Louisiana buys Shreveport office building and we say goodbye to a taco favorite: Business in the 318

Makenzie Boucher, Shreveport Times
·2 min read

Hey there Shreveport, are you ready to catch up on all the business in the 318 well look no further. The Shreveport-Bossier area had news making headlines from the first woman to lead a B-52 squadron at Barksdale to a local favorite closing its doors.

Louisiana to buy downtown Shreveport office building

The building located at 500 Fannin Street, commonly called the Waggonner Bldg., in downtown Shreveport on April 20, 2022.
The building located at 500 Fannin Street, commonly called the Waggonner Bldg., in downtown Shreveport on April 20, 2022.

After sitting vacant for a while, a downtown Shreveport building is getting a new lease on life.

500 Fannin Street commonly known as the Waggoner Building has been purchased by the state of Louisiana. This building will replace the aging Mary Allen State Office Building on Fairfield Avenue.

This newly renovated building is intended to consolidate many Shreveport-area state employees. The current Mary Allen State Office Building houses 358 employees working for 10 state agencies.

To learn more about the Waggoner Building, click here.

The first woman in the Air Force to lead a B-52 squadron and she's at Barksdale

Lt Col. Vanessa Wilcox, incoming 96th Bomb Squadron commander, reveals her name on a B-52H Stratofortress flagship after a change of command ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, April 21, 2022. The B-52 flagship is known as the “Spirit of Shreveport/Bossier”.
Lt Col. Vanessa Wilcox, incoming 96th Bomb Squadron commander, reveals her name on a B-52H Stratofortress flagship after a change of command ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, April 21, 2022. The B-52 flagship is known as the “Spirit of Shreveport/Bossier”.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Vanessa Wilcox became commander of the 96th Bomb Squadron, of the 2d Operations Group, during a change-of-command ceremony on April 21, marking her as the first female B-52 squadron commander.

Wilcox is a B-52H Weapon Systems Officer with more than 1500 hours including multiple deployments to the Pacific.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to lead this historic squadron,” said Lt. Col Willcox.

Tacomania closed and it's being replaced with a Starbucks

Tacomania, photographed on April 20, 2022, will be closing and is being torn down and replaced by Starbucks.
Tacomania, photographed on April 20, 2022, will be closing and is being torn down and replaced by Starbucks.

After a year of being on the market, Starbucks has bought the land where Tacomania stood and will be putting in a new location.

Alan Clarke, Executive Director at Shreveport/Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission said, "that the building will be demolished and replaced with a Starbucks."

Tacomania located on 641 East Kings Highway has been serving authentic Mexican food to the Shreveport-Bossier area for over 20 years.

Former minor league Shreveport baseball field to be demolished

The beloved Fair Grounds Field may find itself closer to demolition.

The demolition is expected to cost $580,000, with $200,000 of that total going toward removing the protected bat species that have long occupied the stadium.

The $3.5 million stadium was constructed for minor league baseball team the Shreveport Captains.

They were affiliated with multiple major league teams, including the San Francisco Giants, but haven't used the stadium since 2002.

To learn more about the Fair Grounds Field, click here.

Be on the lookout for Thursday and Sunday for Life in the 318 and The 318 to catch up on all the best stories you might have missed.

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana buys Shreveport office building and we say goodbye to a taco favorite