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T u e s d ay, s e p T e m b e r 23, 2025
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Dome lease deal stalls
Tulane’s housing policy impacts rental market
Residents welcome quieter streets, increased parking
Negotiations over Benson Tower, other real estate continue BY ANTHONY McAULEY, TYLER BRIDGES and JEFF DUNCAN Staff writers
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
More rentals are available in the university area since Tulane and Loyola students were required to move on campus. BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
In the month since Tulane University students returned — and a new school policy started that requires them to live on campus for their first three years— nearby residents say long-standing problems caused by off-campus student housing have improved, from parking shortages to late-night noise and overcrowded rentals. But the housing policy has created a new challenge for the neighborhood: an oversupply of apartments that is leaving hundreds of units vacant and, some say, driving down prices. “Driving around the neighborhood, I
“When you have hundreds of students who used to live in the neighborhood move back on to campus, it is 100% going to impact the market. It’s not even a question.”
shared by others in the area, are supported by data. In August, between 1,200 and 1,350 apartments were available for rent within a 1-mile radius of Tulane’s Gibson Hall, according to an analysis of listings on the rental website Zumper by real estate analyst Arthur Sterbcow. ARTHUR STERBCOW, real estate analyst That’s about 15% more rental units on average than were listed last August, according to Sterbcow, who also comcan tell you the ‘for rent’ signs are ev- pared data from Zillow and Apartments. erywhere,” said Alex Meyer, a project com. Though the individual unit nummanager with a construction company bers varied among the three websites, who owns three rental properties in the overall trend — 10%-15% more the university area. “I’d say there are apartments for rent — was consistent. a couple on every block.” ä See RENTAL, page 7A Meyer’s anecdotal observations,
The Saints and the state of Louisiana have agreed to the terms of a long-term lease of the Caesars Superdome, but it hasn’t been signed because the two sides are still haggling over leases for Benson Tower, Champions Square and the team’s practice facility in Jefferson Parish. The stadium lease deal, which would run for 10 years and then give the Saints options to renew every five years through 2055, has been finalized since last week, according to negotiators for the Saints and the state, which is represented by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, also known as the Superdome Commission. But commission Chair Robert Vosbein and Saints spokesperson Gregg Bensel confirmed Monday that leases for the other properties, most notably the Benson Tower skyscraper, are still being negotiated. And while the state has pushed to sign the Superdome deal and then move on to the other properties later, the Saints say those other agreements, which are worth millions of dollars annually, must be handled along with the Dome lease. “The stadium deal we are ready to sign now, so that part’s there,” said Vosbein, a lawyer who was appointed last year by Gov. Jeff Landry and has been the state’s primary negotiator with Saints
ä See DOME, page 5A
Candidates face off on policies at N.O. mayoral debate BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
Candidates for New Orleans mayor debated on live television for the second time in a week Monday, going head-to-head on insurance policy, economic development and the city budget days before some voters begin to cast ballots in the October election. State Sen. Royce Duplessis maintained his attacks against consensus front-runner Helena Moreno in
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ELECTION 2025 the debate, which aired on WDSUTV. Duplessis has flung critiques at Moreno, the City Council vice president, in recent days as he seeks to cut into her double-digit polling lead in the race. The punchy 30-minute debate otherwise hewed closely to policy questions from the moderator, WDSU anchor Gina Swanson. The
election is Oct. 11, and early Moreno responded that the voting begins Saturday. Legislative Auditor’s Office Amid ongoing debate at has done yeoman’s work in City Hall and on the camreviewing financial woes at other city agencies, including paign trail about the size of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s New Orleans’ budget deficit, Office. In the past, the office’s one of the more contentious reviews have offered clarity moments came as Duples- Duplessis Moreno Thomas that in turn spurred progress sis tried again to tag Moreno and the council as complicit in the cil,’” he said, referring to a coun- on agency budgets, she said. Moreno also tagged LaToya city’s financial struggles. cil resolution Moreno carried last “Her answer? ‘We asked the week asking the state investigator Cantrell’s administration with state legislative auditor to come review the city’s books. “That is ä See DEBATE, page 7A in and do the job of the City Coun- unacceptable.”
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