KENNER, La. — The Esplanade Mall could get a new life and we’ll soon get an idea of what that new life could entail.
Tuesday, Kenner City Leaders will share recommended plans for the redevelopment of the Esplanade Mall and the revitalization of Rivertown.
Rivertown is the historic heart of Kenner and the Esplanade Mall used to be the heart of shopping in the city, but when people talk about both places now, it’s out of nostalgia.
“Beautiful place, the old Esplanade Mall,” Lourdes Reyes said.
Reyes has lived in Kenner since 1992. She remembers Rivertown during the holidays.
“It was more life than here, you know for Christmas and having a special time at Christmas,” she said.
Reyes says Rivertown today feels like a shell of its old self.
Chris Garrett is visiting from Florida. He says Rivertown is charming, but it’s also lacking.
“It’s time to start reinvesting in the park,” Garrett said. “It’s a beautiful park and I think it’s worth reinvesting in. I’d say they need to get some tax dollars back out here.”
People of a certain age probably remember the Esplanade when malls were a destination for shopping. Since the 80s, the Esplanade and malls across American have been on a rapid decline thanks to the internet and online shopping.
In the past couple of years, the City of Kenner contemplated moving City Hall into the mall.
On Tuesday, it plans to share recommendations by a firm that studied ways to redevelop the mall and also to revitalize the Rivertown area.
Earlier this year, officials said the City must be forward thinking in the plans for both areas.
“We have to adapt to what’s happening now and plan for the future based on current conditions,” Candace Watkins, the Economic Development Director for Kenner said.
The City will present the study’s recommendations at a public meeting on Tuesday evening. That meeting starts at 5:30 at Heritage Hall.