Donation of City Properties

As the recovery progresses, consideration of what makes New Orleans unique is paramount to retaining the character and ambiance people flock from around the world to see.

2552 St. Philip Street is just one of many city owned properties threatened with extinction.

It's hard for the city to be genuine in its pursuit of derelict properties when city-owned historically significant properties like 2552 St. Philip are systematically being demolished by neglect.

I believe a plan should be formulated to sell city owned historic properties at a discount(or DONATED) to entities which pledge to restore them properly.

The property at 2552 St. Philip is eligible for significant tax credits (50%) according to the
Office of Cultural Development/Division of Historic Preservation if it is donated/sold to a private entity and then restored and put into commercial use. A public/private partnership that would restore city-owned historically significant properties and make them commercially viable at the same time is a win for the city, bringing jobs and tax revenue and a win for preservation by retaining significant parts of our cultural heritage.

Would you please provide email addresses of people who might be willing to help bring this property back into commerce or restore it to its former glory?

Sincerely,
Charles London
http://fsjna.org
http://katrinafilm.com
http://katrinafilm.blogspot.com
http://katrinafilm.wordpress.com


Below is a link to the city owned property at 2552 St. Philip.
http://katrinafilm.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/2552-st-philip-street/

This property falls within the Bayou Road African American Heritage
Cultural District. It is currently owned by the City of New Orleans.

It would be wonderful if the city would concede to donating this property
to someone willing to restore it. It is just too great an asset to let the
city continue to demolish it by neglect.

I contacted the city about a month ago to see if it could be restored
to its best use - a police station but the city is not interested. Getting
someone to purchase it is unlikely because it is surrounded by blight and crime.
Donating to some entity that would restore it makes sense.

Because 2552 St. Philip is located within a cultural development/
historic preservation district it can qualify for a 50% tax credit
(25% state, 25% federal) IF it is privately owned and used for
commercial purposes.

The new owner needs to operate a business there for 5 years. If it
is privately owned and used as residential then only a 25% tax credit
applies.

As you can see from the picture in the link,
http://katrinafilm.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/2552-st-philip-street/
this is a very beautiful building that the city is demolishing by neglect.

How can we convince the city to sell or donate this property to a
commercial entity willing to restore it? Do you know any large corporate entity
that would be willing to take on such a project? The city values the
property at over a million dollars.