More than two years after new owners took over the Esplanade Mall and a redevelopment stalled, the Kenner City Council on Friday shot down the owners’ request to sell it in smaller pieces, holding out hope the entire property could once again be an asset to the area.
The ability to sell the property in one piece would spark interest from major developers, including IKEA, lifestyle facilities and sports facilities, said Jerry Bologna, executive director of the Jefferson Economic Development Commission. He said at the meeting that the low-cost Swedish furniture-maker IKEA has already inquired about the mall property.
“We are desperately fighting for solutions,” council member Arita Bohannan said.
On Friday, the council unanimously shot down a request from the mall owners, Windfall USA and Pacifica Square, that would have paved the way for a new hotel on part of the parking lot.
Council members also aired numerous grievances with the owners, including an allegation that they owe more than $320,000 in delinquent property taxes. And they expressed heightened skepticism that the original redevelopment plan pitched in 2023 — to create a “lifestyle center” with retailers, restaurants and up to 800 apartment units — will ever come to fruition.
“We want this developed for families to come to Kenner, to live in Kenner,” council member George Branigan, choking up a bit as he spoke. “We have to draw younger families back.”
Still shuttered
Windfall USA and Pacifica Square purchased the indoor mall and Macy’s building for $10 million in 2023. But more than two years later, it remains shuttered.
The owners had requested to subdivide the property so they could sell part of the southeast parking lot for the development of a hotel.
But council members opposed the request because it would add an additional owner. Several buildings, including Dillard’s, Target and the movie theater, already have separate owners from the indoor mall.
Stephen Dwyer, a real estate attorney representing the owners, said they were “very surprised” the request was denied, as the application met all the city’s resubdivision requirements and the planning commission voted to approve it.
According to Dwyer, redevelopment has been delayed because of severe vandalism the developers weren’t aware of, including the theft of copper wiring and electrical equipment. They are working on an insurance claim to help fund repairs.
“Nobody wants to see the property developed more than this owner does,” Dwyer said.
In the meantime, Branigan said the city is losing out on major sales tax revenue while the building remains closed. Sales taxes make up 70% of the city’s general fund, he said.
Responding to the accusation of $320,000 in delinquent property taxes, Dwyer said in an interview after the meeting that the owners only recently received their tax bill for 2023 and 2024, totaling $130,000. They intend to pay it soon.
The other $190,000 originated from an unpaid 1992 tax bill from previous owners. Kenner officials said the mall owners inherited the debt when purchasing the building, but Dwyer said they are in the process of disputing it.
Parish ownership?
Bohannan, who represents the area, told the rest of the City Council she plans to conduct a $500,000 study, using her district discretionary funds, for a master plan on the best use of The Esplanade and Laketown.
That plan, she said, could include the parish purchasing the entire mall property from its several owners, remedying its physical and financial issues, and selling it to one developer.
If ownership was consolidated, Bohannan said, it could be the largest piece of property up for development on the east bank.
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