After nearly two decades of limbo, New Orleans’ long-dormant Morris F.X. Jeff Municipal Auditorium is finally getting a public roadmap for its future.
Mayor Helena Moreno, City Council members and the Save Our Soul Coalition are set to reveal a long-awaited master plan today for redeveloping the Municipal Auditorium and the surrounding Louis Armstrong Park. The announcement follows years of neighborhood fights, preservation battles and recent stabilization work meant to protect the building’s historic shell. The auditorium has sat largely unused since Hurricane Katrina, becoming a high-profile symbol of both the city’s losses and its stalled promises.
According to FOX 8, the master plan launch was slated for Thursday afternoon and will bring Moreno, council leaders and the Save Our Soul Coalition together at the podium. The station reports that city leaders had previously rolled out roughly a $43.5 million stabilization package to replace the roof, abate asbestos and shore up the exterior as the first step toward bringing the building back into use.
Stabilization package and funding
A city notice last August detailed about $43.4 to $43.5 million in work – funded with FEMA dollars, bond funds and state support – to make the auditorium weather-tight and safe for future rehabilitation, according to a city release reposted on NOLA Newswire. The Phase I scope includes expedited roof replacement, asbestos abatement and exterior repairs aimed at preserving historic materials while the longer-term master plan is hammered out.
Save Our Soul Coalition’s priorities
The Save Our Soul Coalition has played the watchdog and community steward throughout the planning process, successfully beating back an earlier proposal to move City Hall into the auditorium. The group has pushed instead for uses that honor Congo Square and Tremé’s cultural legacy. Reporting on the council agreement shows the coalition advocating for museum, music and performance spaces, along with a park-forward design that keeps the site rooted in culture and history, as described by WDSU.
Timeline, bids and next steps
Public procurement listings show a roof replacement package and related site work at the Municipal Auditorium address (1201 St. Peter Street), with Phase I construction planned to begin in late 2025 and stabilization work scheduled through early 2026 to prep the building for a full strategic planning process. The stabilization effort is designed to clear immediate hazards and create a secure shell so a master-planning team can study long-term reuse, funding and programming options, as documented in public project filings on ConstructConnect…