NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread

[Chris from N.O.]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

This is an aerial picture of Champions Square from today. Interviews say work should be completed September 1, and the LED lights should be on by September 18.

I'm noticing that the paving stones being used for the ground level are being used for the staircase plaza and landings. Someone please re-assure me that this is a good idea, and that it won't become dated looking in a few years. I'm just being paranoid, right?

It'll take less than a few years.

[ardecila]

New Orleans makes everything modern feel dated, pretty much instantly. It's just some weird force-field surrounding the city... It's usually best to move past the datedness and try to appreciate the city's modern buildings for their excellent design.


The paving definitely has a tropical feeling to it, but there's nothing wrong with that, since New Orleans is a tropical city. What works in New York or Chicago is not necessarily the right approach for New Orleans. Portuguese cities have been doing bold pavement patterns for centuries, and Burle Marx adapted it to Modernism in Latin America. This is at Copacabana in Rio:



Biscayne Blvd in Miami, also a Burle Marx design:

[Chris from N.O.]

I agree. A building that would look absolutely fantastic in the suburbs of Houston or Atlanta can look out of place and ill-conceived just by dint of being in New Orleans, and yes, I do agree that New Orleans has some weird attribute that makes much of what is considered modern look instantly dated, though I'd propose that is more a result of the timeless nature of this place. If the parthenon had glass windows and central a/c it wouldn't look too strange being our city hall.

[Nolacat157]

Anthony Spizale left Upperline to be the chef at Mannings. Article says Harrahs will be releasing more details in Sept about the construction. Good to hear that it wont just be bar food there. Has the construction gotton off the ground yet ?

http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf...aving_upp.html

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by Nolacat157

Anthony Spizale left Upperline to be the chef at Mannings. Article says Harrahs will be releasing more details in Sept about the construction. Good to hear that it wont just be bar food there. Has the construction gotton off the ground yet ?

http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf...aving_upp.html

I literally just noticed yesterday steel going vertical. There must have been some reason construction slowed. Perhaps a re-visioning of the plan etc. This Chef move would seem to indicate a more ambitious food menu than originally planned. I was thinking Mannings would be more like Walk Ons, but perhaps not now!

As far as that striping It doesnt bother me at all and the square is supposed to be a bit gaudy!

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

This Chef move would seem to indicate a more ambitious food menu than originally planned. I was thinking Mannings would be more like Walk Ons, but perhaps not now!

Yeah, I was expecting Manning's to be a traditional sports-and-steak place like Shula's or Mike Ditka's, not a place serving innovative gourmet food.

I hope Spizale can make the menu interesting!

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Yeah, I was expecting Manning's to be a traditional sports-and-steak place like Shula's or Mike Ditka's, not a place serving innovative gourmet food.

I hope Spizale can make the menu interesting!

If this is successful look for future locations in Indianapolis and New Jersey

[Chris from N.O.]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

I literally just noticed yesterday steel going vertical. There must have been some reason construction slowed. Perhaps a re-visioning of the plan etc. This Chef move would seem to indicate a more ambitious food menu than originally planned. I was thinking Mannings would be more like Walk Ons, but perhaps not now!

As far as that striping It doesnt bother me at all and the square is supposed to be a bit gaudy!

There's the word I was looking for. It's not that I think it's really all that unattractive, it's just not going to win any "elegant paving stone design of the year" awards.

[IceCream]

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

"New Orleanians have been talking for years about turning the largely abandoned former railroad right-of-way along Lafitte and St. Louis streets into a linear park.

The Friends of Lafitte Corridor organization has held an annual hike along the 3.1-mile route for seven years. An official Lafitte Greenway Steering Advisory Committee has existed since 2007...."

[IceCream]

This blurb caught my attention in the article:

"The construction projects include renovations to the former Stephens garage, on the fringe of the Warehouse District, and converting New Orleans' oldest skyscraper, the 115-year-old Latter & Blum building at 800 Common St., into apartments, offices and retail space.

Wisznia, in an interview, declined to discuss the specifics of the loans, although he acknowledged that he approached the pension fund's board to secure the money. Construction on the garage site, built in 1951 as a Buick dealership, is set to begin this year, a $38 million project that will give rise to 65 apartments and 15,000-square-feet of retail or commercial space.

The 11-story, 130,000-square-foot Common Street skyscraper was converted into 105 apartments, with commercial and office space occupying the first two floors, at a total cost of about $38 million. Most of the building has been leased since it opened earlier this year, Wisznia said. "

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

Also, regarding Lakewood Golf Club:

"Their expansion of the club stalled in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but a $12 million course refurbishment came together in 2009 with the help of acclaimed golf architect Ron Garl. Now, the fund board is moving ahead with the next phase of development, with plans underway to develop the property into an upscale resort, including golf villas, a luxury hotel, condominiums and more, putting the overall price tag at around $200 million."

[SlidellWx]

Big news for the CBD. Gameloft is officially opening up a design studio in the Exchange Center. They are starting with around 15 employees, but plan to expand to 150 over time. Given the huge growth in mobile gaming, this may be a conservative estimate.

Here is a link to the article...

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/th...rleans-studio/

[tennis1400]

All these developments are great to hear. Lets keep the momentum going! BTW why are they referring to the Maritime Building as the Latter and Blum Building?

[IceCream]

I figured it'd be a little unsafe in rush hour traffic to try to take a picture of the new OPP building with my phone...but point being, now that they've got the structure up they are putting the skin on the building super fast.

It will at least look completed from the exterior within weeks. It's quite the building in terms of size.

Are there renderings of the proposed layout of the complex and other buildings?

[frquarterguy]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

All these developments are great to hear. Lets keep the momentum going! BTW why are they referring to the Maritime Building as the Latter and Blum Building?

I was wondering that myself, but I think this may answer your question....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latter_%26_Blum_Building

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by IceCream

I figured it'd be a little unsafe in rush hour traffic to try to take a picture of the new OPP building with my phone...but point being, now that they've got the structure up they are putting the skin on the building super fast.

It will at least look completed from the exterior within weeks. It's quite the building in terms of size.

Are there renderings of the proposed layout of the complex and other buildings?

One tidbit of information I found out about this building is that in addition to preparing meals for the jail it will also be preparing meals for many Orleans Parish Schools.

Certainly a huge facility!

[Blitzen]

This is all I could find:

[urbanwatcher]

''One tidbit of information I found out about this building is that in addition to preparing meals for the jail it will also be preparing meals for many Orleans Parish Schools.''

That is a sad parallel.
Also does anyone know if there is a timeline for the Lafitte Greenway,i know that they are doing the community planning meetings but is there a set date for it's opening,or are we going to see it arrive around the same time as the new hospitals.

[IceCream]

This article doesn't mention the school part of that but hopefully there will be some cost savings involved. In an ideal world the prisoners could make the lunches for the schools for little to nothing in labor and thus "in-source" the food service within the public system and not outsource to Sodexho (which most of the schools use).

The article does mention that the kitchen will have the capability to serve four times the amount of meals per day than the jail will need...so hopefully they actually make good use of it and it isn't a gigantic, oversized waste of money.

http://thelensnola.org/2011/02/17/gu...jail-facility/

In other news, they are working on some of the two story buildings on Magazine behind the WWII's restoration pavillion. Anyone know what's going on? Condos?

Here's a google link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=nation...58.77,,0,-5.14

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by IceCream

This article doesn't mention the school part of that but hopefully there will be some cost savings involved. In an ideal world the prisoners could make the lunches for the schools for little to nothing in labor and thus "in-source" the food service within the public system and not outsource to Sodexho (which most of the schools use).

The article does mention that the kitchen will have the capability to serve four times the amount of meals per day than the jail will need...so hopefully they actually make good use of it and it isn't a gigantic, oversized waste of money.

http://thelensnola.org/2011/02/17/gu...jail-facility/

In other news, they are working on some of the two story buildings on Magazine behind the WWII's restoration pavillion. Anyone know what's going on? Condos?

Here's a google link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=nation...58.77,,0,-5.14

I found the school information on Woodwards website.

[Chris from N.O.]

Article up on nola.com about Loyola line, scheduled to be completed in June. Also has some info about St. Claude line and apparently Convention center line on hold for now.

http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ss...ar_line_c.html