NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread - Page 45

sguil1 · #**881** Posted **Jul 13, 2010, 1:48 PM**

Great news about the Orpheum and the WWII museum. Here is a rendering and the exact area of the street improvments.

Nolacat157 · #**882** Posted **Jul 13, 2010, 1:58 PM**

Things seem to be snowballing downtown right now. This is great news if we can keep the momentum.

Anyone know what they are doing with the Smith & Wollensky building on Poydras? I've heard people talking about a new project there but I cant find any details.

Uptowner · #**883** Posted **Jul 13, 2010, 2:20 PM**

Orpheum Theater has a new owner

jowens · #**884** Posted **Jul 13, 2010, 3:17 PM**

Keeping my fingers crossed on the Orpheum! The positive news from the CBD is exciting. Way to GEAUX NOLA!!

N.O.L.A. · #**885** Posted **Jul 13, 2010, 5:51 PM**

Great news about the Orpheum. I was starting to fear that the whole Broadway South initiative was starting to fall apart. Does anyone know of any updates or news on some of the other old theaters?

ardecila · #**886** Posted **Jul 14, 2010, 5:08 AM**

The Joy and State Palace? My guess is that we'll lose one of them, and the other will eventually find investors.

"Broadway South" is all well and good on paper, but are the 1.1 million residents of the New Orleans area enough to support all these major performance theaters in the downtown area? The Civic Auditorium, the Mahalia Jackson, the Saenger, the Orpheum, the Joy, State Palace... am I missing any? Several of these theaters were active before Katrina, and they only had shows infrequently. Since the shows were so infrequent, the owners didn't have enough money to keep the places from turning into shitholes. I don't want that to happen again.

It would be great if some could be made into movie theaters. I'm tired of having to drive to Jefferson Parish to see a damn movie, and I'm sure every other city resident is too. Canal Place and the Prytania don't offer enough variety or flexibility to compete with the massive AMCs at Elmwood and Clearview.

Blitzen · #**887** Posted **Jul 14, 2010, 3:36 PM**

Quote:

It would be great if some could be made into movie theaters. I'm tired of having to drive to Jefferson Parish to see a damn movie, and I'm sure every other city resident is too. Canal Place and the Prytania don't offer enough variety or flexibility to compete with the massive AMCs at Elmwood and Clearview.

I completely agree. With more residents living downtown and in the FQ, and more housing stock planned for the future, a permanent movie theater in one of these buildings would be perfect.

If they would offer free parking if you show your receipt of a purchased movie ticket, I believe people would even come from elsewhere to see a movie downtown.

Also, movie theaters create a demand for food and drinking venues around them - exactly what Canal Street/CBD needs customers for at night and on the weekends.

N.O.L.A. · #**888** Posted **Jul 14, 2010, 10:10 PM**

For the second time in less than a week, an international air carrier has announced new service between New Orleans and Toronto.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.s...e_service.html

SlidellWx · #**889** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 3:41 AM**

Unfortunately...some bad news with the planned closure of Avondale Shipyard. Hoping another shipbuilding operation can move in and keep some of the jobs in place. See no reason why commercial ships can't be built there. Fortunately, the closure is not for another 3 years.

tennis1400 · #**890** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 4:07 AM**

Something will happen with Avondale. Im just sure of it! Now the main worry for me is Michoud. Seems the Obama administration sees no value in the future of spaceflight. What a shortsighted stupid mistake! The one area Im all for government spending he doesnt support. Darn it!

Uptowner · #**891** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 5:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by N.O.L.A.

For the second time in less than a week, an international air carrier has announced new service between New Orleans and Toronto.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.s...e_service.html

Canada 2, Mexico 0

Also, the last piece of land needed for the Lafitte Greenway has been aquired by the city. Let's see where this goes.
MAYOR LANDRIEU ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF LAND TO BE USED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF LAFITTE GREENWAY

SlidellWx · #**892** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 11:51 AM**

My wife works on the grounds of Michoud, but for another federal agency. She said NASA, Lockheed, and Boeing were going full bore on getting ready for the new program, and then everything just stopped. The Constellation program and Orion space capsule would have saved many of the jobs now being lost. Also remember...this is affecting Houston and Cape Canaveral as well. The loss of intellectual capital in space exploration not only in NOLA, but nationally is pretty hard to swallow. Maybe we can get some private corporations to build a few rockets here since it's one of the few facilities in the world that could accomodate such activity, but it looks like NASA will not be in the picture for quite some time.

There is alot of positive momentum in the city right now, but all of these external forces (oil spill and resulting moratorium and fisheries collapse, gutting NASA, and reducing Navy fleet size) is enough to make one say WTF?!

Blitzen · #**893** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 4:47 PM**

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.s...g_to_disc.html

Mayor Landrieu willing to discuss dismantling the Claiborne Overpass!

When I first heard this proposal, I thought it was a waste of time, but the more I learn about it, the more I'm liking it. It will cost $100 Million to rebuild the overpass, which is about to exceed its lifespan; or about $30 to just dismantle it. More drivers at street level on Claiborne, Canal, Galvez, and Broad Streets means more businesses, shops, restaurants, and residents there, instead of the suburbs. Greater density is exactly what New Orleans needs and has been lacking ever since the interstate system was built.

Also, where the overpass meets I-10 near the Superdome, there are many blocks of vacant prime-real estate that can't be developed because of the overpasses cutting across the lots. Any other city would kill for a few unused blocks of downtown land to develop.

If they upgrade I-10/610 and synchronized the traffic lights on the surface streets, I'd be all for this proposal. Thoughts??

LouisianaRush · #**894** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 7:21 PM**

Is this the section they are talking about?

Blitzen · #**895** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 8:12 PM**

Quote:

Is this the section they are talking about?

Yes, that is the correct stretch of overpass they are discussing.

tennis1400 · #**896** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 8:43 PM**

Best urban renewal idea in a long time. I'm all for this . I'm assuming it would resemble how why 90 on the wank works.

LouisianaRush · #**897** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 8:55 PM**

I remember them talking about this awhile back. I just thought it was a pipe dream. The new at grade road would be a prime area for light rail.

jowens · #**898** Posted **Jul 15, 2010, 9:32 PM**

Really like the idea of dismantling the I-10 overpass downtown. Obviously this is great for those neighborhoods.

Sad to hear the news about Avondale.

Uptowner · #**899** Posted **Jul 16, 2010, 12:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jowens

Really like the idea of dismantling the I-10 overpass downtown. Obviously this is great for those neighborhoods.

Sad to hear the news about Avondale.

I'm sorry, but dismantling the I-10 might sound like a great urban planning idea, but from an engineering aspect that is one of stupidest thing this city could do.

1. The Feds probably wouldn't approve it to begin with.
2. The State is more than likely not going to pay to tear this down, reconstruct I-610 and then redo the Pontchartrain Expwy.
3. You will have to accomodate and extra 2-4 lanes between Gentilly and Lakeview. I can see the Lakeview NIMBYism starting as I type. Also, widening I-610 would require dismantling the entire highway from Franklin to Bayou St. John.
4. You would have to add 2-4 lanes between the 17th street canal and the Superdome. That also involves moving railroad tracks and rebuilding the Carrollton interchange.
5. Once the CBD does get fully revitalized traffic would be a disaster. It already is when you consider the daily back ups at the Claiborne flyover ramp and the line of 18-wheelers enroute to and from the port between 8am-noon daily. Let's not even think about event weekends.
Every city that has torn down a freeway to make a surface street or parkway removed a freeway that already served as a spur into the core or had a decent bypass that was affected by removing the other freeway. Also, the cost to tear it down, rebuild Claiborne, and modify existing highways to compensate will cost way more than just rebuilding the I-10 when it's said and done.

New Orleans does not need to do this.

Also, to those who think tearing it down will lead to revitalization... what's the problem with all the other wide neutral ground, landscaped streets around here? There are plenty of them. Just look at S. Claiborne. The smartest thing that can be done is to just rebuild the highway. The city and surrounding areas are what they are today because of the decisions made 50 years ago. We can't undo the mistakes of the past. The best thing we can do is make a decision that will benefit the entire area and not just what we think will help 2 or 3 neighborhoods.

Uptowngirl · #**900** Posted **Jul 16, 2010, 3:18 AM**

It has to be rebuilt or torn down....the money is a wash either way.

I vote for it coming down and turning Claiborne into a tree lined four line bvld