Historic N.O. area ‘best’ for LSU/VA hospital

• By ALLEN M. JOHNSON JR.
• Advocate New Orleans bureau
• Published: Oct 30, 2008 - Page: 12A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS — Facing wary homeowners, preservationists, war veterans and activists, the lead author of a new government study late Wednesday night announced that the proposed LSU/Veterans Administration hospital complex is the “preferred site” for replacing two health-care facilities in New Orleans, post-Katrina.

“It is not the final selection,” Roberta “Bobbie” Hurley, project manager of the federally mandated environmental impact study, said of a 27-block “Tulane/Gravier” area near the LSU Health Sciences Center in downtown New Orleans.

The study considered alternatives, including renovation of flood-damaged Charity Hospital sites at the old Lindy Boggs hospital in Mid-City and at Ochsner Hospital in suburban Jefferson.

But the LSU/VA site was “most effective” at meeting criteria for space, access, proximity to other medical facilities and “minimal impacts,” the study states.

The study acknowledges the planned development of separate LSU and VA hospitals at the “Tulane/Gravier” site posed challenges, including displacement of some 200 residential homes and “cultural resources” in the historic Mid-City neighborhood.

However, the state is prepared to mitigate adverse impacts by buying properties for fair market value and retaining local icons as the Dixie Brewery, The Deutsches Haus, and the historic Orleans House — “if feasible,” said Katy Coyle, a consultant to the study.

In addition, $1.4 million has been allocated for historic mitigation, Hurley told some 200 people gathered at a local high school late Wednesday.

Audience reaction was swift, varied and spirited.

“When are you all going to figure out that there’s not enough money to do this?” Tracie Washington, a civil rights attorney, told the panel of federal, state and local experts.

“Louisiana cannot afford this boondoggle of a project,” said Ned Diefenthal, a businessman and well-known contributor to Republican political campaigns.

Mary Howell, a local civil-rights lawyer, said the LSU/VA site is “the most destructive, most expensive, and would cause the longest delay of all these options.”

Preservationist Walter Gallas told the panel: “(The LSU/VA) site treats historical resources not as assets but as obstacles.”

Daniel Hammer, an activist, said the proposed $1.4 million mitigation fund for Mid-City is “not enough” for a $1 billion-plus hospital project.