Source: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty
A New Orleans mansion linked to Beyonce and Jay-Z is now at the center of an arson investigation after it was ablaze earlier this week.
Although details are actively still being released on this story, what’s known is that the New Orleans Fire Department showed up to put out a fire on Harmony street in the Garden District on the evening of July 23. TMZ described the home as a “Spanish baroque mansion” that is a “three-story house [that] features a main residence, three separate apartments, 26-foot ceilings, and a green roof.” It was originally built anywhere from 1925-1927, and was a church, then ballet school, before becoming a home.
Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire. After about 2 hours of work from the reported 22 firefighters there, the team was able to fully put out the flames.
The following day, the local police shared that the fire was being handled as arson since a “suspicious person” report was made around the time the fire is said to have been started.
The extent of the damage and what a motive would be for the alleged arsonist are both unclear at this time. Yahoo! Entertainment, shared that the “authorities reportedly believe the fire began in the house’s kitchen, where they found a gasoline can and books in an oven inside the house.”
Moreover, NBC News noted while the fire department involved couldn’t be reached directly, a spokesperson for the police said that, “The report for this incident is still pending approval, so we cannot provide additional details at this time.” Regarding the building’s connection to Jay-Z and Beyonce, it outlined:
“Orleans Parish property records show Sugarcane Park LLC as the owner. Louisiana Secretary of State records list the address for Sugarcane Park as Parkwood Entertainment LLC in New York City, which is an entertainment and management company founded by Beyoncé. When the mansion was sold to Sugarcane in 2015, local media had reported on the apparent connection.”
Notably, the power couple’s representatives haven’t released a statement on their behalf regarding the news of the fire as of yet. We’ll keep you up to speed as more information on this story is released.
