NEW ORLEANS — The decaying building that houses the New Orleans City Hall could have a new home built thanks to a tentative land deal with the state of Louisiana.
As our partners at The Times-Picayune report, city and state officials reached a tentative agreement in a land swap deal that would pave the way for a new building to be built in the park area known as Duncan Plaza according to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ commissioner of administration, Jay Dardenne, who negotiated the land deal.
The new building would also house Civil District Court judges who touted the need for a new courthouse.
The deal – if approved by the mayor and city council, would have the state give up its portion of Duncan Plaza in exchange for the property that includes the portion of land on Loyola Avenue where the Civil District Court is now and the parking lots from Poydras Street to LaSalle Street. The state aims to someday build a state building on that portion of the land if the deal goes through.
“This is a good, fair deal for all concerned,” Dardenne tells Nola.com. “This is a sensible way to address what has been an issue that has been pending for years and needed resolution.”
The deal does not include the land where the current City Hall building is located or the parking garage on Duncan Plaza. The deal is described as ‘tentative’ because Dardenne says several procedural steps need to be overcome and the land in swap needs to be of equal value required by state law.
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