NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) –– Save Our Soul Coalition Inc., a group spearheading the redevelopment of Louis Armstrong Park, is sharing updates Thursday evening on its Strategic Master Plan.
About two years ago, the coalition formed to fight Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s proposal to move City Hall into the Municipal Auditorium, which sat empty and damaged after Hurricane Katrina.
S.O.S. has since joined forces with the city to develop a new plan for the park that residents and visitors could enjoy while preserving its cultural significance.
President of S.O.S., Jackie Harris, said the site is meaningful for many people who have called the city home for most of their life.
“They probably attended in the artillery, they probably attended their first concert here, they had their graduation here, [and] they’ve been Mardi Gras balls here.”
Harris also acknowledged the businesses and families who gave up their homes to build the park.
In Thursday’s meeting, Jeff Schwartz from the City of New Orleans Office of Economic Development will explain how they worked with S.O.S. and lay out a timeline for the project. Harris said its goal is to “make the citizens’ vision a reality.”
The community meeting will be on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Corpus Christi-Epiphany Community Resource Center, at 2020 St. Bernard Avenue Building C.
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