This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

NEW ORLEANS — With all the recovery milestones reached in the 13 years since Hurricane Katrina, one missed opportunity stands out: Charity Hospital.

When it was built in 1939, it was the second largest hospital in the country. The 20-story building is still impressive even though it has sat unused since the hurricane.

“If you think about all the things that have been done in the region since Katrina, I mean, everything has come back: police stations, fire stations, roads, bridges, jobs and entrepreneurship. But, we’ve left that building undeveloped,” Andy Kopplin, the President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, explained on WGNO’s In the Arena with John Young. “And, I think more importantly, we’ve left the district around it, 110 acres in the middle of downtown New Orleans, undeveloped.”

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has started a planning process for the neighborhoods surrounding Charity Hospital called the Spirit of Charity Innovation District. But, the future of those plans relies on what happens to the centerpiece, which is still owned by the state.

“LSU has got the building. And, they are trying to redevelop the building,” said Kopplin. “But, from the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s perspective–so much more than just the building. You’ve got to fix the building to get the area unleashed. But if we unleash that 110 acres, there’s just so much opportunity there for our city and our region.”

The GNOF held its first community workshop in July to get the community involved. The next meeting will be August 13, 6 p.m., at the Delgado School of Nursing. Community input is important because, if done right, redeveloping Charity and the neighborhoods around the hospital could do a lot of good.

“We think it’s a great opportunity to create a bunch of jobs, and then also use the creation of those jobs to address a lot of the big challenges that we face,” said Kopplin. “First of all, connecting disconnected workers to those jobs. You know, helping people from our region get those good jobs. But, also addressing things like affordable housing, and improved transit, and public spaces. We really think there’s a great opportunity with the Spirit of Charity Innovation District to create a robust, job-creating and yet equitable place.”

In the Arena with John Young airs Sunday morning on WGNO at 6:30 a.m.