Last time we heard about the future of Charity Hospital, which has sat abandoned since Hurricane Katrina 11 years ago, the state was starting from scratch in the redevelopment process and planning to hire a consultant to help dictate what will become of the structure. The state hasn’t announced any plans beyond that.
But now, there is some movement on at least getting the building cleaned out—and NOLA.com reports it will be an expensive undertaking.
State officials are apparently in the process of bidding out the clean-up job, which is estimated to cost $10 million and take at least six months to complete.
Why has this taken so long? FEMA only just approved the money for the job, and it is not tied to the concurrent (and forever stalled) redevelopment plans.
Don’t expect to snag any sweet Charity Hospital mementoes after the clean-out (like that "Christmas tree"): Contractors on the job will have to scrap for salvage or throw away all together any items from the hospital, since it is possible everything is covered in asbestos.