This area at foot of St. Charles near interstate needs whatever help it can get imo. Passing by see a ton of vacant buildings / storefronts
https://www.nola.com/news/business/d...rce=featured-2
A local developer is moving forward with plans to build a five-story building with four apartments and ground-floor retail space on a vacant lot next to the old Emeril's Delmonico’s in the 1300 block of St. Charles Avenue.
Work crews drove several test piles at the site last week in preparation for a groundbreaking that developer Curtis Lawrence hopes will be later this summer. Before that can happen, however, Lawrence needs the city to approve several variances, including a height waiver, so he can build nearly three feet above the 60-foot limit; a parking waiver, so the building does not have to provide off-street parking; and a density waiver, which will allow the building to have one additional apartment beyond what is permitted for a structure that size.
The pencil building proposed for 1304 St. Charles Ave. will be tall and narrow, constructed on a 3,000-square-foot lot that was formerly the site of Sarouk Rugs. Lawrence purchased the vacant storefront in October 2021 and demolished it to make way for the mixed-use building, which will have a rooftop bar and pool and be operated as a complex of short-term rentals.
“It’s going to be a nice rooftop with panoramic views of the city,” said Lawrence, who estimates his total development cost at $4 million. “I am connected with a lot of professional athletes and upscale business people. It’s going to be the kind of place they’ll want to come.”
Though the city currently has a ban on new commercial short-term rentals, Lawrence plans to apply for a hotel license.