The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously on June 24 to advance zoning changes needed for a 1,000-room, 27-story Omni Hotels & Resorts hotel on Convention Center Boulevard — the largest hotel project proposed in New Orleans in nearly 50 years. The council directed the City Attorney’s Office to draft an overlay zoning ordinance that would allow the building to rise 336 feet, far exceeding existing Warehouse District height limits, on a state-owned parcel between Convention Center Boulevard and South Peters Street currently occupied by The Sugar Mill event space.

The $600 million project, developed by TRT Holdings, the Dallas-based parent company of Omni, is positioned as a dedicated headquarters hotel for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Convention Center President and CEO Jim Cook called the development shovel-ready and said it would attract an estimated 27 new events per year and generate $213 million in annual economic activity. At more than 1,000 rooms, the hotel would rank among the city’s three largest and would rise to a height comparable to the Caesars Casino Hotel, making it the tallest building in New Orleans outside the Poydras and Canal Street corridors.

The same day, the New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Economic Growth and Development District, a special taxing board tied to the convention center, approved a resolution outlining the major terms of a 45-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the hotel. Under the proposed PILOT, Omni would pay its full assessed property tax bill to the Orleans Parish School Board but would make a reduced payment to the city based on the average tax rate of a group of comparable hotels. A separate package of approximately $265 million in state sales tax breaks over 45 years still requires approval from the state legislature. Lawmakers have delayed a vote on that measure twice and the next relevant budget committee meeting is scheduled for August.

The Bureau for Governmental Research, the independent watchdog group, estimated that the combined public support package could amount to more than $940 million in gross subsidies over 45 years, with roughly $669 million in net subsidies after factoring in rent payments to the convention center. BGR found the hotel would need public support for approximately 11 years to hit its targeted investor return — raising questions about whether a 45-year incentive term is warranted. Opposition at the council hearing came from hospitality workers, neighborhood residents and preservationists concerned about the project’s height, the scale of public incentives and the loss of Mississippi Heritage Park greenspace, a 1.36-acre park adjacent to the site.

Both the zoning ordinance and the PILOT agreement still require final votes by the City Council before they take effect. The project’s timeline also depends on the state sales tax decision in August and final approval from the convention center’s board. Supporters argue that peer cities including Nashville and Atlanta are aggressively expanding hotel inventory near their convention centers, and that New Orleans risks losing large conventions without a dedicated headquarters property. The hotel is currently targeting a completion date of 2030.

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