NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread

[Uptowngirl]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Cool. 800 Perdido is the Factors Row building... I'm glad they are doing the necessary structural work to keep it around until a reuse plan is formed. Part of the building sadly collapsed onto Singha Thai a few months ago.

No idea it was in such bad shape. Its one of my favorite buildings in New Orleans. It appears to be a very narrow building in the photo. It could be used as an annex for business startups, or apartments? Can't believe its empty.

[Eightball]

We won’t be railroaded’ in Hollygrove, Councilwoman Guidry says
http://midcitymessenger.com/2013/12/...n-guidry-says/

Councilwoman Susan Guidry took a firm stance against one proposal of the New Orleans Rail Gateway Program, a railroad upgrade which could ultimately result in up to 60 freight trains a day barreling through the city’s quiet Hollygrove neighborhood.

“My status right now is that this is totally unacceptable,” Guidry said, getting in response a round of applause. “We’ve got a saying: ‘We won’t be railroaded.’ I think this is the message we need to give.”

The message has stuck, and “We Won’t Be Railroaded” is now the title of a new committee organized by Hollygrove residents and community activists, its members announced during an informational meeting Tuesday. Nearly a hundred community members representing Hollygrove, Mid-City and Dixon neighborhoods came to the evening meeting held at City of Love church, which is tucked away on Palmetto Street, near where the action may be slated to happen.

On to the important things

New Daiquiri Shop on Broad Street wins approval from City Planning
http://midcitymessenger.com/2013/12/...n-dec-10-2013/

The next speaker, Robert Lott, made a similar point, that the daiquiri shop will slow the interest in renovations taking place on North Broad.

“I think it’ll negatively affect the general development that’s going on in the Broad corridor,” Lott says.

The planning commission staff had recommended approval of the project, but with a number of conditions — the bar must close at midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends, live music or music projected outside is prohibited, go cups must have the club’s logo on them, and the business must have a litter-control plan. Jefferson said that he has a history of responsible business ownership at the location that neighbors can rely upon.

“They’re going to be good corporate citizens,” Jefferson said.

Planning Commissioner Robert Steeg proposed adding an additional condition requiring security be present after 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday, and with that, the commission passed the request unanimously. The proposal must still receive final approval from the City Council, and Jefferson said that once the permits are in hand, the renovation will likely take only a few weeks.

Another Mid-City item on the Planning Commission, the expansion of Champ’s Collision Center into the former Pelican Thrift building on the same site, was postponed until January. See below for live coverage.

When did NOLA start having all these damn rules for bars

Edit:
NOLA development surge adds to parking demand
http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/bl...arking-demand/

The abundance of development throughout New Orleans, especially a new residential concentration downtown, is calling attention to the availability of parking. Although new parking structures are in the works, urban planning experts say they shouldn’t be the automatic option for developers.182271252
Current city zoning laws use a variety of minimum parking requirements based on the use and size of developments. Any new development or change of use for an existing property with an area exceeding 50,000 square feet must include a traffic impact analysis as part of its plans submitted to the city for approval...

This process does not change under the new draft of the comprehensive zoning ordinance currently in development. The updated guidelines provide clearer parking standards that reflect the characteristics of individual neighborhoods around the city.
Alley said parking will always be a concern in the city as demand for space shifts over time, but she added recent new developments will actually provide more parking than required...

There has also been more demand for bicycle parking as part of new and existing developments in the city. Alley said the city’s new draft of the comprehensive zoning ordinance includes requirements for both long-term and short-term bicycle parking.
“There are more residents in the city who are using bicycles and public transit as their main source of transportation and developers are taking that into account,” she said.
While parking decks alleviate demand, some analysts say developers have to be cautious to avoid overbuilding.
“Building a parking structure is expensive,” said consultant Jeffrey Colvin of Indianapolis-based Walker Parking Consultants. “Developers could be looking at $20,000 to $30,000 per space. That figure doesn’t include maintenance and drainage costs associated with the structure.”...

Colvin said the study showed that developers and the city could benefit from a system of shared parking, allowing lot uses to change based on time of day and day of the week.
“You can lump several lots together across multiple blocks,” Colvin said. “Offices could open lots to restaurants or other establishments. It helps offset some of the spending on parking.”
He also suggests development of price-based parking, where on-street fees fluctuate based on the hour and area...

[tennis1400]

3220 Chartres St·HDLC COA ·Ref Code: CX76SM
Print Summary SubmitAdd to Watch List
Type:
HDLC COA
Applicant:
Studio Wta
Status:
Scheduling and case analysis
Date Filed:
12/10/2013 5:03:56 PM
Closed:
No
Description
Construct three-story commercial building on existing vacant lot.


5552 Read Blvd·New Construction ·Ref Code: FGPDHB
Print Summary SubmitAdd to Watch List
Type:
New Construction
Applicant:
Traci Champagne
Status:
Draft Application
Date Filed:
12/11/2013 1:30:05 PM
Closed:
No
Description
High School

[Thomas Jefferson]

I wonder if speed controls and a substantial sound wall between Hollygrove and tracks similar to what is going up along I-10 would be acceptable to the community regarding the railroad issue. Not the most aesthetic, but for the region's economy, a railroad fix must be undertaken. I feel many of their issues such as tankers carrying toxic chemicals are moot since the current route is also nearby and would undoubtedly affect the entire area if an accident happened (and without accidents, nobody seems to be growing tails or dying of carcinogens in Old Metry at the moment).

[tennis1400]

Ye Olde Bake Shoppe is Now Open in Mid City





Remember a few months ago when Rock N Bowl and Ye Olde College Inn owner, John Blancher, purchased the million dollar stripmall adjacent to his Mid City compound? Well, feast your eyes on some seriously swanky improvements to Ye Olde compound Still Dere Square. Blancher's son/family business man/chef Johnny Blancher has now added Ye Olde Bake Shoppe to the mix, certified open as of December 9. Fresh baked bread and cases of pastries abound (donuts, eclairs, cannoli) and grab-and-go breakfast/lunch fare (paninis, bagels, chicken salad, etc.) plus specialty coffee drinks are also available.

http://nola.eater.com/

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by Thomas Jefferson

I wonder if speed controls and a substantial sound wall between Hollygrove and tracks similar to what is going up along I-10 would be acceptable to the community regarding the railroad issue. Not the most aesthetic, but for the region's economy, a railroad fix must be undertaken. I feel many of their issues such as tankers carrying toxic chemicals are moot since the current route is also nearby and would undoubtedly affect the entire area if an accident happened (and without accidents, nobody seems to be growing tails or dying of carcinogens in Old Metry at the moment).

Good points, but I fail to understand the impetus to move this from Old Metry to Hollygrove/MC. Is it an expansion of capacity? It does seem like Old Metry is getting an improvement at the city's expense. That said, one thing always missed here is that if this cargo isn't hauled by rail, it will be hauled by trucks, which are more likely to get in accidents and increase pollution. It doesn't magically disappear.

@Tennis - great to see all the new bakeries in the city. When did that area become Mid City though? Lol. Directed at that obviously out of town writer, not you.

[Blitzen]

Originally Posted by Eightball

Good points, but I fail to understand the impetus to move this from Old Metry to Hollygrove/MC. Is it an expansion of capacity? It does seem like Old Metry is getting an improvement at the city's expense.

The Old Metry route is single tracked and has 7 (I think) crossings at grade level, whereas the Airline route has room for double tracks and no road crossings. Trains can go through much faster this route. In order to fix the crossings in Metairie would require underpasses, which flood, or a rail aqueduct system which would be phenomanly expensive. There's no perfect solution, but Airline is the least baddest.

[Eightball]

Thanks Blitzen. Makes sense

[tennis1400]

Another Broken Egg to open new locations in Lakeview, Uptown



http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blog...akeview-uptown


Bonjour Lingerie and Trashy Diva Lingerie open on Magazine





As temperatures drop across New Orleans, Magazine Street heats up with two new lingerie shops, Bonjour Lingerie (4214 Magazine St., 504-309-8014; www.facebook.com/bonjourNOLA) and Trashy Diva Lingerie Boutique (2044 Magazine St., 504-522-5686; www.trashydiva.com).

  Bonjour owners Angelique Poppo and Jill Townsend began their collaboration in 2006 while working at House of Lounge. After House of Lounge closed in June 2013, the pair followed their dream of opening their own store. They considered buying the House of Lounge space, but eventually chose a different location on Magazine Street.   

  "We wanted to do it our way," Poppo says.

  At Bonjour Lingerie, women can get properly fitted for bras, which are stocked in sizes from A to G cups. Other sizes are available via special order. "Lots of women not only do not know what size they are, but they also don't know what size they are wearing at that very moment," Poppo says. "We measure them and then give them a range of choices." The store's walls are lined with bras in rich jewel tones and colorful prints. Bonjour Lingerie also stocks racy accessories and gifts, including massagers, riding crops, lavish feather boas and sequined pasties.

  The former House of Lounge was perfect for the team at Trashy Diva, who aimed to build on the success of their French Quarter lingerie store by opening a second location near their Magazine Street apparel and shoe shops.

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gamb...nt?oid=2285922

[Eightball]

Kennedy: Build New Orleans to Lafayette interstate
http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com...new-orleans-to

Finishing an interstate corridor between New Orleans and Lafayette is the most important building project in Louisiana and deserves immediate financial aid, state Treasurer John Kennedy said Wednesday.

Major new retail development getting nearer in Slidell
http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com...opment-getting

More on the incredible renovation Tennis posted about a while back:
http://nola.eater.com/archives/2013/...-on-tulane.php



http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com...o-and-changing

When Namese (4077 Tulane Ave., 504-483-8899; namese.net) opened early this month in Mid-City, it continued a widespread dining trend for more, and more modern, Vietnamese restaurants. But it also marked a telling transformation for a long-time family business and reflects the changing fortunes for its neighborhood...

The restaurant was developed by Hieu Doan, a 30-something New Orleans native. His father Cu Doan and mother Soi Tran emigrated from Vietnam in 1975 and found jobs in the seafood industry -- on a shrimp boat and in an oyster processing plant respectively. They eventually developed a string of corner stores around town and in the early 1990s acquired the Tulane Avenue location. It was unremarkable as food stops go, primarily selling boiled seafood, po-boys and beer, though it meant everything to the family.

http://www.norta.com/Media/news-pres...ght/index.html

The Regional Transit Authority is working to improve later evening bus and streetcar service in New Orleans. We would like to better understand your thoughts on how to improve this service. In order to do this, we ask that you help us by completing the following survey. This is an opportunity for your voice to be heard. The information we receive will help us to improve our bus and streetcar services to better serve you...
The restaurant and hospitality sector is one of New Orleans’ most important industries and is concentrated in the city’s CBD and historic French Quarter. One of the challenges for this industry is the ability of late night workers and job seekers to get to and from work. ...
Specifically, the project will determine the need for later evening service to connect workers in the Central Business District (CBD), French Quarter and the new BioDistrict to their homes throughout New Orleans.

[Chris from N.O.]

Just came from Namese. It's really nice.

Driving around the other day I noticed construction adjacent to the Carver theater and also a crane behind the Andrew Bell school. Also tried to figure out what that coffee shop on Banks st but the only possibility is what looks like a house with a commercial Budweiser sign hanging from it.

[nola3]

friggin Great, positive, propaganda for New Orleans! per: National Geographic.....inspiring, image boosting, read for the Crescent City. Thank You NG, keep it coming! One of two sites in the US as a must visit place per NG

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...96_600x450.jpg

New Orleans, Louisiana
Photograph by Ken Kochey, National Geographic Creative

Best Trips 2014 All Best Trips
National Geographic Traveler presents the New Year's must-see places. From Argentina to Oz, the final lineup reflects what’s authentic, culturally rich, sustainably minded—and, of course, superlative in the world of travel today.
The Imperishable City

New Orleans, like Rome or hope, is eternal. Visit Louisiana’s filigreed, fleur-de-lis city twice or 20 times, and the scent will be as unchanging as the air is unmoving: a humid mix of confederate jasmine and fried shrimp, diesel fuel and desire. The French Quarter? Always rolling. At Galatoire’s, Uptown lawyers still get “liquor-store-robbing drunk” on five-hour Friday lunches of oysters Rockefeller and Pouilly-Fuissé, while farther down Bourbon Street, exhibitionists hooched-up on Hurricanes play to the balconies. The Garden District remains quieter than sleep—the whitewashed tombs of its cemetery still shelter the dead and fascinate the living. The St. Charles Avenue streetcar? Forever un-air-conditioned. Its open windows frame America’s most beautiful boulevard. Last year’s Mardi Gras beads will be there, too, dangling from the live oaks.

The music remains unrivaled. Rebirth, or maybe a Neville or two, should be playing Frenchmen Street; in the Treme a jazz band sends a second line snaking past the Creole cottages painted cantaloupe, carmine, and chartreuse.

Immutable. Imperishable. As predictable as seersucker after Easter. Yet change has arrived like Blanche DuBois, suitcase in hand and a tad dishabille. The Crescent City has always depended on the kindness of strangers, but now they’re staying. Some 20,000 in the past four years have settled along the Mississippi, revitalizing whole faubourgs, or neighborhoods. They’ve Brooklyn-ized the Bywater with Banksy murals and hipster clubs. Audubon and City Parks are replanted, and the theater marquees for the Joy and the Saenger shine again on Canal Street. The Lower Garden District now claims French antiques and molecular gastronomy. Freret Street sports fancy franks and cocktails. Mercedes-Benz got its mitts on the Superdome (or, at least, the name). Those who love this town may worry that the change will overpower the charm. Relax. What’s new will just join the party, Sazerac in hand.

“Goodness, sugar,” says Marda Burton, doyenne of the French Quarter. “New Orleans just excites the senses. It always has. It always will.” New Orleans! Storied past. Bright future. Hot mess. Here’s mud in your eye. —Andrew Nelson

[Blitzen]

After silence for so long, I was beginning to worry, but we have some GREAT NEWS! The building's final resting place will be along Claiborne Avenue. Most of the pickings have been driven (I had been wondering what those were for). I also like that it's going to be close to the street - for density reasons and because everyone should see this grand beautiful building as they drive by.

What I don't know is if they're going to rebuild the ground floor that was demolished or just place what they have on the ground. I hope it's rebuilt... the building would look stumpy without it.



http://www.wdsu.com/crews-work-to-mo...z/-/index.html

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

After silence for so long, I was beginning to worry, but we have some GREAT NEWS! The building's final resting place will be along Claiborne Avenue. Most of the pickings have been driven (I had been wondering what those were for). I also like that it's going to be close to the street - for density reasons and because everyone should see this grand beautiful building as they drive by.

What I don't know is if they're going to rebuild the ground floor that was demolished or just place what they have on the ground. I hope it's rebuilt... the building would look stumpy without it.



http://www.wdsu.com/crews-work-to-mo...z/-/index.html

Cool. This is so much better than the storage tank that was originally proposed for this location (inside the I-10 loop ramp).

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

The Old Metry route is single tracked and has 7 (I think) crossings at grade level, whereas the Airline route has room for double tracks and no road crossings. Trains can go through much faster this route. In order to fix the crossings in Metairie would require underpasses, which flood, or a rail aqueduct system which would be phenomanly expensive. There's no perfect solution, but Airline is the least baddest.

I don't really buy this. Underpasses are expensive, but the Airline route requires a major reworking of the Carrollton interchange and extensive sound mitigation (trains going around a tight curve produce a lot of screeching).

The Metairie route (the Back Belt) is only single-tracked for a 3-block stretch between Metairie Rd and the 17th Street Canal, and there is certainly room to add a second track. It's also feasible to build an underpass there.

I don't know why underpass construction is so hated here. The key is to provide an uninterrupted power source to the pumping station, which can be done with a generator/fuel tank or with solar/wind and capacitors. Hell, why not install both? The costs are minimal.

[Blitzen]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Cool. This is so much better than the storage tank that was originally proposed for this location (inside the I-10 loop ramp).

UPDATE: It's getting a new foundation making it 12' higher!!!!
http://theadvocate.com/news/7848318-...is-moved-again

EDIT: I'm happy the building is being saved, but since the state is already spending the money on a whole new first floor, I wish they'd restore the spires, balcony, and columns that used to be on the building:

Originally Posted by ardecila

I don't know why underpass construction is so hated here.

The handful of existing underpasses (Airline, I-10, Canal, Carriollton) flood in a heavy rain already - not that more effort can't be put into stopping them - but I think people are hesitant to take the risk.

[SlidellWx]

Update on the airport front...we are finally getting back non-stop service to San Diego. It begins in April on Southwest Airlines. This service existed before Katrina, and has finally returned. Good news for anyone heading to the west coast.

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by Chris from N.O.

Driving around the other day I noticed construction adjacent to the Carver theater and also a crane behind the Andrew Bell school. Also tried to figure out what that coffee shop on Banks st but the only possibility is what looks like a house with a commercial Budweiser sign hanging from it.

Interesting. Thanks for the update.

[ardecila]

Agreed. I don't know what the re-use plan is, though, so maybe a full restoration is in the works. It will now be in a vastly more prominent site along Claiborne.

Originally Posted by Blitzen

I'm happy the building is being saved, but since the state is already spending the money on a whole new first floor, I wish they'd restore the spires, balcony, and columns that used to be on the building:

[Eightball]

I know we are all NOLA boosters here but I thought this was interesting (lots more at the link):

Entrepreneurship Creating More Media Buzz Than Actual Jobs in New Orleans
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/entr...in-new-orleans

The post-Katrina entrepreneurship narrative fits succinctly into the schema Rozario lays out. Despite New Orleans’ recent rankings by Forbes, Under 30 CEO, Inc. and many other magazines as a top start-up hot spot, most New Orleanians aren’t reaping the benefits. The city’s largest demographic, African-Americans, who make up roughly 60 percent of the population, is by many metrics faring worse than before the storm. According to the GNOCDC, employment among working-age black males is 53 percent, a two-percent decrease from pre-storm levels. The income disparity between black and white people — staggering before the storm — has since grown at a rate that exceeds the national average. This isn’t purely due to the economic crisis — overall employment in the New Orleans metro region grew by one percent between 2008 and 2012, outpacing the national average. But as lucrative construction jobs tied to rebuilding have petered out, many of the new jobs replacing them are in the service-oriented tourism industry, and wages actually declined one percent from 2006 to 2011 to an annual average of $47,295, six percent lower than the U.S. average.