NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread

[York1]

Originally Posted by nolafan

The Four Seasons project is impressive! I love the way it's tying in with the new ferry terminal. I do agree with some of the critics on why the actual dock is not covered, that seems odd.

Hope it's not finished the way it is designed, and then someone decides it needs a cover, and the project takes on a haphazard look.

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by York1

Hope it's not finished the way it is designed, and then someone decides it needs a cover, and the project takes on a haphazard look.

its an issue of funding.. the demo has already been approved so the terminal will easily be finished before the four seasons... they are also redoing spanish plaza and i think renaming it tricentennial plaza and i think howard hughes is paying for that... remmeber howard hughes owns the buildings in spanish plaza where the two restaurants are...

[nolafan]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

its an issue of funding.. the demo has already been approved so the terminal will easily be finished before the four seasons... they are also redoing spanish plaza and i think renaming it tricentennial plaza and i think howard hughes is paying for that... remmeber howard hughes owns the buildings in spanish plaza where the two restaurants are...

Howard Hughes also owns riverwalk, so they want their area to be welcoming.

[jjslonaker]

So is there no Parking there? And did you see any of the residential floorplans? All in all though this is probably the best project thats happened in this city regarding hotel/condos. Love that there'll be 2 restaurants

[Blitzen]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

I really hope the beautiful, colorful marble of Spanish Plaza isn't replaced with something blue like in this rendering. Yes it needs some repair, but this was a gift from the nation of Spain, half paid for by them. To tear it out would be an insult as well as possible bad publicity for the city. Fix it up and leave it alone.

I also liked the old rendering that had a staircase from the WTC exit directly to the plaza.

Regarding the ferry terminal, I still can't understand the reluctance to redesign with a canopy to shield riders to the landing. There's a canopy around every side of the building except the side that matters! I see a lot of money wasted on unnecessary architectural elements that don't enhance this project imho.

Also, it's great to see a new apartment building proposed for Burgundy Street!!

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

I really hope the beautiful, colorful marble of Spanish Plaza isn't replaced with something blue like in this rendering. Yes it needs some repair, but this was a gift from the nation of Spain, half paid for by them. To tear it out would be an insult as well as possible bad publicity for the city. Fix it up and leave it alone.

I also liked the old rendering that had a staircase from the WTC exit directly to the plaza.

Regarding the ferry terminal, I still can't understand the reluctance to redesign with a canopy to shield riders to the landing. There's a canopy around every side of the building except the side that matters! I see a lot of money wasted on unnecessary architectural elements that don't enhance this project imho.

Also, it's great to see a new apartment building proposed for Burgundy Street!!

i will see the plans soon.. i wouldnt put anything into that rendering for spanish plaza...

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by jjslonaker

So is there no Parking there? And did you see any of the residential floorplans? All in all though this is probably the best project thats happened in this city regarding hotel/condos. Love that there'll be 2 restaurants

No residential floor plans in this set..
parking will be in wtc garage which they just leased from the city for 99 years.. the wtc garage is right in front the Hilton and says Hilton on it but its in fact the wtc garage... the actual Hilton garage is under the athletic center behind wtc garage

there was a large emphasis in this plan in maintaining lines of site from canal street to the river which is crucial to activate the area more... right now is much to hidden and people just forget about it

[mwm991]

So can we assume the trade district is dead?

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by mwm991

So can we assume the trade district is dead?

not sure why we would assume that.

[mwm991]

Well it was dragging out as it was with hopes of a deal done by the end of 2016. We're in June and there hasn't been anything bar murmurs of continued unrest.

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by mwm991

Well it was dragging out as it was with hopes of a deal done by the end of 2016. We're in June and there hasn't been anything bar murmurs of continued unrest.

ill ask around and see if anyone knows a thing

[LAtoTX]

Originally Posted by mwm991

So can we assume the trade district is dead?

Isn't Howard-Hughes head of the Trade District proposal? The only thing that makes me really skeptical about this is that there has been no recent large-scale commercial investment in the CBD. People in the work force are making moves out of the city into states like Texas. The Trade District seems to be too ambitious and not make much sense, considering the economic state that NOLA is in currently. Now, if companies like Shell or Exxon were still relevant in the city or if big advances in other economic sectors were to occur within the city, I could see something like the Trade District happening because investors would see a growing economy and feel safe investing a lot of their money (think Houston or Austin). But as of today, unfortunately, that is certainly not the case (I hate to say it, but it's the hard truth). My point being: there isn't that much demand for a development like this at the moment.

For now, I think we'll just be seeing occasional, small high-rise apartment developments and things of that nature. I honestly can't think of the last time that I saw a new office tower going up in NOLA.

[tennis1400]

[tennis1400]

This new golf amusement place will be interesting:

[SlidellWx]

The project on Burgundy street looks great. That whole area will be totally transformed once all of the planned work for that strip of land by the tracks is complete.

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by SlidellWx

The project on Burgundy street looks great. That whole area will be totally transformed once all of the planned work for that strip of land by the tracks is complete.

I agree that area will be an interesting cluster with lots of activity

[prokowave]

Originally Posted by LAtoTX

Isn't Howard-Hughes head of the Trade District proposal? The only thing that makes me really skeptical about this is that there has been no recent large-scale commercial investment in the CBD. People in the work force are making moves out of the city into states like Texas. The Trade District seems to be too ambitious and not make much sense, considering the economic state that NOLA is in currently. Now, if companies like Shell or Exxon were still relevant in the city or if big advances in other economic sectors were to occur within the city, I could see something like the Trade District happening because investors would see a growing economy and feel safe investing a lot of their money (think Houston or Austin). But as of today, unfortunately, that is certainly not the case (I hate to say it, but it's the hard truth). My point being: there isn't that much demand for a development like this at the moment.

For now, I think we'll just be seeing occasional, small high-rise apartment developments and things of that nature. I honestly can't think of the last time that I saw a new office tower going up in NOLA.

From my perspective, I think you may have it backwards. The real estate market has been so hot lately that people have been having trouble finding a reasonably priced place to live. As a result, a lot of businesses are having trouble getting people to move here. I think we need more big residential and the businesses will follow at this point. The trouble is, there are not many good opportunities for large scale development in attractive areas, but the trade district is one of them. It does seem like the parties were not able to make the deal, but I think someone should be able to make it work.

There are really a lot of big projects going on, so I don't think there is an inherent economic issue. If anything it's all of the red tape in the city that is preventing even more development.

[mwm991]

The trade district was based around a high rise hotel IIRC, with surrounding smaller retail, entertainment and residential developments, as opposed to office space.

[Nickapedia]

Originally Posted by mwm991

The trade district was based around a high rise hotel IIRC, with surrounding smaller retail, entertainment and residential developments, as opposed to office space.

If the trade district is dead, it would only be so with the MCC/Howard Hughs team that has been the lead developer. In my opinion, MCC might have too much on their plate already with the old power plant, plaza tower, top golf, jung etc., which may have partially contributed to the slowdown of negotiations. What we may see in the future is the convention center start to negotiate with more developers, but at some point, be that 2 or 5 or more years, i think this project will happen.

Regarding the market in NOLA, i tend to agree that economic growth has slowed some but the one area where that isnt true is with tourism. Therefore i think it likely that the convention center board move forward with their vision of a 1,000+ room hotel on that site to complement the convention center improvements they have planned so they can continue to attract more and larger conventions. They might then wait a few years for an oil rebound and/or other local industries gain more traction before they follow through with the planned apartments and retail.

[SlidellWx]

Originally Posted by mwm991

The trade district was based around a high rise hotel IIRC, with surrounding smaller retail, entertainment and residential developments, as opposed to office space.

That is correct. A convention hotel is the main part of the project with adjacent residential towers and entertainment/retail added in.

In terms of the office market, it has been very stable for the last several years. Class A space in the CBD was 89% occupied as of Q4 2016. Overall occupancy for all office space for lease in all of Orleans Parish (CBD/non-CBD) was 86% at the end of 2016 with an average price/sq. ft. of $18.50. The growth of local startup companies in tech, digital media, medical research, etc. has basically offset the declines in the oil and gas industry due to low commodity prices. For example, the 21 floor former Chevron building (renamed the Exchange Center) was 82% occupied with growing start up companies in Q4 2016. This building was completely empty only a few years ago. Another start up plans to lease another entire floor of One Canal Place this year as they expand to over 300 employees. Obviously, we won't see any new office buildings going up anytime soon, but the overall office market is doing fine.