From a press release

The New Orleans City Council Chamber at New Orleans City Hall, 1300 Perdido Street, is undergoing renovations that will continue for much of the first quarter of 2018. The regular Council meeting on Thursday, December 14, was the last meeting held prior to the facility’s closure for renovations. Though there will be a short-term inconvenience with the relocation, the renovations will leave the public with a much-improved facility.

The Council has currently planned for up to the first six regular meetings of 2018 to be held off-site from City Hall in the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) Main Offices building located at 3520 General DeGaulle Drive. The facility has ample public parking, and its board room configuration will allow the Council to engage the public in a manner similar to normal proceedings.

The Council Chamber space is original to the New Orleans City Hall facility. It was designed in the mid-1950’s and opened in 1956. The renovations will provide:

·        New, energy-efficient L.E.D down-lighting and broadcast lighting to replace the existing dim down-lighting and outdated theatrical style lighting

·        Select upgrades to the electrical, communications, and audio-systems

·        Repainting of existing ceilings and walls

·        New carpeting in the dais area

·        New auditorium seating

·        New ADA compliant speakers’ lectern

As the renovations are underway, the Orleans Parish School Board has offered to collaborate by sharing its space located at 3520 General DeGaulle Drive on the West Bank. The OPSB facility is about 15 minutes from downtown and offers the Council a cost-effective and efficient solution for the temporary inconvenience. Regular meetings that are currently scheduled for the OPSB site are on January 11, January 25, February 8, February 22, March 8 and March 22, 2018.

Committee meetings of the Council, as well as Boards and Commissions meetings that are typically held in the Chamber, will be held in various sites, mostly in conference rooms in, or near City Hall. Members of the public with matters before Council committees or boards and commissions should check the websites of these entities for the meetings scheduled in January through March 2018.