Ruling Clears Way to Pave Over Green Space for CRE

One of the busiest commercial corridors in New Orleans may lose its last vacant space. A recent court ruling allows the owner of the undeveloped Tolmas Tract on Metarie, La.’s Veterans Boulevard to develop the land for commercial use. Morning Park, LLC had asked the court to enforce a permanent injunction--originally granted in 1963--blocking the Jefferson Parish, which covers Metarie and most of the New Orleans suburbs, from interfering with the owner’s “use and possession” of the property.

Real estate developer Oscar Tolmas first owned the tract, along with the land nearby that would become the Whitney-Cecile neighborhood. He built an office for his construction company in 1958 and got into a legal disagreement with parish officials in 1962 that had to do with an entrance to the tract from Veterans Boulevard. Tolmas was granted a permanent injunction blocking the parish from “committing any act” that affected the “peaceable possession” of the property. In 1966, the first zoning rules for the parish were adopted and there were no legal issues regarding the property until after Tolmas sold the tract in 2004 to Morning Park for $4 million.
After a big-box retailer expressed interest in the tract, Morning Park officials filed a lawsuit. They asked the court to enforce the 1963 permanent injunction, to pave the way for some type of commercial development there, which would require it to carry a commercial designation. Morning Park’s request has been granted for now. The parish is appealing the decision.
The decision surprised nearby residents and members of the Whitney-Cecile Homeowner and Improvements Association. “It was a complete shock,” said Harold Singer, interim president, adding that many homes in Whitney-Cecile have been bought, in part, because the Tolmas Tract is zoned residential.

Residents believe a commercial development on the land will negatively affect the neighborhood. “You then enter a situation where you have traffic day and night--and there’s no telling what else could be going on,” Singer said.