HII closes deal on Avondale

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Oct. 4 the closing of the sale of HII’s former Avondale (La.) shipyard facilities to Avondale Marine, a joint venture between T. Parker Host and the Chicago-based real estate firm Hilco Redevelopment Partners, who plan to redeveloped the 254-acre site it into a multi-modal, manufacturing and logistics hub. The Avondale site is located upriver from New Orleans, and had built and repaired commercial and military vessels for more than 75 years. The Avondale facility, once part of HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, ceased its Navy shipbuilding operations in December 2014. Avondale’s UNO Maritime Center of Excellence has remained open and continues to do engineering and design work in support of Ingalls’ shipbuilding programs in Pascagoula, Miss. T. Parker Host is HQ’d in Norfolk, Va., and is among the nation’s largest terminal operators and among the maritime industry’s leaders specializing in agency, terminal operations, and marine assets. (Source: HII 10/04/18) HII initially listed the property price at $125M, but dropped it to $95M. However, the purchase price was not disclosed. The UNO Maritime Center building is owned by the state of Louisiana and was not part of deal.