The future of the Heywood Building in downtown Jennings has been hanging in the air for quite some time.

The flatiron structure, which has been a part of downtown Jennings since 1903, is getting a new lease on life as city leaders work to turn the iconic centuries-old landmark into an open-air, outdoor gathering space for the community.

“I envision this will capture the essence of what the Heywood Building looked like in its hey days and will be a place people will want to gather, hold small events or just enjoy the outdoors,” Jennings Industrial Development board member and former Jennings mayor Greg Marcantel said.

Storm damage, back-to-back hurricanes and the pandemic have slowed the revitalization project down in the past, but the City of Jennings, Jennings Industrial Development Board and the Jeff Davis Arts Council are working together to move the project forward with $40,000 granted by the Industrial Development Board.

The group plans to use some of the iconic elements salvaged from the original structure, including bricks and Vitrolite glass from its facade to bring the structure back to life and add to the charm of the downtown area, Marcantel said. The original corner Heywood building sign will also be incorporated in the plans.

“It’s going to be a combination of the old black glass with the exposed bricks,” Marcantel said.

Tables with umbrellas, chairs and wifi access will welcome visitors to the outdoor space.

Future plans will include a fountain and a small stage area, he said.

“If someone wants to grab lunch at Andrea’s down the street, or one of the other local restaurants, this will be a place they can eat their lunch and chill out,” Marcantel said.

Jennings Industrial Development Board secretary Kayla Gary hopes the spot will be a place people will want to “hang out,” work or take pictures for special occasions.

“It’s really going to be a neat place,” Gary said. “With the plants, umbrellas and tables it will be an attractive place for people to hang out and take pictures.”

It will also complement the opening of a nearby wine bar and area restaurants, she said. The Jennings City Hall, Zigler Art Museum and Jeff Davis Parish Arts and Technology center are also located just down the street.

The city is working to revitalize other parts of the downtown area by extending the brick sidewalks, adding more plants and installing new street lights.

Plans to restore the building began as a grassroots level nearly a decade ago with a “Save the Heywood” campaign and supporters have not given up on saving the aging structure and returning it to a functional part of the historic downtown area. “We hope to have it finished within the next 60 days,” Marcantel said.

The Heywood Building has been a historic and iconic part of Jennings’ history standing at the corner of Main and Market streets for 120 years.

Originally built in 1903, the building was initially called the Sylvan building. It was later renamed the Heywood Building, a name that continues to be associated with the building more than a century later.

Over the years, it has housed offices for the Heywood Oil Syndicate, a clothing store, hair salon and served as the local campaign headquarters for John F. Kennedy presidential campaign in 1960.

Marcantel remembers the building back in its glory days when his mother was a campaign volunteer for Kennedy’s election.

“That’s one of my earliest memories of that building, being an eight-year-old and going to that building with my mother,” he said. “I was always fascinated by the black glass.”

The building was remodeled in the 1930s into an art-deco jewel, composed of three triangular stories and encased in shining black glass and marble.