Quote:
Originally Posted by ptalt51
I Think this is the most favorable of the three proposals, but...unfortunately I’m not the biggest fan of the Ferris wheel. A pedestrian ferry landing would be far more usable than something so touristy, (my opinion) but I think landing at Spanish Plaza on the ferry is a far more inviting and pleasant entrance to New Orleans than the current ferry landing. It would be great if the revolving lounge was kept open to the public and rebuilt into two decks to handle more patrons, maybe one for a restaurant and the other for a lounge. The view up there is really impressive and the old glass exterior elevator on the upriver side was also a nice uninterrupted ride to the top with a great view.
|
I agree with all of this, although I don't know how much cachet revolving restaurants have anymore. It might be better to rebuild as an open-air restaurant and lounge with pool deck. (then again, the winds at that altitude are probably heavy).
The redevelopment of Spanish Plaza is a suggestion, basically. Gatehouse makes the case that the building's current value is near-zero, but they are agreeing to pay $10M upfront for a long term lease if the city invests the proceeds in Spanish Plaza renovations and streetscaping. Spanish Plaza is owned by the city and Gatehouse is not asking to lease it themselves, although the plaza is
currently leased to Howard Hughes/Riverwalk.
Because the city would be in charge of the plaza renovation, there's no guarantee it will be built as displayed in the proposal. In fact, I highly doubt the Ferris wheel will come to fruition, because $10M is not enough to buy a signature Ferris wheel, and the city doesn't have any other sources of funding. I'm really, really hoping they restore the original Spanish Plaza marble paving.