In late 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the state of Louisiana selected adjacent sites in downtown New Orleans for the construction of two medical centers to replace hospitals damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The two projects, called the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Louisiana State University Academic Medical Center, would restore desperately needed healthcare capabilities lost after the August 2005 hurricane.
"The new VA hospital in downtown New Orleans will serve as a key economic driver for our future," said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. "Along with the new LSU hospital, it will serve as the centerpiece of our biomedical district (and) generate thousands of jobs."
The LSU hospital would replace Charity Hospital, which has been vacant since Katrina inflicted heavy damage on its lower floors. The VA facility will replace the vacant - and also severely damaged - VA hospital.
The new VA hospital will have about 200 beds and is slated to open in 2013. The LSU hospital is planned for 424 beds; officials have not yet announced a target opening date.
An agreement between the VA and New Orleans obligates the city to acquire the land for the new facility, prepare the site for construction and turn over the site to the VA within one year. The site selection process lasted approximately one year, and the results have angered many New Orleans residents who live in the area.
Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon H. Mansfield acknowledged community disagreements about the location of the new hospitals, but insisted the downtown site is the best possible choice.
"I understand this site selection creates near term impact on the directly affected and surrounding neighborhoods," he said. "We have been working with federal, state, city and neighborhood partners to develop a robust package of treatment measures to mitigate the negative impacts and invest in new local opportunities."
Critics note that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has estimated that 165 historic structures would be destroyed if the hospitals are built.
They say the hospitals could be built in other areas of the city that have large tracts of unused or rundown property.
"In selecting these sites, the VA and LSU have made a serious error," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "They chose the alternatives that will not only be the most time-consuming, costly and complex to implement, but will needlessly destroy a historic neighborhood where residents are struggling to rebuild their community."