What in 1950s was a temporary home to the company that constructed the Causeway may soon find a new use as a dock for another transportation venture, the Pontchartrain Express, a swift boat ferry service across the lake.

Capt. Johan Schild, owner of Pontchartrain Express, is trying to work out the details necessary to dock his ferryboat on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain and he has focused his sights on the Pre-stress Concrete site located near Sunset Point off Massena Street.

He said right now he is waiting on the city of Mandeville to approve a site plan for a temporary docking location at the site.

This conceptional plan for a parking lot and a temporary dock location for the Pontchartrain Express will be presented to the Mandeville Planning and Zoning Commission next month.

The City Council introduced an ordinance, that if approved would allow Schild to construct a temporary docking site with approximately 250 parking spots and two temporary buildings for a waiting area and an office.

The temporary dock will also provide for an area for tanker trucks to park to provide the fuel need to run the ferries.

The council forwarded the proposed site plan to the Planning and Zoning Commission, who is expected to discuss it next month.

Once the commission makes a recommendation, it must be sent back to the council for a final approval before Schild can begin construction.

Without a place to dock on the Northshore, Schild said his proposed operation is on hold and the ferry he has contracted to purchase sits waiting in California.

He told the council Thursday night that he has worked out the details with the New Orleans Levee Commission to dock the boat on the Southshore at the West End canal. He has leased the lot where the Hong Kong restaurant used to stand and the adjacent lot, and said a dock facility is already constructed there.

Schild said once the council approves the temporary facility, he can begin running the ferry almost immediately.

He hopes to be able to provide ferry service for the first Saints home game.

His long range plans work hand-in-hand with property owner Michael Pittman’s plans to develop the whole 80-acre Pre-stress site.

He said in the next one to two years, he expects Pittman to come forward with his plans, which will likely include a marina with permanent parking, permanent building and a permanent fueling dock for the Pontchartrain Express and some high-rise condominiums.