This image appeared in the 2006 LSU Health Care Services Division's Annual Report. It shows something closer to an actual "joint" hospital venture between LSU and the VA in a single site, all of which is below S. Galvez, occupying what is now the proposed UMC site in what's come to be known as the LSU Footprint.
At some point in early 2007, the VA Hospital site "jumped" S. Galvez into a far more inappropriate location and ultimately led to the bulk of the large scale devastation and displacement that has played out thus far.
Note the taller buildings and the giant, vertical structure in the spot that is currently occupied by the Grand Palace Hotel building that's labeled "Parking Garage."
Note, too, the overly optimistic timeline. As things stand at this point, neither the VA nor the LSU facility will open in 2011.
2 comments:
IF LSU and the VA were planning a joint facility below Galvez as early as 2006, then why have impact studies continued to represent the development as two separate projects with different official websites?
At some point in early 2007, the VA Hospital site "jumped S. Galvez" - with the support of the Regional Planning Commission, several City Council members, Ed Blakely, etc.
Plans continued to change, and by 2009, it was clear that there would be two separate hospital complexes that were not connected (thus, the separate websites).
That's a simplified version of the saga.
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