Petroleum Tower Is Preparing for a New Life

For years, Petroleum Tower has stood over downtown Shreveport waiting for someone to answer a very expensive question:

What do you do with a 16-story office building when nobody needs 16 stories of offices anymore?

The answer may be: turn it into 117 homes.

Plans are moving forward for the approximately $30 million Petro Tower Lofts redevelopment, which would transform the long-vacant office building into 117 market-rate apartments with dedicated resident parking, ground-floor commercial space and modern amenities.

In a July 27 update, the Downtown Development Authority reported that members of the development team were in Shreveport finalizing plans ahead of anticipated construction. Earlier financing approvals helped bring the project closer to this stage.

That is encouraging news for anyone who has driven through downtown, looked up at Petroleum Tower and thought, Surely we can do something with that building.

Apparently, we can.

From Corner Offices to Downtown Apartments

Petroleum Tower opened during an era when downtown Shreveport was the center of the region’s business world. Its offices once housed oil and gas companies, attorneys, executives and other professionals.

The building was even promoted as “Shreveport’s Best Address.”

At the time, that meant an impressive office address. More than six decades later, the slogan could take on a much more literal meaning.

The proposed Petro Tower Lofts would include one- and two-bedroom apartments. Previously announced amenities include a fitness room, business center, bicycle storage, additional resident storage and even a pet-washing station.

Yes, the building that once catered to petroleum executives may someday cater to downtown dogs in need of a bath.

That is what you call adapting with the times.

Why 117 Apartments Matter

This project is about much more than rescuing one old building.

Adding 117 apartments means potentially adding 117 households to downtown Shreveport. Those residents will need coffee, dinner, groceries, entertainment and everyday services. They will walk dogs, meet friends and create activity after the traditional workday ends.

That daily rhythm matters.

Festivals, concerts, conventions and special events bring valuable bursts of energy downtown. But a healthy downtown cannot survive on big weekends alone. It also needs people who wake up there on an ordinary Tuesday morning.

Residents create a dependable customer base for nearby businesses. They put lights in windows at night and people on sidewalks throughout the week. Over time, that can make downtown feel less like a place people occasionally visit and more like an actual neighborhood.

Old Buildings Can Have Second Acts

There is also something especially satisfying about this kind of redevelopment.

Instead of demolishing a recognizable part of Shreveport’s skyline and starting from scratch, the project would give Petroleum Tower a new purpose. The building gets to keep telling its story—just with new characters.

That approach preserves some of downtown’s identity while adapting it to the way people live and work today.

Many cities are struggling with older office buildings that no longer fit the modern workplace. Remote and hybrid work have changed the demand for traditional office space, leaving communities to decide what comes next.

Converting those buildings into residences is not simple or inexpensive, but it can address two challenges at once: eliminating vacant commercial space while creating new housing.

There Is Still Work Ahead

Of course, there is an important difference between a promising redevelopment announcement and people actually moving furniture into apartments.

Large historic rehabilitation projects are complicated. Financing must come together. Plans must be approved. Construction must begin. And old buildings have a habit of hiding expensive surprises behind walls, above ceilings and beneath floors.

The project is not complete until the doors open.

Still, seeing the development team in Shreveport finalizing plans is another meaningful step forward—and certainly better than watching the building remain empty.

Petroleum Tower has already served one generation of Shreveport. If Petro Tower Lofts proceeds as planned, it could soon serve another.

This time, “Shreveport’s Best Address” may come with apartment keys, downtown views and a pet-washing station.

And 117 new households could help turn another quiet corner of downtown into something every successful neighborhood needs:

Home.