NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In the middle of New Orleans.
In the middle of a meeting.
In the middle of figuring out how to turn this old, hundred-year-old warehouse into something new.
WGNO Good Morning New Orleans features reporter Bill Wood is in the middle of it all.
Owner Tony Gelderman says, “What I really liked about the building is this way you get to look at downtown, the Superdome, the skyline.”
Bill Wood says, “Wouldn’t it have been easier to just bulldoze down the place and put in a nice, new parking lot?”
Tony Gelderman says, “It certainly would have been less expensive, but we really wanted to preserve this building.”
That’s why it’s under re-construction.
It was built originally back in the twenties as a factory for making church pews.
A sacred space.
In the seventies, it was a showroom for lighting fixtures.
It’s had a history, all right.
And the future plans are to keep the past in the present.
Mollie Burke is the architect who says, “We walked in and realized how special it was and really wanted to preserve the history of it.”
It’s about as big as a football field.
A two-story Mid-City building that could be the Tulane Avenue address for offices.
A gym, maybe.
Restaurants.
It’s the building that’s looking back.
And at the same time, looking forward.
