[fla_tiger]

Borders to open on St. Charles Av in Uptown

Borders has leased the former Bultman Funeral Home on St. Charles Avenue with plans to gut the iconic structure and convert it into a 24,000-square-foot bookstore.

Though Borders normally builds stores from the ground up, the chain has done many adaptive reuse projects, including several historic buildings in Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; and Boston.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/large_bultman.jpghttp://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/large_borders.jpg

.http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/Borders100407.jpg


Link to the story in the Times-Picayune:
http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/10/historic_funeral_home_to_be_re.html

Story and photos, kudos to the T.P.

[fla_tiger]

Mardi Gras movie studios

Stage set for new $30M movie studio in Algiers

Private developers will help New Orleans remain competitive for film and television productions when they erect a new 200,000-square-foot film studio in Algiers.

Read and a collection of private partners are under contract to acquire 15 acres in Algiers to build the first ground-up studio in the New Orleans area. Read also has an option on an adjacent 17-acre site.

The $30-million project is 100 percent privately funded, said Read. The facility will include one 100,000-square-foot soundstage and 100,000 square feet of various office and production suites.

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewStory.cfm?recID=24528

[fla_tiger]

More on the Federal City project on the West Bank.........
including website:http://www.nolafederalcity.com/map.html

Satellite (Area Highlighted in Red)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/satMap6.jpg

Master Plan
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/ColorPlan1.gif

View From Above
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/fromabove.jpg

Base Protection Barrier
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/2.jpg

Joint Command Headquarters
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/7.jpg

Conference Center
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/8.jpg

Coast Guard
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/5.jpg

DHS Regional Headquarters
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/6.jpg

Parking
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/3.jpg

[fla_tiger]

Two long overdue icons returned to the City over the last week; the street cars started clanging along St Charles Avenue Uptown and Robert Fresh Market (pr. ro-bear) reopened in Lakeview. Both have been gone since Katrina. Relatives are so excited about both, another bit of normalcy returing to their neighborhoods.

photos courtesy TP and robertfreshmarket
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/large_car.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-LK/REL20opening10-3020002.jpg

links
http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/11/fanfare_greets_streetcars_retu.html
http://robertfreshmarket.com/new_orleans_grocer/news/robert_e_lee_location_opens.html

[Red UM Rebel]

Great News fla_tiger! I cannot wait to get down to New Orleans and ride on the street cars on St. Charles again. The street cars downtown have been working for the past year though right?

[fla_tiger]

Great News fla_tiger! I cannot wait to get down to New Orleans and ride on the street cars on St. Charles again. The street cars downtown have been working for the past year though right?

Yes Red UM Rebel, the St Charles line from Canal past Lee Circle, the Riverfront/French Quarter and the Canal St/Cemeteries lines have been up since last winter. The final leg of the St Charles line from Uptown past Tulane and Loyola U's through Carrollton is scheduled to be running in April 08.

[gmg1981]

St. Charles streetcar line may be extended by Christmas
http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/11/st_charles_streetcar_line_may.html
Posted by Leslie Williams November 15, 2007 4:08PM
Categories: Breaking News
If an aggressive plan being pursued by the Regional Transit Authority succeeds -- and the odds are it will -- tourists and residents may get an unexpected Christmas gift. They'll be able to ride the streetcar the entire length of St. Charles Avenue.

Fred Basha, the RTA's director of infrastructure, said Thursday that he's convinced the streetcar line's Calliope Street substation can generate enough power to move historic, green Perley Thomas cars all the way from downtown to South Carrollton Avenue. At the moment, service ends at Napoleon Avenue, about half way along the St. Charles route.

If the RTA can overcome three other obstacles, and he believes the agency can, street service along the length of the avenue could resume before Christmas Eve, Basha said.

The obstacles: The RTA has to have workers paint the poles that support the electrified system of overhead wires, which rainy weather could delay. Operators who were laid off after Hurricane Katrina shut down the system have to be re-hired. And the state has to certify that the portion of the line between Napoleon and Carrollton is safe to use.

"There's also some testing of that portion of the line that needs to be done, but I don't expect that to be a problem," Basha said. "It's aggressive, but I think we can have it operational before Christmas Eve."

[fla_tiger]

The Preserve

In a mid-city neighborhood near the Central Business District the 183-unit Preserve will replace a plant where Crystal Hot Sauce, a staple of Cajun cooking, used to be bottled........
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Midcity/21orleans_1b_600.jpg
courtesey:domain cos

[fla_tiger]

Brad Pitt's N.O. housing efforts have Lower 9th Ward in the pink

Actor Brad Pitt is scheduled to announce plans to create more than 100 affordable, ecologically sound homes in the Lower 9th Ward. This weekend, big pink houses were installed in the flood-ravaged neighorhood as symbolic stand-ins for those homes.

Ivory Porter Webb was first perplexed, then giddy with excitement, on Saturday afternoon, just before dusk. As she drove across the Claiborne Avenue bridge over the Industrial Canal, she noticed something peculiar.

A few blocks in the Lower 9th Ward, along the levee from North Derbigny to North Galvez streets, were studded with odd, very large pink blocks, as big as houses, 100 or more of them, with pink roof shapes lying beside them on empty lots.

photo/story courtesy of NOTimes Picayune>
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-E/large_Pitt.jpg
http://blog.nola.com/living/2007/12/so_what_are_those_big_pink_hou.html

[fla_tiger]

National WWII Museum

The National World War II Museum in New Orleans said today it has awarded a $42 million construction contract for the next phase of the museum’s $300 million expansion.

Within weeks, builder Satterfield and Pontikes Construction Group will begin work on a 250-seat advanced-format theater that will feature 4-D multisensory experiences and dimensional sound in a cinematic presentation, “Beyond All Boundaries,” for which actor Tom Hanks will serve as executive producer.

Opening in mid-2009 across the street from the existing museum, the theater will be the first of six new pavilions, with the entire project due to be completed in 2014. Another audio-visual presentation will deliver “The USO Experience.” Founded by the late UNO historian Stephen Ambrose, the 7-year-old museum is expected to draw nearly 700,000 visitors a year after the expansion.

Private, federal and state funds are paying for the $300 million project. Related improvements to bury electrical wires along Magazine Street and add new brick sidewalks, historic lampposts and lighted street trees are under way.
weblink with renderings:http://www.ddaymuseum.org/about/expansion.html

[fla_tiger]

NASA Michoud: Research and Development Building

NEW ORLEANS -- Construction officially began Tuesday on a $40 million office and research building at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

The state is paying for the 120,000 square-foot building, which is officially part of the University of New Orleans.

Officials at Tuesday's groundbreaking called it a symbol of the state commmitment that helped to keep NASA in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

"Just two years ago, many people would have thought that today would be impossible," said Robert Lightfoot, deputy director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Two years ago, New Orleans was still drying out after Hurricane Katrina, which hit Aug. 29, 2005. But the 832-acre Michoud site in eastern New Orleans never flooded: its levees held, and 36 workers stayed through the storm and kept the compound's pumps going.

UNO Chancellor Tim Ryan said several people have told him that dedication not only kept the shuttle tank work at Michoud but played a major part in bringing work on the next moon rockets.

The space shuttle work, which keeps about 2,500 people employed at Michoud, is scheduled to end in 2010. In the meantime, work will start toward switching to assembling parts of the next set of moon rockets - the Ares I, which will launch astronauts, and Ares V, a cargo rocket.

The facility also made the first stages of the Saturn rockets for the Apollo manned space program in the 1960s.

"Since Apollo, every astronaut who's flown has flown on hardware built here in Louisiana," Lightfoot said. He quoted Dave Scott, commander of Apollo 15, when he walked on the moon in 1971: "There's a fundamental truth to our nature: Man must explore."

He continued, "Today is the next step on this long journey of exploration."

The state also put up $20 million for the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which also is officially part of UNO.

Louisiana's total commitment will total $102 million, said Gov. Kathleen Blanco and outgoing economic development Secretary Michael Olivier.

He didn't detail the remainder; Lightfoot said it includes $40 million to retool for the bigger rocket stages needed by the Ares program, and $2 million set aside for planning, economic development and education.

What it boils down to, Blanco said, is that "Louisiana will continue to have a hands-on role in continuing the next level of space exploration."

[fla_tiger]

BoldMar Yachts

N.O. lands second yacht-maker

BoldMar will use Michoud technology in super-elite craft

all of this for only a cool 65mil
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/products/83_5_08_25-PM62m-Low-Shear-SM.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/products/165_1_22_59-PM62m-penumbra-Model--2.jpg

Friday, December 21, 2007By Jen DeGregorio
Only a few shipbuilders nationwide specialize in the construction of high-end superyachts, and New Orleans is about to be home to two of them at a time when demand for the luxury watercraft is on the rise.

A Florida company called BoldMar Inc. announced this month plans to begin constructing yachts at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Eastern New Orleans. The company will join Trinity Yachts Inc. as the Crescent City's only other maker of ultra-luxury watercraft.

http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf?/base/money-1/11982180407540.xml&coll=1

weblink:http://www.yachtcouncil.com/yacht-details.asp?vessel=63072&Currency=7&mode=4

[fla_tiger]

New Orleans BioInnovation Center

$60M BioInnovation deal to be summer blockbuster

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/bioinnovation.jpg
An artist’s rendering of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center to be constructed at 1441 Canal St. (Rendering courtesy Eskew+Dumez+Ripple)

Construction will begin this summer on the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, ending a two-year delay on the high-tech, $60-million state economic development project designed to be a cornerstone of the city’s post-Katrina recovery. http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewFeature.cfm?recid=977

[fla_tiger]

New Orleans Traffic Ops Center

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-LK/128_Traffic_WEB.jpg

Crews will begin construction in February on a $12.4-million traffic operations center on West End Boulevard in New Orleans.http://www.djcgulfcoast.com/item.cfm?recID=7571

[fla_tiger]

ICInola

Developers plan to break ground this spring on a $42-million eco-friendly loft development in Bywater.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-E/CIMG0450.jpghttp://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-E/CIMG0477.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-E/CIMG0448.jpg

The development, known as ICInola, is at the site of the former L.A. Frey & Sons Manufacturing Plant at Burgundy and Bartholomew streets. It consists of four buildings that will house 105 lofts and 50,000 square feet of businesses on 2.76 acres.
http://icinola.com/contact/index.html

[jeffschwartz]

The rendering of the BioInnovation Center looks really great; the previous version (pre-Katrina) was a faux-French Quarter aesthetic that did nothing to speak to the importance of the biomedical district in NO's future. Any more renderings of the new building?

Also, is anyone else a little underwhelmed by the Borders? They basically just saved the outermost 6" of only two of the facades facing St. Charles and Louisiana, which seems more of a facadomy than an adaptive reuse. That building was unbelievably gorgeous (check out that picture of the yellow sunroom--how great would it have been to read a book in there); it's such a shame that conversations about buildings like the Bultman devolve into "development or no development" instead of looking at how we can "get to good." Aside from eating some development costs up front, why couldn't Borders retain some more of the structure? I know that books are heavy and they needed to reinforce the building, but keeping some of the original structure would have been more innovative than what they are trying to pass off as adaptive. Also, Stirling is being a little disingenuous when he claims that Borders is not going to have an impact on the local booksellers in the city; while I welcome economic development, it would have been great to see a local bookshop go into that building--now that would have been something!

[JDRCRASH]

I hope this city comes back. Right now crime is through the roof.

[fla_tiger]

2600 St. Charles Avenue

An upscale 6 residence condominium now under construction in the Garden District.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/home-pict.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/DSCN1852.jpg

http://www.maselliproperties.com/2600saintcharlesavenue/index.html

[fla_tiger]

NBA All Star Game Highrise murals

applied to buildings in CBD in the vicinity of Arena and in Hotel District

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/DSCN1847.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/DSCN1854.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/DSCN1857.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/DSCN1868.jpg

[gmg1981]

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/aptimages/superdome1.jpg

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewFeature.cfm?recid=1025
Superdome windows to shine on Club Level
by Ariella Cohen Staff Writer

NEW ORLEANS - And the architects said, let there be light.

Sunshine will make its debut this summer in the cavernous interior of the Louisiana Superdome when four windows are added to the famously monolithic exterior of the silver-skinned New Orleans stadium.

The windows — part of the third phase of a $210-million state renovation project begun in 2006 — will be the first openings cut into the dome’s aluminum exterior skin since it opened in 1975. The 18-by-24-foot sheets of reinforced glass will replace metal cladding on the exterior of the club level of the stadium.

Four VIP escalators are included in the renovation to the Superdome Club Level, which recently added chic black leather couches, stainless steel pillars and wood-grain finished bars.

The escalators and windows will cost $10.8 million in state funding.

Another $21 million will go to replacing the Dome’s remaining exterior aluminum panels, including $6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to repair panels damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

The investment is well worth it, said Doug Thornton, regional vice president of SMG, which manages the Superdome.

“We are doing a much-needed modernization,” said Thornton. “In modern hotels and ballrooms, they have windows with views of the city. We want to compete with these venues.”

The Superdome is the city’s most modern recognizable structure because of its sleek futuristic appearance, architectural experts say. Designed by Curtis & Davis, it was a sign of the city’s prominence and promise at a time when most downtown city centers were losing people to the suburbs.

Katrina’s winds ripped away some 70 percent of the Dome’s roof, forcing a renovation that had been talked about for years. Adding windows was an idea that came up repeatedly in discussions, said Thornton, as the modernist traditions that influenced the Dome’s heralded architects, Nathanial “Buster” Curtis and Arthur Davis, fell out of fashion to be replaced by contemporary styles emphasizing natural light and connections between building interiors and the city streets surrounding them.

“This is huge,” said John Klingman, a professor of architecture at Tulane University. “The Superdome is kind of inhuman. Light will humanize it. I am fairly certain that Buster Curtis would approve. He was a smart architect and any smart architect would be in support of natural light.”

Curtis passed away in 1997. Davis, his partner, said this week he is pleased to hear visitors to the Dome will soon be able to see outside. While windows weren’t part of the original vision for an “all-season, multipurpose space,” they could work, said the retired architect.

“If they give a view of downtown, I would not be opposed,” said Davis, lead architect for the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library and the New Orleans Arena.

Built in 1999, the 18,000-seat arena has a band of windows running around its octagon-shaped façade.

Metallic louver sunshades will camouflage the Dome’s glass windows so people will be able to see in and out yet the structure will maintain its uninterrupted silver glare, said project architect Jon Seibert of Sizeler Architects, which along with Billes Architecture, Trahan Architects and the Minneapolis-based engineer Ellerbe Becket is carrying out the three-year renovation.

“You’ll have to look to see the windows there,” said Seibert. “It’s hard to add a hole and hide it, too, but that is what we are trying to do.”

Architects originally envisioned cladding the entire 273-feet high, 680-foot wide Dome in glass, said Richard Kravet of Billes Architecture.

“We loved the idea of punching open the skin of this building that for so long has been monolithic over the city,” said Kravet, whose firm led the minimalist, chrome-touched interior redesign of the Club Level lounges.

The costs of an all-glass Dome compounded by preservation concerns made a transparent skin impossible, but the 100-foot band of windows is a good compromise, said Kravet.

“We wanted to connect this icon of the city to its streets. The windows do that,” he said.

Davis doesn’t regret the decision to forgo windows in the Dome, the largest fixed domed structure in the world from its opening 1975 until 1992 when the 9-acre, 606-foot-wide Georgia Dome in Atlanta took its title. In 1999, the 20-acre Millennium Dome in London became the largest domed structure in the world.

“The introduction of windows at that time would have distracted somewhat from the effectiveness of the original multipurpose program,” said Davis. Yet he agrees with state planners that the time is right for a new skin for the middle-aged icon.

“It’s as effective today as it was (when we built it) ... (but) I’ve noticed the exterior could use the new aluminum.”•

[MasonsInquiries]

More on the Federal City project on the West Bank.........
including website:http://www.nolafederalcity.com/map.html

Satellite (Area Highlighted in Red)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/satMap6.jpg

Master Plan
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/ColorPlan1.gif

View From Above
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/fromabove.jpg

Base Protection Barrier
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/2.jpg

Joint Command Headquarters
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/7.jpg

Conference Center
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/8.jpg

Coast Guard
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/5.jpg

DHS Regional Headquarters
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/6.jpg

Parking
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Westbank/3.jpg
cool project for nawlins!! keep up the great work down there!!

[JDRCRASH]

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/aptimages/superdome1.jpg

Gold, Gold!!!! :hyper:

[sammysonny1]

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main-1.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main-2.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main-3.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main-5.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main-7.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main-8.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main-9.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main.php.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main.php2.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main.php3.jpg

http://web.mit.edu/jeffevan/www/iciNOLA_Images/main.php4.jpg

These buidlings are very ugly. I mean its like you have a three year a box of colored pencils to draw their dream home. I mean this building is horrible, and doesn't fit in with the rest of the neighborhood!

[fla_tiger]

Chevron HQ's

Chevron opened its new headquarters building as part of its new 20-acre campus in Covington on the North Shore last month. The building is the first in the state to receive gold certification from the federal Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The move is from their CBD building to the suburbs.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-NSHR/large_chevronbuilding.jpg
photo courtesy nola.com

http://www.slidellsentry.com/articles/2008/05/12/news/doc48284c74dcd42021205329.txt

[Muskavon]

^ I realize the certification is about building/site design. But it is ironic to be given to a building for a company moving from the CBD to the suburbs. Great imapct when all is considered?

[fla_tiger]

Audubon Insectarium

The new Audubon Insectarium recently opened in 23,000 sq feet of the old US Custom House on Canal Street near the French Quarter. It is the first major tourist attraction to open in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

The facility, built with $6.2 million in private donations and $20 million in public money, is one of only a few stand-alone, nonprofit insectariums.

In New Orleans, displays include spiders, centipedes and crawfish as well as ants, mosquitoes and other insectoid six-leggers. Nit-pickers might say that means it isn't an insectarium. "Arthropodarium" might be appropriate.

The Audubon Insectarium occupies the first floor of the block-size United States Custom House building, a National Historic Landmark on Canal Street near the Mississippi River. The Custom House is a tourist attraction itself because of its architecture and history.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/08macmagbug3copy.jpg
photo courtesy 2theadvocate

The Insectarium joins 11 other popular Audubon Nature Institute attractions in New Orleans, including The Audubon Zoo, Aquarium of the Americas, Entergy IMAX® Theatre and Woldenberg Riverfront Park.

Officials expect about 350,000 visitors a year to the Insectarium.


http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-06-27-new-orleans-insectarium_n.htm

http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/PageServer

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=19953&noc=T

[fla_tiger]

City Park Great Lawn

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Midcity/15nw_citypark_cmyk__4237124.jpg

The bench-ringed greenspace project will extend from the Peristyle to the Storyland gates

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Midcity/city_park07__4236779.jpg

Thanks to nearly $3 million in private and federal grant dollars, City Park officials say they have the cash needed to start work on the Great Lawn, envisioned as a "commons" for New Orleans and the centerpiece of a transformed corridor to be built duringover the next several years.

City Park's master plan, scheduled to be completed by the city's 300th anniversary in 2018, calls for the swath of greenery to anchor what will be called Tricentennial Place.

http://blog.nola.com/graphics/2008/07/CITYPARK071508.pdf

http://blog.nola.com/updates/2008/07/city_park_great_lawn_project.html

[jeffschwartz]

The City Park Great Lawn looks great, except that I don't know why they have palms lining the lawn, and there seems to be too much surface parking. Even if the park needs to have all of that parking, I don't know why it has to be right next to the Great Lawn.

[fla_tiger]

The Pontchartrain Hotel,

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/NC_PONTC-exter-1.jpg

a storied luxury stopover on St. Charles Avenue for such luminaries as Walt Disney and Tennessee Williams, will become a residence for upper-crust retirees.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/450px-StChas30Nov07PontchartrainStr.jpg
photo courtesy infrogmation:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-GD/p111088-New_Orleans-The_Pontchartra.jpg

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/07/the_pontchartrain_hotel_a_stor.html

[fla_tiger]

930 Poydras

Work has begun on a new residential tower on Poydras just south of Loyola.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/POYDRAS072608.jpg

Signs indicate the building design is by New Orleans firm Eskew+Dumes+Ripple, with some dynamic projects in their portfolio.

Details of the project have been "secretive" as no "official" rendering has been released, at least not publicly....Several unofficial renderings have come up on other forums, ie...UrbanPlanet and LaBusiness at HornetsReport, the most recent as shown below....

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/neworleans_poydras_cropweb.jpg

New Orleans Bloggers, although excited about another new residential tower being built in the CBD, have shown little "enthusiasm" over the designs that have been released.

link to story in TP: http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/07/new_apartment_building_taking.html
E+D+R link: http://www.studioedr.com/index_flash.html

A sleek new apartment building is rising in the heart of the Central Business District, where its facade of glass and metal panels will join the office towers and hotels that dominate the downtown skyline.

Construction crews are driving pilings at the corner of Poydras and O'Keefe streets, and over the next few months they will erect a 21-story building with a parking garage on the first eight floors and 250 apartments stacked on top.

[skellergroup]

Glad to see the city is getting back to shape.
I was down there last Fall and it was still a great time.

One of my favorite cities in the world.

Love Nawlins!

[fla_tiger]

American Can Apartments

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-Midcity/amcam.jpg

New Orleans` newest renovation project, the American Can Company building has been transformed into apartments and has been renovated as a "certified historic rehabilitation." The project includes soho style apartments as well as one, two, and three bedroom apartment homes containing up to 1,600 square feet.
http://www.americancanapts.com/

[sguil1]

930 Poydras

Work has begun on a new residential tower on Poydras just south of Loyola.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/POYDRAS072608.jpg

Signs indicate the building design is by New Orleans firm Eskew+Dumes+Ripple, with some dynamic projects in their portfolio.

Details of the project have been "secretive" as no "official" rendering has been released, at least not publicly....Several unofficial renderings have come up on other forums, ie...UrbanPlanet and LaBusiness at HornetsReport, the most recent as shown below....

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/neworleans_poydras_cropweb.jpg

New Orleans Bloggers, although excited about another new residential tower being built in the CBD, have shown little "enthusiasm" over the designs that has been released.

link to story in TP: http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/07/new_apartment_building_taking.html
E+D+R link: http://www.studioedr.com/index_flash.html

A sleek new apartment building is rising in the heart of the Central Business District, where its facade of glass and metal panels will join the office towers and hotels that dominate the downtown skyline.

Construction crews are driving pilings at the corner of Poydras and O'Keefe streets, and over the next few months they will erect a 21-story building with a parking garage on the first eight floors and 250 apartments stacked on top.

This design is definately inaccurate. Here are some official "floor plans" of the building and they don't match the rendering whatsoever. This project is underway and they are on the second story right now :

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d48/NathanCHB/930Poydrasscale.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d48/NathanCHB/930PoydrasA.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d48/NathanCHB/930PoydrasB.jpg

[ardecila]

I've tried to keep track of the construction.

1/27/09
https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2009/02/678608.jpg

[sguil1]

I've tried to keep track of the construction.

1/27/09
https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2009/02/678608.jpg

Cool, thanks for the pic. Any updated pics would be appreciated.

[ardecila]

All of my pictures are posted to Emporis (I am a photographer for them) so you can always check there. Not too many things to photograph here in New Orleans, though... I need to make it out to Mid-City to see The Preserve, and I hear there might be a loft project out in the Upper Ninth.

But of course, I'll be happy to post stuff here too. One thing I'd like to do is re-organize this thread like the Chicago Boom Rundown thread, so that the first post can be edited periodically to reflect the status of projects. Right now, I would have to read through the whole thread to find out about all the projects, and I would have no idea which projects are active and which have been canceled or postponed.

[sguil1]

All of my pictures are posted to Emporis (I am a photographer for them) so you can always check there. Not too many things to photograph here in New Orleans, though... I need to make it out to Mid-City to see The Preserve, and I hear there might be a loft project out in the Upper Ninth.

But of course, I'll be happy to post stuff here too. One thing I'd like to do is re-organize this thread like the Chicago Boom Rundown thread, so that the first post can be edited periodically to reflect the status of projects. Right now, I would have to read through the whole thread to find out about all the projects, and I would have no idea which projects are active and which have been canceled or postponed.

The WWII museum expansion project is about 60% finished if you'd like to get some shots of that (warehouse district). Also there are a few projects in mid-city like the Falstaff brewery appts. Hopefully the Bioinnovation Center on Canal will get underway soon, groundbreaking ceremony actually already happened but true to LSU's style there is no work going on on-site yet.

[sguil1]

Plaza tower to be remediated. Great news!

http://www.asergeev.com/pictures/archives/2006/547/jpeg/06.jpg

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2009/01/remediation_begins_at_plaza_to.html

[ardecila]

There's also the Louisiana Cancer Research Center, which looks to be an awesome building in a visible site along I-10. A recent article in Architectural Record indicated that construction should begin soon after being postponed after the storm.

As for Plaza Tower: it's about time. It's such a unique building, I've never seen anything like it even in much bigger cities. It's like De Stijl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_stijl) on a huge scale. Every renovation proposal has tried to completely change the design, which seems wasteful and disrespectful to me.

The WWII museum expansion just looks weird.

[jowens]

As for Plaza Tower: it's about time. It's such a unique building, I've never seen anything like it even in much bigger cities.

For some reason, this building has always intrigued me. I know it recieves lots of criticism, but not from me.

Can't wait till its occupied and renovated! :tup:

[sguil1]

They have been working on these condos for a while in the warehouse district. Should be close to completion.

http://www.claycorp.com/projects/detail/images/927.jpg

[ardecila]

^^ Yep. On January 14:

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2009/01/678065.jpg

[sguil1]

thanks again ardecila, really appreciate the progress photos.

[sguil1]

Film producers moving into elmwood...more good news for hollywood south.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/film_producers_moving_into_elm.html

[sguil1]

Trump Tower on hold until credit markets improve. Developers still claim they will still build in N.O. Hope to begin by end of this year. Good and bad from this article. I thought this project was totally dead, may be a small glimmer of hope.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/uptotheminute.cfm?recid=23169

[sguil1]

Looks like the Hyatt Regencey renovation is back on after being on hold. $255 million borrowed for renovations...

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/bond_commission_approves_borro.html

http://blog.nola.com/news_impact/2009/01/large_17_hyatt5.jpg

[fla_tiger]

New Orleans State Office Building

Location
New Orleans, Louisiana

Owner
State of Louisiana

Completion Date
estimated November 2010

A new 12 story office building to house various state agencies.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/nosob-rendering5.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/NOSOB-DD-4.jpg

located on Poydras at Gravier, Duncan Plaza...right where the former NO City Hall is being demolished.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/nosob-siteplan.jpg

Holly&Smith Architects-Hammond, La

Desription from website, perfect fit for New Orleans climate.
The principals of Regional Modernism are paramount to the concept of the proposed design. Solar orientation and climatic responses have been proposed that address this rationale. A long narrow floor plate oriented due south will utilize a double ventilated facade “scrim” to minimize solar heat gain and maximize views. The “scrim” is a unitized curtain wall surface of frit glass with varying transparencies to achieve these goals. The remaining opaque facade treatments are clad with a terracotta rain-screen. H/S has engaged the services of ARUP New York’s facade engineering group for aid in the design and performance of the double ventilated facade.

weblink-Holly&Smith Architects-Hammond, La
http://www.hollyandsmith.com/portfolio/new-orleans-state-office-building

[sguil1]

Wow, new city hall looks great FlaTiger. Any idea on the status of this project. All conjecture right now or is there a real chance of this happening.

[sguil1]

Anyone out in Algiers have an update on Federal City. I know construction was set to begin last September.

[ardecila]

Wow, new city hall looks great FlaTiger. Any idea on the status of this project. All conjecture right now or is there a real chance of this happening.

It's not a city hall, it's a state office building. In other words, a place for Jindal's boys to sit in comfort while NO city government sits in a rusting hulk across the street.

I love the design, but they should be re-doing Duncan Plaza as well. The gazebo there looks so bush-league it's ridiculous. It belongs in some park out in Covington, not the center of downtown New Orleans. How about something that adds some night-time vitality, a sort of mini-Millennium Park? Brilliantly-glowing parks are a tradition here, between Armstrong Park and Palmer Park. The National Jazz Center proposed for this area earlier had a touch of that, a grand vision to infuse activity into downtown. This is just another office building, although at least it's a nice one.

The article about the Hyatt is pure awesome. That is perhaps one of the single most visible scars remaining from Katrina. For God's sake, the H is missing from the Hyatt sign on the east side. Re-opening the hotel will add some activity and traffic to this area. However, I'm concerned that the city will exhaust its demand for hotels and we will end up with another round of closings.

[sguil1]

Phase III of the $219 million dollar superdome upgrade has begun. $19 million project to add windows to the club levels and to replace the entire covering of the dome with bronze/gold aluminum...


http://www.nola.com/news/?/base/news-1/1236234717186270.xml&coll=1

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/usualsuspect147/P2260027.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/usualsuspect147/P2260029.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/usualsuspect147/P2260028.jpg

[ardecila]

I saw today on NORTA's website that they are beginning an Alternatives Analysis study for a transit project downtown, to connect the Union Passenger Terminal, the Convention Center, the casino, the Canal/Rampart area, and Frenchmen Street.

They're fast-tracking the study so that it will be completed by September (usually these studies take years) so I'm assuming that they are angling to get funding for this included in the next transportation bill.

I'm not sure what the outcome of the study will be. Most likely, it will be a circulator streetcar line or bus-rapid-transit line. Regardless, I'm excited. I can see NORTA building a loop around downtown, using the riverfront, Elysian Fields, St. Claude/Rampart/Loyola, and Melpomene/MLK.

[sguil1]

I saw today on NORTA's website that they are beginning an Alternatives Analysis study for a transit project downtown, to connect the Union Passenger Terminal, the Convention Center, the casino, the Canal/Rampart area, and Frenchmen Street.

They're fast-tracking the study so that it will be completed by September (usually these studies take years) so I'm assuming that they are angling to get funding for this included in the next transportation bill.

I'm not sure what the outcome of the study will be. Most likely, it will be a circulator streetcar line or bus-rapid-transit line. Regardless, I'm excited. I can see NORTA building a loop around downtown, using the riverfront, Elysian Fields, St. Claude/Rampart/Loyola, and Melpomene/MLK.

sounds great, keep us updated.

[sguil1]

promising news about the LSU/VA hospital. Sounds like LSU my get enough money from FEMA to possibly fund this thing after all.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/homeland_security_sec_janet_na.html

[sguil1]

LA CANCER RESEARCH CENTER

This project was planned before the storm and pushed back. Today drove by and the whole area was was surrounded by construction fencing and equipment and workers were on site. Hopefully this thing is getting underway. Click on the rmjmHillier link below, go to "Research" then "La cancer research center" to see some really cool renderings. Will be 10 stories with broad side facing I-10.

http://www.rmjmhillier.com/portfolio/

http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek09/0109/0109d_lacenter.cfm



Also drove by the site of the new La state office building near duncan plaza, demolition crews are on site now tearing down the 2-story and 8-story government buildings (eyesores) that are currently there. Hopefully this building also gets underway soon.

[ardecila]

If construction has begun on the LCRC, then I definitely need to go downtown this weekend. Between this, 930 Poydras, and the State Office Building, this should be an interesting season for new construction in New Orleans. Most cities are seeing their construction booms come to an end, but because 2 of those 3 buildings are institutional, they have been able to find funding and begin construction.

Now we just need a major renovation of City Hall, and I hope the buildings along Loyola with all those broken windows will be renovated.

[sguil1]

If construction has begun on the LCRC, then I definitely need to go downtown this weekend. Between this, 930 Poydras, and the State Office Building, this should be an interesting season for new construction in New Orleans. Most cities are seeing their construction booms come to an end, but because 2 of those 3 buildings are institutional, they have been able to find funding and begin construction.

Now we just need a major renovation of City Hall, and I hope the buildings along Loyola with all those broken windows will be renovated.

Also was a good piece on WWL tonight discussing all the housing activity on Tulane ave. these days, ie. the Crescent Club and 5 or so others. Would be worth taking a drive down Tulane ave. Bring back some pictures.

[NThomas]

A gold SuperDome... I guess after 30 years it's due for a face lift.

[sguil1]

LA CANCER RESEARCH CENTER

This project was planned before the storm and pushed back. Today drove by and the whole area was was surrounded by construction fencing and equipment and workers were on site. Hopefully this thing is getting underway. Click on the rmjmHillier link below, go to "Research" then "La cancer research center" to see some really cool renderings. Will be 10 stories with broad side facing I-10.

http://www.rmjmhillier.com/portfolio/

http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek09/0109/0109d_lacenter.cfm


Also drove by the site of the new La state office building near duncan plaza, demolition crews are on site now tearing down the 2-story and 8-story government buildings (eyesores) that are currently there. Hopefully this building also gets underway soon.

New article today from the La Cancer Research Consortium. Verifies that construction on the project will officially begin in mid-April. Workers appear to be preping the site now. Great news.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/uptotheminute.cfm?recid=23573

[sguil1]

A gold SuperDome... I guess after 30 years it's due for a face lift.

Yeah, all the work they have done to the interior really looks great also. Dome could easily last another 30 years. The state and the Saints are very close to signing a new lease in the dome.

[fla_tiger]

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e173/fla_tiger/NO-CBD1/lcrc_rendering_final.jpg

rendering of the LRCC....ground was broken 3/11/2009.

[sguil1]

Victory Theatre : National WWII Museum expansion project update. This project is comming along nicely. About 60-70% complete. I believe this is still set to open late summer.

http://blog.nola.com/news_impact/2009/01/large_01museum3.JPG

http://blog.nola.com/news_impact/2009/01/large_01museum1.JPG

http://photos.nola.com/photos/tpphotos/23c738540b6e3e1edbf5041f1efddadd.jpg

http://photos.nola.com/photos/tpphotos/6661e438b5c4889b1192a25c9b588143.jpg

http://photos.nola.com/photos/tpphotos/c47e5186b8f00d00a28857bae80c6f92.jpg



This is the complete expansion to be done by 2014

http://members.cox.net/renegade_sith/miscjunk/ww2museum.jpg

[fla_tiger]

The National WWII Museum can be seen from the CC Connection and will definitely makes its mark on the Warehouse District skyline.

[ardecila]

This is the complete expansion to be done by 2014

http://members.cox.net/renegade_sith/miscjunk/ww2museum.jpg

I believe the wavy roof in the center has been cancelled. The other buildings are still going ahead, though.

[sguil1]

LCRC definately underway. Concrete busters, backhoes, and trucks all over the site daily getting ready for the foundation work presumably in a few weeks. Also 930 poydras moving along nicely, finishing up the 5th floor now.

[sguil1]

200 Carondelet. Origionally built in 1929, just renoved into appartments and now leasing. Great to see this historic building restored.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/uptotheminute.cfm?recid=23752

http://www.200carondelet.com/

http://www.donahuefavret.com/images/projects/83/slides/200_4841-for-web.jpg

http://www.donahuefavret.com/images/projects/83/slides/200_4555-for-web.jpg

http://www.donahuefavret.com/images/projects/83/slides/200_4940-for-web.jpg

[sguil1]

Construction to kickoff on April 15th for LCRC.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/uptotheminute.cfm?recid=23779



$225 million in Go Zone bonds approved for Hyatt Regency renovations.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/uptotheminute.cfm?recid=23780

[sguil1]

Louisiana Film Studios - largest film studio east of the Mississippi river. 500,000 square feet. Two major productions already going on.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/at_first_the_script_called.html

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewStory.cfm?recID=32970#

http://blog.nola.com/news_impact/2009/03/large_20090323_film_184.jpg

[jowens]

Great to see this happening in NOLA!!!

[sguil1]

Saint Charles Surgical Hospital. Just completed at 1717 St. Charles. 60,000 sq feet, 17 beds, 6 OR's. State of the art facility right on st. charles avenue.

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A51798

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/images/St.-Charles-Surgical-Hospital.gif

http://bestofneworleans.com/binary/367b/health_feat-2.jpg



Terraces - Mid City

http://www.rndcnola.org/files/terraces_main.jpg

http://oxblue.com/archive/c1af24fa912fede642b67e31f9a53bb5/800x600.jpg

[ardecila]

I just walked past that guy yesterday on a long hike up Tulane Avenue. I was really surprised by the amount of new development there.... of course, all but the Terraces is being done by one company (Domain Cos.). I really hope Domain sticks around in the New Orleans market and continues to develop properties. Nobody else wants to do anything in this city.

[sguil1]

Updated job site pics from 930 Poydras and La Cancer Research Center. Found these on Emporis. They may be from Ardecila, I know he is a photographer for emporis. If so, great work man!! 930 poydras really comming along, they are now on the 7th floor. Also the site of the new State Office Building highrise comming along. They have completely torn down the 3 story building on the site and now are working on demolishing the 8 story building.

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/pc/?id=335424&aid=19&sro=1&yr=2009&mt=3

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2009/04/692815.jpg

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2009/04/692814.jpg

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2009/04/692811.jpg

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/pc/?id=304624&aid=19&sro=1&yr=2009&mt=3

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2009/04/692821.jpg

[ardecila]

Yea, those are mine. Good to know somebody is looking at them. :D

I walked past the demolition site the other day. That was cool to see just how fast it came down once all the interior stuff was removed. I have pictures, I'll get them up later.

I also have pictures of the stuff along Tulane Ave.

[sguil1]

The Meridian - Not sure if this is under construction yet. Just off Tulane ave behind the Crescent Club. Its the third project of the Domain Co. (The Preserve, Crecscent Club). Also a map to summarize all the new housing along Tulane ave.

http://www.thedomaincos.com/current_portfolio_details_dev_16.htm

http://www.thedomaincos.com/resources/10036/Meridian_Rendering.jpg

http://blog.nola.com/news_impact/2009/01/TULANE011309.jpg


Domain Cos. also planning to build 15,000 square feet of retail on Tulane avenue across from the Crescent Club.

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/04/new_retail_center_to_begin_tak.html

[ardecila]

Demolition of the State Building:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6345/1001209.jpg

Marquis Apts
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7066/1001266z.jpg

Crescent Club
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2859/1001280fer.jpg

Meridian
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6409/1001284v.jpg

[sguil1]

great pics. thanks for the update.

[sguil1]

Tragace on hold until market improves...but still planning on going forward. Article sounds promising. They have won the lawsuit that was filed against them.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewFeature.cfm?recid=1360

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/04/new_orleans_condo_project_is_o.html

http://www.firstreleasehomes.com/locate/1075/image/large/

http://www.newcondosonline.com/photos/off2326.jpg


UNO foundation building to be bought and renovated into apartments and office space. Good news, this building is right on Canal street.

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/04/vacant_university_of_new_orlea.html

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2003/10/226194.jpg

[ardecila]

Thank god. I have classes in the Tulane-owned Murphy Oil Building right next door, and I know first-hand that the UNO building is an embarrassing shithole. (Admittedly, it's not as bad as the Texaco Building across Canal....)

The article talks about getting a National Registry listing. That seems a little unlikely, but hopefully it means that the building will be restored in a way that is sympathetic to its Modernist design. Unfortunately, it also rules out the kind of cool re-cladding that some of these mid-century buildings have been receiving in other cities.

Good news about Tracage as well.

[sguil1]

I think the texaco building has a good chance of being renovated into apts or condos if the new lsu/va hospital gets done. Its in very close proximity to the purposed site. Also the Krauss condos are a few blocks down and the reports are that their units sold very well even without the hospital. Might be a few years before anything happens though.

[pj3000]

I believe the wavy roof in the center has been cancelled. The other buildings are still going ahead, though.

Good. I thought that design was kind of ridiculous... totally out of place in the warehouse district neighborhood.

New Orleans is lookin good.

[sguil1]

Saints and state agree on new 15 year lease extention to stay in New Orleans. Included is 85 million in further renovations to the dome, including adding 3000 seats and 16 luxury suites. Also included is the buying of the vacant dominion tower that is adjacent to the dome by Benson. Will also buy and redevelop the new orleans centre into a sports entertainment disctrict. Great news! Still has to pass legislature but is expected to do so.

http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2009/04/gov_bobby_jindal_and_new.html

http://blog.nola.com/news_impact/2009/04/superdome-plan.jpg

Dominion tower

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PR-AB308_DWEEK_DV_20090407153134.jpg

[ardecila]

Nothing new added to the city, but it's great to see something happen with these parcels. I'm a little worried about what will happen with the mall, though. Obviously this area couldn't really support the mall pre-Katrina, so I'm interested to see how they will try to attract retailers. Also, the mall probably needs better connections to surrounding buildings... that whole area is a maze of parking garages and skywalks right now.

Hopefully the shifting of state offices into Dominion Tower won't impact the construction plans for the other state building a few blocks away. I can just see the state tearing down a building, expecting to replace it, then completely change direction and move into a different building, leaving yet another giant hole in the cityscape.

[sguil1]

I totally agree about the mall. It will only really be viable on gamedays so they better be able to make a ton of money then. I think the dominion tower deal is a great one. It not only gets that blighted tower back online but it will bring a ton of people to that end of Poydras, which has been very dead since katrina, especially with the vacant medical district and all. It will be good for resturaunts, and other businesses down there. Also this is great incentive for the Hyatt to come back online. They know they will have a ton of events to bank on for the next 15 years, including one or two superbowls.

[sguil1]

Tulane Senior Housing - not much info on this project, but drove down Tulane avenue today and saw they had torn down the entire facing of the old building at 3433 Tulane ave. Sign in front says it will be developed into St. Michael Senior housing complex. $2.9 million building permit was approved by the city. Glad to see something being done, this might be the ugliest building in the city.

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/UpToTheMinute.cfm?recID=23698

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2006/01/429650.jpg

[fla_tiger]

Tulane Senior Housing - not much info on this project, but drove down Tulane avenue today and saw they had torn down the entire facing of the old building at 3433 Tulane ave. Sign in front says it will be developed into St. Michael Senior housing complex. $2.9 million building permit was approved by the city. Glad to see something being done, this might be the ugliest building in the city.

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/UpToTheMinute.cfm?recID=23698

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2006/01/429650.jpg

Welcome news on the Tulane project, another of several new and redo's that will bring back the grand old thoroughfare.
The design (fake facade) on the building reminds me of many "edificios" I saw in San Juan.

[ardecila]

Maybe we're in some disagreement here... there are many ugly buildings in this city, but that isn't one of them. It has the right scale for Tulane Avenue and a sensible design that uses some of the bright colors that New Orleanians put on their shotgun doubles, in a neighborhood full of such houses. No, if you want to see ugly, look at any building in the medical district built after 1950. Any of Tulane's buildings, the VA hospital, University Hospital, etc. You'd think that with the great modern architecture that Tulane has built uptown, they could do the same downtown, but apparently not.

In terms of design standards, we're lightyears behind major cities like Chicago and New York, but I'm okay with that because spectacular architecture isn't necessarily a requirement for economic vitality. It would be nice, of course, but it isn't essential like in NYC or Chicago where the architecture itself is a tourist attraction. I do, however, expect certain things out of buildings regardless of what style they are built in - they need to have sensible responses to the hot, rainy weather, hurricane protection, an active street level, and come up to the sidewalk unless absolutely necessary. They also need to incorporate trash areas and loading docks away from the street.

Luckily, all the major projects going up right now DO have good designs (LCRC, 930 Poydras, State Building, Tulane Ave stuff) and the proposals also have decent architecture (Tracage, Vantage). Trump has okay design, although it's not gonna win any awards, and even the replacement designs for the projects seem to be pretty good. I'm not really a fan of the Make It Right houses - they look like Picasso messed with traditional shotgun houses and then set them on stilts. If they want to do modern, then don't compromise it by trying to bring in too much stuff from traditional styles.

[sguil1]

Its not the architecture itself that I have a problem with, its the fact that it is in such disrepair. It would have been more accurate to have said that it is one of the worst eyesores in the city. I cringe every time I pass it because its so rundown. Same feeling I get when passing the texaco building on canal or dixie brewery, and I think dixie is an architectural gem but its in such shambles that it looks like it will collapse any day now. I wish there was a rendering of how the building will be renovated but I think it will be pretty basic with such a small budget. Anything is better than a blighted building in my opinion.

As far as the newer projects, I also like the direction the designs are going. Especially LCRC and 930 Poydras, which by the way is just starting to get its paneling on the first two levels of the parking garage. They are now on the
8th story and a new article is out saying that completion still expected by the end of the year.

http://www.djcgulfcoast.com/item.cfm?recID=12981

http://www.djcgulfcoast.com/images/506_Poydras_7541_WEB.jpg

[sguil1]

Saints deal passes through the house easily. This is obviously great news for the Saints but I also think this deal will do wonders for the CBD with all of the planned renovations, not to mention SuperBowl 2013.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/05/house_approves_27_billion_stat.html

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/05/house_defeats_attempt_to_scutt.html

[ardecila]

I hope we get 2013! We have to keep up with Miami in hosting the most Super Bowls!

But yeah, I really like the Saints deal. A truly modern stadium is really, REALLY cool. Even Soldier Field here in Chicago is really nice, but places like Nationals Stadium in DC, Great American Ball Park/Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, etc. are placed that blow me away. The Saints are planning for the elevated plaza of the Superdome to go from being a county fair to being Times Square. :D

I hope this will be the good future necessary for the Hyatt team to land financing for the renovation of that building.

BTW, as of last week, the huge signage pylon between the Superdome and the I-10/Crescent City interchange was covered in scaffolding. It's probably just getting repainted, but I thought the paint was fine before? :shrug: I'm hoping there will be some flashy new signs added, or the pylon will be painted a bold color.

[ardecila]

In other good news, FEMA denied the State the $400 million it wants to replace Charity Hospital. FEMA stands by its earlier offer of $120 million, which would not be enough to level Lower Mid-City for a whole new hospital, but it would be almost enough to renovate the existing Charity complex, which is IMO a far better plan for everybody involved - there is less wasteful government spending, a beautiful historic building is preserved, and a whole neighborhood won't be evicted. Honestly, it's a no-brainer - so why do Jindal and the House continue to stand by LSU's terrible plan?

Of course, even if LSU renovates Charity, that still leaves VA, which also plans to demolish a large section of Lower Mid-City. Theirs is a more difficult situation, since their existing building looks like hell AND is inefficient. There are several parking lots between Tulane and Canal that form a continuous parcel large enough for a new hospital with a vertical design, but since everybody important in Louisiana seems to have the urban-planning mindset from the 1960s, I'm sure that would be rejected immediately.

[sguil1]

Yeah, its really just time for SOMETHING to be done with the hospital. Whichever side your on, one of the two needs to happen soon. I for one am now tired of all the arguing and wish a decision would be made and don't have a preference either way. One intersting scenerio i've heard is build the new VA on the smaller area of mid city since it has funding and to redevelop charity and use the old VA right next door as LSU's clinic tower.

[ardecila]

To be honest, I'm hoping for a scenario in which the current VA hospital is torn down - it's such an ugly building, and it recoils from the streets on all four sides like a society dame recoils from a bum. I think most people would agree that it has no architectural value - but I am open to any arguments about why it should be saved, since I don't want to make the same preservation mistake that has been made so many times before in New Orleans.

Charity, unlike the VA, is an amazing Art Deco complex that is, along with the State Capitol, one of the largest tangible representations of the Huey Long era, when state government commissioned beautiful Art Deco buildings in an attempt to bring Louisiana into the modern era, and give it its own monumental architecture that would embody the socialist big-government attitudes of the time. Even the building's purpose is, on the whole, a rather socialist one - health care provided free of charge to those who cannot afford it. Regardless of your feelings about socialism or big government, you can't argue that this building doesn't represent a crucial period in American and especially Louisiana history. You also can't argue with the RMJM Hillier study, funded independently, that projects that the renovation of Charity into a state-of-the-art modern hospital would be far faster and cheaper than the construction of a new hospital.

Lots of people have alternative proposals to the official one. The odd thing is that EVERY SINGLE New Orleanian (by this I mean city residents) that I've spoken with favors the preservation/renovation of Charity Hospital. On the flip side, I haven't heard a single good argument for the official plan. So why does the state/LSU keep pushing for a bad plan that is hated by nearly every single person who will be served by this new hospital?

As always, it's a pissing match between the power in Baton Rouge and the power in New Orleans. NO has a history of shrugging off state authority, and now the people up in Baton Rouge are willing to tear down an entire neighborhood just to show New Orleans who's boss. It's absurd.

[sguil1]

New Orleans to host SuperBowl 2013!!! Great news for the city and also for that end of poydras street. Look forward to seeing the updates to the dome, dominion tower, hyatt, and new orleans center. Between 2011 and 2013 N.O. will host 3 sugar bowls, BCS national championship, women's final four, mens final four and the superbowl.

http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2009/05/new_orleans_is_awarded_the_sup.html

Good article on how this will immediately impact the N.O. economy.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2009/05/experts_economic_boost_associa.html

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/05/large_dome.jpg

[sguil1]

Mayor says "letter of intent" has been signed to buy Chevron Place and relocate city hall there...interesting.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/mayor_ray_nagin_1.html

http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2003/10/226214.jpg

[ardecila]

A commenter on the Times Picayune website voiced my main concern - this building isn't in a prominent location. What does it say about New Orleans that our city hall is in some forgotten corner of the CBD, instead of its original location along a major street, where it faced a plaza with other governmental buildings in a unified and dignified Modern style?

Also, this vision of a huge green space is not a bad idea - there is precious little downtown green space, just a few forlorn plazas - but it seems awfully expensive. Where's that money gonna come from? It also seems like a waste to tear down the existing City Hall when such a park could be placed on the ocean of empty lots that already exists right across the street. The City Hall building has its problems, but a well-done renovation can solve all of them. The only reason the city hasn't renovated is because the modifications that the building needs would be a terrible burden upon the workers inside.

Also.. :rock: for the Super Bowl!

[sguil1]

Offer has been confirmed by Chevron. $7.3 million, actually pretty cheap for that building. Good news is sounds like someone will eventually aquire that building and get it up and running.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/chevron_confirms_nagins_offer.html

[sguil1]

Southern Star Amusement in preliminary talks to purchase dormant Six Flags site.

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/05/southern_star_amusement_in_pre.html

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/05/large_sixflags.jpg

[ardecila]

I wasn't in NO prior to Katrina; was Six Flags New Orleans a year-round theme park like those in LA and Orlando?

Coming from Chicago, I'm used to amusement parks being a seasonal thing, since the rides can't be operated safely in the winter.

If the park is open year-round, then it could become a significant tourist draw for New Orleans. Currently, the city suffers because it is not a family-friendly destination - the only tourists in New Orleans are those who want to eat in expensive restaurants and get themselves smashed afterwards, with perhaps a girlie show thrown in at some point. There are a lot of these tourists, granted, and there's nothing wrong with partying, but a whole other market exists that the city could tap into. The park, while it is within city limits, is about equidistant from the CBD as it is from Slidell, which might be a more attractive hotel location for families than the CBD/Quarter.

The fact that such a park would be independently operated is a good thing. Places like Universal Studios, Disney, and Busch Gardens tend to be tourist draws, while Six Flags parks do not, since they are a national chain. If Southern Star can advertise their park as something unique, then it could become quite a destination. I also like the job prospects that this park provides; we're talking hundreds or even thousands of new jobs, which can only be a good thing.

[sguil1]

I wasn't here either, but i'm pretty sure it was open at least most of the year. The major problem with this park was its location. It was a little far from downtown for tourists and also on the wrong side of new orleans to draw people from baton rouge. Something located on the west side of the city would probably do better with the local support. But it also was not a water park and I think that would do considerably better. I did go to six flags a few times when it was here and really enjoyed it.

[tennis1400]

If im correct in memory, I think it was open random times thoughout the year with a more set schedule in the May-September timeframe. I know it was open for things like Halloween and Thanksgiving. New Orleans is actually a better suited place to theme park during the winter since it isnt so hot. Six Flags/Jazzland has lots of problems with its location though. Out of all the areas to place a theme park in the metro area, I would have never chosen that site. Nevertheless, thats where it is. I hope they can figure something out to clean it up and bring in some better landscaping. Its a crime to be in a city as green as New Orleans is and have hardly a tree. It was ridiculously hot there in the summer!