NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread

[Chris from N.O.]

Does anybody know what's really going on with the Convention Center line? I went to one of the meetings a few months ago and am still a little confused as to how it would work- they said the line would be on only one side of the street, in the roadway, and that the circulation would be reversed later in the day. Last thing I heard about it was that they had pulled an application for funding, or something along those lines.

[ardecila]

I don't think they pulled their application, but the line as currently designed is a huge loser. Even FTA all the way in DC could understand this, and I'm betting they told NORTA to find some other ideas.

[tennis1400]

A little tidbit of news on the W French Quarter.

The The W French Quarter will be adding a new restaurant “in conjunction with a world class culinary partner” as part of a $10 million hotel renovation.

Also will try and get the new rendering for 1031 Canal. Something about a giant circular window was added. Guess we will see what it looks like before judging.

[Blitzen]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Hate the diagonal orientation. It's so damn suburban.

For those of us who've been curious as to why the new Woodward Headquarters on Jefferson Davis Pkwy is on that weird angle, it's to orient the solar paneled roof to receive the most sunlight. The new building, which officially opens later this week, boasts the city's largest solar panel system at a whopping 70-Kwatts.

[tennis1400]

I dont really have a problem with the buildings orientation. Its a gorgeous new headquarters that for sure.


Some items of interest

http://uptownmessenger.com/2011/11/n...live-coverage/

A new restaurant on Magazine Street, a new nightclub on Freret Street and a new home in place of a historic one were all given approval by the City Council on Thursday, though each project has drawn its share of objections.

[ardecila]

^^ That's BS... if you have a flat roof, you can orient the solar panels to the sun regardless of the orientation/shape of the roof.

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^^ That's BS... if you have a flat roof, you can orient the solar panels to the sun regardless of the orientation/shape of the roof.

Heres why its orientated the way it is..

"Even the building’s orientation to the street was designed to provide plenty of natural light in workspaces while simultaneously minimizing the full impact of the hot midday sun."


Taken directly from their website.

[Chris from N.O.]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

d a new home in place of a historic one were all given approval

Pretty sure I don't like that part. I'm not buying the whole "I need a northshore architect to design my house or it isn't livable" line.

[Blitzen]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

"Even the building’s orientation to the street was designed to provide plenty of natural light in workspaces while simultaneously minimizing the full impact of the hot midday sun."


Taken directly from their website.

Heres why its orientated the way it is..

"Even the building’s orientation to the street was designed to provide plenty of natural light in workspaces while simultaneously minimizing the full impact of the hot midday sun."


Taken directly from their website.

All true, but what I said about the sunlight/orientation came from a Woodward spokesperson's interview on Fox 8 today. Either way, I think it's a great addition to the neighborhood.

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

All true, but what I said about the sunlight/orientation came from a Woodward spokesperson's interview on Fox 8 today. Either way, I think it's a great addition to the neighborhood.

Im Sure that given the east west horizon of the street that the panels on the roof will get more light this way as well. Remember some of Xaviers midrises will block sunlight on this building for part of the day. So Im assuming the shadow studies they did directed them towards this orientation to get them the greatest amount of sunlight.

[midcity]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

Im Sure that given the east west horizon of the street that the panels on the roof will get more light this way as well. Remember some of Xaviers midrises will block sunlight on this building for part of the day. So Im assuming the shadow studies they did directed them towards this orientation to get them the greatest amount of sunlight.

What does Xavier have to do with blocking sunlight? The campus is north-northwest of the Woodward building, and I think there are only low rise warehouses and houses to the south. Plus, Jeff Davis is pretty wide so I would think it would take a rather large building to have any effect.

Orientation to the street might maximize natural light, but shouldn't influence the orientation of solar panels as you can orient them anyway you like. But they might have designed the building to maximize the number of south-facing panels that they could fit on the roof. Perhaps a design that directly faced the street resulted in roof space that limited the number of south-oriented panels it could accomodate. Plus, solar panels are usually installed in arrays per inverter, so you might have 7 panels per inverter, and even if you have space for a few more panels, it would not be worth the expense of an additional inverter. Perhaps this orientation was the most space-efficient for an array of south facing panels, plus maximized natural light inside the building.

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by midcity

What does Xavier have to do with blocking sunlight? The campus is north-northwest of the Woodward building, and I think there are only low rise warehouses and houses to the south. Plus, Jeff Davis is pretty wide so I would think it would take a rather large building to have any effect.

Orientation to the street might maximize natural light, but shouldn't influence the orientation of solar panels as you can orient them anyway you like. But they might have designed the building to maximize the number of south-facing panels that they could fit on the roof. Perhaps a design that directly faced the street resulted in roof space that limited the number of south-oriented panels it could accomodate. Plus, solar panels are usually installed in arrays per inverter, so you might have 7 panels per inverter, and even if you have space for a few more panels, it would not be worth the expense of an additional inverter. Perhaps this orientation was the most space-efficient for an array of south facing panels, plus maximized natural light inside the building.

Wow just throwing ideas out there about why the guy said that on tv no need to be rude!

[midcity]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

Wow just throwing ideas out there about why the guy said that on tv no need to be rude!

Oops, didn't mean to be rude. Sorry if it sounded that way, but it wasn't intended. Just throwing my 2 cents in that his tv explanation of orientation of the bldg for solar panels was probably just a generalization and a better description would be that it was to accommodate the most panels in the most ideal direction.

[Blitzen]

Bad news, looks like the new streetcar line will be stopping at Elysian Fields instead of Press Street. So this means the new extension is about 30% shorter than before. At least the timetable hasn't changed which makes me feel more confident that this project will actually happen.

Also, the Howard Avenue connection to Lee Circle seems to still be on the drawing table, but not until the future.

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

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

Bad news, looks like the new streetcar line will be stopping at Elysian Fields instead of Press Street. So this means the new extension is about 30% shorter than before. At least the timetable hasn't changed which makes me feel more confident that this project will actually happen.

Also, the Howard Avenue connection to Lee Circle seems to still be on the drawing table, but not until the future.

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

Wait so since the press street is off the table does that mean the spur down Elysian Fields to the river is back on? I hope so because the main thing the streetcar system will need as it gets bigger is better connections between the lines. Such as the Howard Avenue extension between Loyola and St Charles Avenue.

Well after reading the article it seems they are taking a phased approach to this which is good I think if the money isnt there at least some of the line can be operational quickly.

[IceCream]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

Wait so since the press street is off the table does that mean the spur down Elysian Fields to the river is back on? I hope so because the main thing the streetcar system will need as it gets bigger is better connections between the lines. Such as the Howard Avenue extension between Loyola and St Charles Avenue.

Well after reading the article it seems they are taking a phased approach to this which is good I think if the money isnt there at least some of the line can be operational quickly.

"At the urging of residents who live along the proposed route, the RTA has scrapped a planned 1.2 mile spur on Elysian Fields that would have connected with the Riverfront streetcar at Esplanade."

Seriously some stupid people...why would you oppose that?

[Chris from N.O.]

Originally Posted by IceCream

"At the urging of residents who live along the proposed route, the RTA has scrapped a planned 1.2 mile spur on Elysian Fields that would have connected with the Riverfront streetcar at Esplanade."

Seriously some stupid people...why would you oppose that?

Sounds like that info is coming from the RTA. Don't believe everything you read.

[Blitzen]

Originally Posted by tennis1400

Wait so since the press street is off the table does that mean the spur down Elysian Fields to the river is back on?

No, they're both off the table for a while. All we're getting next year is the line down Rampart/St. Claude to Elysian Fields. No spurs.

As time goes on, I'm getting warmer to the idea of Rampart being only 1 lane in each direction. I can't remember ever sitting in traffic along Rampart, and it would definitely make the street more welcoming to pedestrians. I'd like to see a traffic study, but if it works for half of St. Charles and Carrollton, it could probably work for Rampart.

[Chris from N.O.]

Originally Posted by Blitzen

No, they're both off the table for a while. All we're getting next year is the line down Rampart/St. Claude to Elysian Fields. No spurs.

As time goes on, I'm getting warmer to the idea of Rampart being only 1 lane in each direction. I can't remember ever sitting in traffic along Rampart, and it would definitely make the street more welcoming to pedestrians. I'd like to see a traffic study, but if it works for half of St. Charles and Carrollton, it could probably work for Rampart.

Does anybody know anything about the Howard Avenue line? Would it be stand-alone, connect into the St. Charles line, what?

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by Chris from N.O.

Does anybody know anything about the Howard Avenue line? Would it be stand-alone, connect into the St. Charles line, what?

It would connect the two lines but I dont know how the streetcars will be run because isnt there something to do with National Historic registry where only the green cars are allowed to ride down st charles?