New Orleans moves forward with new reefer warehouse
Port of New Orleans has selected a firm for the engineering and design phase of a new Riverfront Cold Storage Processing Facility.
The port said the $30.5 million project at the Governor Nicholls Street Wharf will provide a new home for New Orleans Cold Storage on the Mississippi River.
New Orleans Cold Storage was forced to look for a location on the Mississippi River after silting and the impending closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet reduced deep-draft access to its dockside cold-storage facility following Hurricane Katrina.
“I am proud to say the project is moving forward,” said Gary LaGrange, the port’s president and chief executive officer. “This first-class facility will allow a valued and longstanding port tenant to grow its business and provide well-paying jobs for many years to come.”
The port estimates the company generated 718 direct and indirect jobs and had a $35 million economic impact on the local economy.
With the new facility on the river, company officials predict they could double its cargo.
Board members selected New Orleans-based Morphy, Makofsky Inc. as the prime consultant for the project. The firm’s fee and the project’s timeline will be based upon final negotiations with the firm.
In other board action, Monticello, Ark.-based Sea-Ark Marine Inc. was awarded a $1 million contract to purchase a new 50-foot command and control vessel, which the port’s harbor police will use to patrol and answer calls on the Mississippi River.