blight and demolition

Former NOCCA building returning to auction, with demolition deemed most likely outcome

By |

The former NOCCA school building on Perrier Street is scheduled to return to the auction block at the end of the month, with a new sale price set low enough to encourage its purchase by developers and demolition for new Uptown homes. The Orleans Parish School Board had previously tried to sell the century-old school building several years ago, but failed to draw an offer higher than its appraised value at the time, which was higher than $3 million, said Stan Smith, chief financial officer for the district. State law regarding public-property auctions has since been changed and the property was reappraised last month, and the minimum bid is now $1.5 million, far closer to the offers that were received during the previous sale attempt, Smith said. The Perrier Street property, referred to by its pre-NOCCA name of the “LaSalle School,” was built in 1901, but has been vacant since NOCCA left in 2000. It now suffers from “advanced depreciation from age, exposure to the elements, storm damage, vandalism and functional obsolescence,” the appraisal reads.

neighborhood groups

Coyote eludes capture in Hurstville neighborhood

By |

An officer with New Orleans Private Patrol chased a coyote through the stately streets surrounding Audubon Park last weekend, prompting a warning to area residents to watch their pets. Capt. James Baldassaro was called to a home on Garfield Street near State last Friday for a sighting of coyote on the loose. While he was writing the report, he said, the coyote emerged from a side yard and began loping down the street. He followed it until it reached Camp Street headed toward Jefferson reaching the outer boundaries of the neighborhoods patrolled by New Orleans Private Patrol. Baldassaro said he contacted the New Orleans Police Department and a private wildlife removal company, but has not heard since Friday whether the animal found or seen again.