Facing scrutiny for its $445 million proposed purchase of the former Avondale shipyard, officials from the Port of South Louisiana have refused to make public the appraisal documents the say would justify a price more than seven times higher than what the current owner paid for it four years ago.
Citing “active negotiations,” port attorney Richard Pressler said late Monday in response to a public records request that the port, which is a state-sponsored agency, would not turn over a site appraisal that Executive Director Paul Matthews has said he relied on in agreeing to buy the site from T. Parker Host.
The port announced on Jan. 12 that its board of commissioners had voted to buy Avondale, now known as the Avondale Global Gateway, after months of talks between Matthews and executives with the company….
