St. Charles Parish plans to sell Goodhope Park in Norco to Equilon Enterprises, a subsidiary of Shell USA, for $20,000.
Parish President Matthew Jewell described the small park as underutilized in an ordinance seeking the Parish Council’s approval of the sale. The council has not yet voted on the ordinance.
When the administration first introduced the ordinance April 20, the proposed sale price was listed at $100,000. On Monday, however, the administration asked the council to postpone action indefinitely before introducing a new ordinance reducing the proposed sale price to $20,000.
Goodhope Park was donated to the parish in 2006 by Motiva Enterprises, Shell Chemical, Shell Oil Company and SCOGI Louisiana Holdings. It sits at 500 Goodhope St. within walking distance of several homes.
The parish has sold other neighborhood parks as it moves toward a centralized park system, with more multiuse regional facilities. The council approved the auction of the neighborhood park in Fairfield Plantation Oaks subdivision in a 7-2 vote last May, with many residents voicing their disapproval.
Jewell said last year that parish officials are focusing on park quality over park quantity. A parish rule that requires developers of subdivisions to set aside space for playgrounds or pay a fee to the parish, which has existed since the parish code was adopted, helped expand the parish system to 56 sites, resulting in higher maintenance costs.
Larger regional parks like West Bank Bridge Park and East Bank Bridge Park offer something for everyone and are of overall higher quality than the smaller neighborhood parks, Jewell had said.
Last year, the parish spent nearly $2.5 million on a revitalization project for East Bank Bridge Park. The renovations included two new tennis courts, two pickleball courts, a batting cage, a basketball court, turf infields, fresh grass and an irrigation system. Two new light poles and LED fixtures at the tennis courts were also installed. The parish completed similar renovations at West Bank Bridge Park in 2024.
The parish also plans to build a new gymnasium at East Bank Bridge Park. Last May, the council approved a $356,901 agreement with Murray Architects to design the gym.
The parish has made investments in Norco parks. Last August, the parish completed renovations at Bethune Park. The renovations, which took about a year to complete, included a covered basketball court, a pavilion, a playground, batting cages, upgraded baseball and multiuse fields and improved dugouts. Commemorative signage honoring Mary M. Bethune High School was also installed.
That renovation was funded by a collaboration between the parish and Shell Norco, which provided a $500,000 donation. The project marked the first major upgrade to the park in 25 years.
In April, the parish held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new outdoor classroom at the Norco park named the Dow Discovery Deck.