A storied playground that once stood at the heart of the St. Bernard neighborhood will soon be restored as a $35 million athletic field and underground stormwater storage system, after years of stalled progress.

At McDonogh 35 High School last week, New Orleans officials broke ground on Willie Hall Playground, a project that aims to reduce chronic flooding in the area and expand the city’s stock of public recreation fields.

"This project speaks to the future of the city of New Orleans in a community that we know in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina took on a lot of water, and that's why we focus heavily on these spaces to ensure we can mitigate flooding by learning how to live with it," said Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who was flanked by Chief Administrative Officer Joe Threat, and City Co

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