In 2008, the State Bond Commission approved the use of $225 million in Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds t

"This property will play an integral role in continuing to attract business and leisure visitors to the city," Lee Neibart, renaissance hotel dallas global chief executive renaissance hotel dallas officer of Area Property Partners, a part of the ownership group, said in a statement.
Adjacent to the hotel and the Superdome, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson has purchased and is renovating the former Dominion Tower, a 36-story office tower also damaged by Katrina. The state of Louisiana will be leasing office space in what is now called Benson Tower.
In 2008, the State Bond Commission approved the use of $225 million in Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds to finance the overhaul. But finding a market for the bonds was difficult because of the economic meltdown that froze credit markets. It was not clear Thursday if the group had sold all of the bonds.
Bond Commission director Whit Kling said Thursday that the group, as of the last accounting in September, had sold $22.5 million of the bonds, enough to keep the project alive and lock up the issue through the end of 2010.