Yes--the headline is correct.
The property that just changed hands is the old YWCA on Pierre Avenue. This building has long been abandoned and it has become dilapidated.
The property was just appraised at a value of $299,000. The breakdown is $265,000 for the building and $34,00 for the land.
Shreveport Implementation and Redevelopment Authority (SIRA) recently purchased the land and building for $550,000 from the Lake Bethlehem Church.
The City of Shreveport funded the purchase price to SIRA.
This building is across the street from the closed Pierre Avenue public school.
SIRA plans to schedule public engagement meetings to receive community input on the future use of this property. Lake Bethlehem and the YWCA, the two prior owners, were unsuccessful in plans to utilize this building.
Currently SIRA has no funds for development/renovation of this facility.
In the meantime, the SIRA Board is focused on getting a post office box, getting Board members reappointed, issuing a contract for a website, getting audits for 2024 and 2025, planning a board retreat, developing/adopting policies and procedures, etc.
While jumping through these bureaucratic hoops maybe SIRA could at least post a "FOR SALE" sign on this property along with the five acre tract on Exposition Avenue.