The final phase of construction on the New Orleans Fire Department's new headquarters is now under way.
Groundbreaking on the construction happened on June 22 at the new site of the new headquarters at 401 City Park Avenue. Mayor LaToya Cantrell, NOFD Chief Roman Nelson, and the fire station's designer, Sam LeBlanc, were among the officials who attended the ceremony.
The new headquarters will be located at the former Municipal Training Academy building, providing the NOFD with a permanent headquarters for the first time since 2011, when hurricane damage and environmental issues forced the NOFD to vacate its previous home. That's left staff members and department resources scattered across the city. Once opened, the new headquarters will serve as an administrative office and as a 24-hour operations center.
NANO Architecture Interiors
The former training academy building is a 20,000-square-foot brick and plaster building with a gabled roof, allowing it to also serve as a resilent storm shelter. The building will also house spaces for offices, administration areas, conference rooms, medical and training facilities, a fully-equipped dormitory, a state-of-the-art gym, an expansive kitchen, a recreation room and a disaster recovery area. A 1,500-square-foot bridge will connect the main building and an adjacent auditorium.
