1929 Ford Motor Company Building in Downtown Shreveport Saved

A building that once housed Andress Ford Motor Company in downtown Shreveport has been abandoned for decades, but that is about to change thanks to Shreveport Common and a man named Jim Malsch.  Malsch bought the building and will turn it into an artist-shared studio along with a retail space.  There will also be an artist gallery on the bottom floor. The building has sat vacant for decades and is located on Crockett Street near the Shreveport Regional Arts Council building.  There is graffiti from years past everywhere in the building and all of the windows are gone.  Malsch is going to keep the 1929 industrial art deco style when it is refurbished, and he believes the project will take about 8 months to complete once he breaks ground in early 2020.  Malsch drove buy the abandoned building for years and decided to do something about downtown Shreveport’s blighted buildings.  In 2016, a study was done and it found that artist studios in downtown Shreveport were wanted and needed by local entrepreneurs.