NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread

[sguil1]

Don’t have access to full article...

https://neworleanscitybusiness.com/b...picayune-site/

[ttr888]

Originally Posted by sguil1

Don’t have access to full article...

https://neworleanscitybusiness.com/b...picayune-site/

A project to turn the former site of The Times-Picayune into a Drive Shack golf entertainment venue is on hold.

Rendering courtesy Stirling Properties
Rendering courtesy Stirling Properties

The $29 million development, which began construction last June, was initially set to open its doors this year. A recent PowerPoint presentation for Drive Shack investors says it will open sometime in 2021.

“We hope to begin construction again soon, as soon as it is safe to do so, in accordance with New Orleans (and) state guidelines,” said Andrea Nirsimloo, executive vice president of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment. “The pause is solely due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Drive Shack, which had $14 million in unrestricted cash on hand as of April 30, has furloughed over 4,000 employees across its operations and corporate office in order to preserve cash savings, according to a news release announcing first-quarter results. The company also deferred the payment of 2019 annual employee bonuses, temporarily suspended the quarterly cash dividend on its preferred stock and halted new construction, the release said.

According to the company’s website, existing Drive Shack locations in Richmond, Virginia and West Palm Beach, Florida have reopened while its other venues in Orlando and Raleigh, North Carolina remain temporarily closed.

Drive Shack received a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, from the New Orleans Industrial Development Board for the venue at 3800 Howard Ave. alongside Interstate 10. The 62,000-square-foot development will have 90 climate-controlled hitting bays, a gaming lounge, a full-service restaurant and bar, an outdoor lounge and several meeting and event rooms. The development would be three stories tall and create more than 350 jobs, developers said in 2018.

Other terms of the PILOT required Drive Shack to hire 40% of its construction workforce from Orleans Parish and follow the city’s guidelines for using disadvantaged business enterprises during the construction process.

Joe Jaeger of MCC Real Estate is one of the owners of the property. Others include Barry Kern of Mardi Gras World, real estate developer Arnold Kirschman and local businessman Michael White. The group purchased the site for $3.5 million in 2016.

Several other construction projects in New Orleans have paused during the pandemic. Some local developers have said current work has slowed because they are trying to limit one trade at a time to keep a smaller number of workers at job sites and limit exposure to the virus.

The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience said Tuesday that construction delays have contributed to pushing its opening date, initially set for this fall, to 2021. A downturn in tourism also factored into the decision, officials said.

The Ernest N. Morial Exhibition Hall Authority this spring put a multimillion-dollar headquarters hotel for the Convention Center on hold amid declining tourism and pressure from a watchdog group that questioned its cost.

But public and private construction have been declared essential services in the pandemic, and work continues on quite a few projects. These include the conversion of the former St. Vincent Guest House in the Lower Garden District into a 75-room boutique hotel and the multimillion-dollar renovation of the former World Trade Center building at the foot of Canal Street into a Four Seasons Hotel and Residences.

https://neworleanscitybusiness.com/b...picayune-site/

[Gee32]

Will Baton Rouge metro be added to New Orleans metro during this census?

[broadmoor]

Originally Posted by Gee32

Will Baton Rouge metro be added to New Orleans metro during this census?

No. Someone posted a few pages back with some useful stats about how far away we are from that point, but suffice it to say we're further away from merging than you might think. I remember the percentage of regular commuters being at least a couple dozen percentage points below the lowest threshold, which itself requires recommendations from area leaders. Without a boost in regional transportation from something like the commuter train that's been in talks forever now, it's a while off before we hit that mark.

[sguil1]

Report: New Orleans airport likely to lose direct flights from 2 airlines for several months

https://www.nola.com/news/business/a...8bc4ab77b.html

Two major airlines are likely to stop flying out Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans for at least for several months and perhaps longer, according to a USA Today report.

Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air are on track to pull service at New Orleans. The airport is included in a list by the Department of Transportation that looks to temporarily restrict service to "help airlines cope with a dearth of passengers and conserve cash amid stay-at-home orders," the report said.

The DOT has reportedly not announced when it would issue a final ruling whether airlines can move forward with the moves.

Alaska Airlines, according to New Orleans' airport website, offers non-stop flights from New Orleans to Seattle and San Francisco.

Allegiant Air offers non-stop flights from New Orleans to Concord, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham and Louisville.

The cuts, the report said, will expire Sept. 30, but officials at airports across the country are concerned they could be permanent.

[photoLith]

Hopefully NOLA isn’t get hit too hard by this storm, is everything fine there?

[sguil1]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Hopefully NOLA isn’t get hit too hard by this storm, is everything fine there?

All good. Minor event so far thankfully

[broadmoor]

Originally Posted by sguil1

All good. Minor event so far thankfully

Yeah, still making landfall right now I guess, so it could change, but so far this hasn't lived up to a random bad thunderstorm.

[nolafan]

Originally Posted by sguil1

Report: New Orleans airport likely to lose direct flights from 2 airlines for several months

https://www.nola.com/news/business/a...8bc4ab77b.html

Two major airlines are likely to stop flying out Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans for at least for several months and perhaps longer, according to a USA Today report.

Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air are on track to pull service at New Orleans. The airport is included in a list by the Department of Transportation that looks to temporarily restrict service to "help airlines cope with a dearth of passengers and conserve cash amid stay-at-home orders," the report said.

The DOT has reportedly not announced when it would issue a final ruling whether airlines can move forward with the moves.

Alaska Airlines, according to New Orleans' airport website, offers non-stop flights from New Orleans to Seattle and San Francisco.

Allegiant Air offers non-stop flights from New Orleans to Concord, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham and Louisville.

The cuts, the report said, will expire Sept. 30, but officials at airports across the country are concerned they could be permanent.

I'm not so sure you will see Alaska leave. They constantly fill up their planes out of MSY. They applied for this waiver at the heart of the pandemic. They do not have to use it, but it is there if they decide to do so.

We shall see!

[sguil1]

Would you use it? New survey examines possible railway connecting Baton Rouge, New Orleans

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_ro...7f3c9fabd.html

A 2010 study of a possible passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans forecasts that 39,000 riders could be zipping between the two Mississippi River cities each month if the train link were opened three years later.

Ridership could rise to 135,000 people per month by 2038 as service was expanded and train speeds increased, the study estimated then.

Ten years after those hopeful forecasts were first offered, University of New Orleans researchers have set up a new online poll to better gauge ridership potential and understand how riders would make it to and from future train stations and their final destinations

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by nolafan

I'm not so sure you will see Alaska leave. They constantly fill up their planes out of MSY. They applied for this waiver at the heart of the pandemic. They do not have to use it, but it is there if they decide to do so.

We shall see!

Temporarily, absolutely. When they come back is up-in-the-air. More than likely, they will. However, when is the question.

There are a myriad of unknowns with this pandemic. One cannot rely solely on what came before. The world has most certainly changed.

Early guesstimates are that we may not see the air traffic numbers we saw prior to COVID-19 until 2024. And, that's a hopeful analysis based on prior disasters. This one is a completely new animal.

[nolafan]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Temporarily, absolutely. When they come back is up-in-the-air. More than likely, they will. However, when is the question.

There are a myriad of unknowns with this pandemic. One cannot rely solely on what came before. The world has most certainly changed.

Early guesstimates are that we may not see the air traffic numbers we saw prior to COVID-19 until 2024. And, that's a hopeful analysis based on prior disasters. This one is a completely new animal.

Most data has shifted more towards mid 2021 for pre-covid numbers. We are increasing passengers relatively quickly. Southwest will have it's full schedule by December of this year. Domestic travel will likely be back to pre covid numbers by end of the year.

The wild card here is international travel.

[Blitzen]

https://www.nola.com/article_a84238c...bb51833c8.html

This is really sad if it comes to ends up happening. LSU’s logic also doesn’t make sense. They explain that it’s cheaper to demolish than to renovate, but they don’t factor the potential profit a renovated building could bring in if leased as a hotel or apartment developer, especially if it’s restored with historic tax credits.

[C.]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

https://www.nola.com/article_a84238c...bb51833c8.html

This is really sad if it comes to ends up happening. LSU’s logic also doesn’t make sense. They explain that it’s cheaper to demolish than to renovate, but they don’t factor the potential profit a renovated building could bring in if leased as a hotel or apartment developer, especially if it’s restored with historic tax credits.

Historic buildings are extremely expensive to renovate. It may very well be more profitable to tear it down and start anew than to renovate the existing structure into a hotel or apartment. Profit isn't everything, thankfully. I hope the city or another party steps in to renovate the structure but make no mistake it will take a lot of outside dollars to make it happen.

[Blitzen]

Originally Posted by C.

Historic buildings are extremely expensive to renovate. It may very well be more profitable to tear it down and start anew than to renovate the existing structure into a hotel or apartment. Profit isn't everything, thankfully. I hope the city or another party steps in to renovate the structure but make no mistake it will take a lot of outside dollars to make it happen.

Agreed but according to the article LSU’s report pegged the price to renovate at $4.7 million. The building was already renovated after Katrina but before it was moved. I’d imagine a developer would get historic tax credits as well, so at the very least put out a RFP and let developers respond before paying to demolish.

[sguil1]

There is now a new crane at the site of Hard Rock to start the process of tearing down the structure.

Also, outside of N.O. but looks like a large new casino planned in biloxi

This $1.2B music-themed casino is coming to Biloxi

https://www.nola.com/news/business/a...36298d319.html

The $1.2 billion casino resort at the Broadwater in Biloxi will be music-themed with a 12,000 seat indoor concert atrium.

In a press release that followed Tuesday’s Biloxi Council meeting, it was announced that Dakia Entertainment Hospitality last year entered into an agreement with Universal Music Group to develop a resort on the former Biloxi Broadwater Resort property on U.S. 90.

In addition to the music venue the 266 acre resort will have:

A 1,150 room hotel with spa and other amenities
A 125,000-square-foot casino
Customized music experiences including classes for local and regional students and artist interactions
A restored Broadwater Marina for recreational vessels, offshore fishing tournaments, a signature restaurant, boat slips and entertainment venues
Signature 18-hole golf course and teaching academy
18,000 square feet of retail
The resort is projected to open in spring 2023 and provide about 1,000 construction jobs and create 2,500 jobs when it opens.

[FenderOz]

Did I miss something or was it previously announced that Jaeger would sell the Market Street Power Plant?

I noticed it as newly listed by Corporate Realty in their list of May transactions...

https://corp-realty.com/wp-content/u...ansactions.pdf

[Blitzen]

https://www.nola.com/news/coronaviru...12370dd94.html

I think there is some merit but I would do the following:
-do not permanently close any streets, except maybe French Market Place.
-widen sidewalks along Decatur and N Peters streets, to slow traffic and allow more outdoor seating.
-consider certain nights and weekends for street closures.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

https://www.nola.com/news/coronaviru...12370dd94.html

I think there is some merit but I would do the following:
-do not permanently close any streets, except maybe French Market Place.
-widen sidewalks along Decatur and N Peters streets, to slow traffic and allow more outdoor seating.
-consider certain nights and weekends for street closures.

Do it all, and then some. Sucks that we can't pedestrianize the entire Quarter, but the city really doesn't have the transit system in place to let residents live their lives without cars.

I agree Orleans is a weird choice, though, I assume the intention is to lure tourists from Jackson Square up to Armstrong Park and businesses on Rampart? I think St Ann would be a better choice though, it's not blocked by the cathedral and it has the big lit Armstrong archway at the other end. If it's successful you could even use it to lure people further into the Treme, with something like the Freedom Trail in Boston.

Also I wouldn't close Iberville even after 5pm, it has too many loading docks and garage entrances... Bienville is a better pedestrian street to close.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by nolafan

Most data has shifted more towards mid 2021 for pre-covid numbers. We are increasing passengers relatively quickly. Southwest will have it's full schedule by December of this year. Domestic travel will likely be back to pre covid numbers by end of the year.

The wild card here is international travel.

I hope you are right. If MSY does achieve that feat, it would be the only airport in the word to regain pre-COVID numbers by that time.

Remember, more than ⅔ of all the world's airline fleets have been grounded. And, without a vaccine (that works), it will be hard to convince everyone that it's "safe" to fly.

At very best, a vaccine will not be widely available until mid-2021. Even if one is "ready" by the beginning of 2021, those doses will go to essential workers first and then trickle down to the general public - which will take quite a while. And at least a few of the vaccine prototypes will require one to have two or more doses over a specific amount of time.