Shreveport Buys $9.5 M Property – What Is It For?
The city of Shreveport has purchased a massive West Shreveport property for $9.5 million dollars and some are questioning why this purchase was made.
The complex is the former home for BJ Energy Services in the 6900 block of West 70th near Bert Kouns.
Mayor Adrian Perkins signed the purchase agreement in November for this property. The money will come from Water and Sewer bond funds. But there is some debate about what that money was to be used for. Some claim the bond money was specifically planned for facilities and improvements, but others are concerned the funds are being drained from monies aimed at addressing consent decree sewer improvement dollars.
What Will the Facility Be Used for?
KEEL News has learned this complex will be used to combine several city operations. Water and Sewer, Streets and Drainage and Public Workers will all move into the complex. Currently the city has a public works operation on Kings Highway. Streets and Drainage is on Mansfield Road and Water and Sewer is housed on Greenwood Road. All 3 of these complexes are very old and in need of repairs. Those 3 operations have sparked the interest of some potential buyers, but no deals are in place.
What Does the New Property Include?
It has a massive concrete parking area which will be ideal for housing all the garbage trucks, public works and water and sewer vehicles. It also has a truck repair area, a fueling station, wash bays and much more. The office complex also has labs which can be used by the water department for regular testing. It also has several training rooms which can be used by several departments.
City leaders have been looking for options for a new complex and projected costs topped the $30 million dollar mark.
But there are some concerns about why the Mayor moved forward with this purchase without briefing the council. We are told the city got the property under the appraised value, but we have not seen an appraisal.