans for the renovation to receive the FEMA funding.
On July 21, Cantrell met with a community group called Save Our Soul, formed in opposition to the project, telling the group that they have 90 days to identify another use for the building.
