Slidell to buy UNO building to start City Hall complex

Slidell city employees who have been working out of a complex of trailers on Bayou Lane since Hurricane Katrina are one step closer to moving back to City Hall in Olde Towne, thanks to the Louisiana Legislature and Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Last week, Jindal signed a bill authorizing the state to sell the old University of New Orleans building on First Street behind the City Hall back to the city. This means the city can now go ahead with its plans to build the first of two new municipal buildings that will comprise the City Hall Complex.

In 1998, the city sold the site to UNO for $466,000 to be used as its Northshore campus. However, Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the building, which has remained empty ever since.

The city had the old Finance Building next to the City Hall torn down last year and hired the firm of Sizeler, Thompson, Brown Architects to design a municipal building to fill the space.

However, Slidell had to negotiate with the state to get the UNO building back. A bill was submitted to the Legislature and passed, allowing Slidell to buy the site back for $360,000.

The new municipal building will be three stories high, with the first floor reserved for parking in order to meet elevation requirements set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Flood Insurance Program. The architectural style will match the style of the City Hall complete with balconies.

The building will contain the City Council Chambers and Council offices and the City Attorney’s office on the third floor.

The second floor will contain the departments of Finance, Personnel and Data Processing.

This will be the first of two municipal buildings to form the new complex.

Morris said currently only the second floor of City Hall can be used, and there are plans for the first floor to be renovated as meeting rooms. The new municipal building will cost $6 million.

Mayor Ben Morris said FEMA will put up $2.8 million, and the city will use $903,000 in insurance money to finance the construction.

Morris said he is negotiating with FEMA in hopes it will put up more money for the project.

Now that the UNO site will belong to the city, Morris said construction bids will go out in early September.