A task force is examining if the shuttered Municipal Auditorium could be the new home for city government.
After Hurricane Katrina, $40 million was ultimately set aside by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair the auditorium. Flooding ravaged the building that once hosted Mardi Balls and other civic events.
Cantrell says it could be repaired and enhanced by new construction.
“We will restore, of course, the auditorium to be repurposed and on the new construction skin of the building, it can be demolished and therefore you can build new and you can go up. It will reactivate not only Armstrong Park, Congo Square but also the historic buildings that we have on site," she said.
The plan requires public review to get the FEMA money.
She did not mention another proposal being considered by developers to use space for City Hall and Civil Court inside Charity Hospital, also closed since Katrina.
Cantrell was also questioned about plans to improve the troubled Sewerage and Water Board system, an issue that’s taken much of her first 100 days in office. She said she’s confident that personnel and management changes will ultimately improve the system. She also announced this week a citywide clean-up strategy that she says complements economic development plans under way.
