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New Orleans Development Thread


NCB

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Just out of curiosity, has anyone hard anything about what is to become of the old Jung Hotel on Canal Street? It's had many names over the years, most recently the Park Plaza, but has also been known as the Radisson, Clarion, Grand Hotel New Orleans and Braniff Place- most of these later names came in the 70's and after. I think I saw a listing for the building as being offered for sale. I'd think that the demand for hotel rooms would mean that the building would be sold and renovated fairly quickly, but the first two floors have been gutted by Katrina and I would guess that extensive repair work is needed throughout. If anyone has news of any kind, please post. I only stayed there once oe twice- some time in the 1980's when it was the Clarion. While not exciting, it's a solid building and deserves to be protected.

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Tombarnes, I seem to recall that the former Jung Hotel (1500 Canal St.) will be part of some future development, but I can't find an article to back up that claim.

nola17, last month, the Times-Picayune did a piece on Tulane-Gravier residents opposed to VA Hospital development. Also, Nagin did not get assistance in a recent legislative session to secure the land for this project.

In other news, the city released a new master plan for library redevelopment (T-P, CityBusiness), more details have been released about the Summit Fremaux in Slidell, and plans to rebuild the demolished Carrollton Shopping Center are beginning to surface.

Edited by blackcoat
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IDK. Some of the news about the hospitals future is depressing. Hopefully they will get built. Its needed desperately. Idk why its taking so long though.

They could have demolished alot of those abandoned medical building along gravier, claiborne, and other streets. They automatically have their land. But who knows. Hopefully we'll be seeing a ground breaking by this time next year.

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IDK. Some of the news about the hospitals future is depressing. Hopefully they will get built. Its needed desperately. Idk why its taking so long though.

They could have demolished alot of those abandoned medical building along gravier, claiborne, and other streets. They automatically have their land. But who knows. Hopefully we'll be seeing a ground breaking by this time next year.

The hospitals will be built. At this point, within the state itself, the big debate is the size of the LSU hospital.

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Just a quick update from construction sites around the CBD:

I saw the construction site of the new Home Depot near Claiborne Avenue, across the Ponchartrain Expressway, and things look to be progressing very well. There's alot of activity in that area, which is nice to see. Also, lots of work continues around the Fulton Street/Piazza d'Italia area of the CBD. I posted the news of Ruth's Chris coming to Fulton Street in the near future, and a new cafe is currently under construction just off Fulton Street, behind the Harrah's Hotel.

There really seems to be more and more activity on and around Fulton Street, and it's good to see New Orleanians realizing that Fulton Street isn't just lined with parking lots anymore. Lots of cafes and restaurants, most with streetside dining that seems to appeal greatly to families. And just a block over, you've got Gordon Biersch, which as become a very popular restaurant/bar, and is now the place to be after Hornets games. That place was rocking Saturday night after the Bees took out the Celtics.

It really is amazing how much that area of the CBD has improved over the last few years. We started seeing alot of improvement before Katrina, with Harrah's Casino, Gordon Biersch putting a restaurant on Poydras, the Loews Hotel coming in and virtually rebuilding the old Lykes Building on Poydras, and then Harrah's starting construction on their hotel. But since the storm, we've seen the Harrah's Hotel completed, we saw the new Homewood Suites high-rise hotel completed two blocks up Poydras, we've seen what has happened with the new Fulton Street, filled with restuarants and bars, and now the surrounding streets filled with streetside dining and music. We all know how well Canal Street acts as a gateway between the Quarter and the CBD, and I think we've now got a new gateway between the Warehouse District and the CBD, and it's only getting better.

The redevlopment of the Fulton Street area alone should give you reason to keep hope alive for the redevelopment of the CBD around Loyola Ave. and the Superdome. Now getting people to that area on non-gamedays will be more difficult, because it's further from both the Quarter and the river than Fulton Street, but smart planning and good "connectivity" ideas can solve that problem. If you build it smart, and give them a reason to come, they will come. :thumbsup:

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Four lanes on Tulane with a landscaped neutral ground would be a great improvement. It's such a sea of concrete now with no u-turns allowed for blocks and blocks. Coming in to town via Tulane would be a great alternative with new construction on either side and the skyline looming in the distance.

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I thought Jindal was supporting the new LSU/VA hospitals for New Orleans when he was running for governor. I would think they will eventually get built here.

FYI - They were moving some heavy equipment in at Royal and Canal yesterday. Perhaps they're starting construction on the Royal Cosmopolitan.

:shades:

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Stewart Juneau, owner of the Ritz-Carlton location on Canal St., unveiled a proposal for affordable condos on Manhattan Blvd. near the Westbank Expressway. I am particularly fascinated with the plan's focus on home ownership and willingness to work with prospective buyers to improve their credit rating. From the article:

Buyers with imperfect credit can live in the units as renters for up to 18 months while they participate in a homebuyers program that will help them set their finances in order. As soon as they manage to hoist their credit, they will qualify for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at one percent below the prime rate.

Also of interest: this announcement comes at a time when the market for tax credits is diminishing. Hopefully this will work.

Edited by blackcoat
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Here's something I'd been meaning to ask for quite some time. Can someone who is familiar with the construction going on at Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie give a rundown of what's going on? Just about all of the open land around Lakeside has become a construction zone, with two seperate projects. I know that a new Macy's store is under construction, along with a new parking garage for the mall, but I don't know which is which, or anything else going on over there. It's a very impressive scene when you're coming into Metairie off the Causeway, and I'd love to know more about what's going on. I'll also try to head out that way tommorow and get some construction photos.

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I managed to dig up an old article from the Times-Picayune on NOLA, and an included graphic managed to clear some things up. A new parking garage was constructed last year on the rear portion of Lakeside, along Severn Ave. Right now, another new parking garage is under construction along Veterans, and the new Macy's is under construction along Causeway Blvd.

macys_malls092807.gif

And here's a tiny rendering of the new Macy's at Lakeside(I believe the new Macy's over at The Esplanade in Kenner will have a similar design)

medium_macys2.JPG

After completely leaving the New Orleans metro after Katrina, Macy's is certainly re-entering the area with a bang in 2008.

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The portion of the site sold to Lowes is already under construction, though the rest of the project was in jeopardy as of a few months ago. Kailas had planned to finance the project by creating a special tax financing district for the site that would allow tax revenues collected at the Renaissance Towne Center to be reinvested in the project. However, the governing board put its plans for creating the tax financing district on hold after Kailas defaulted on several loans.

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And here's a tiny rendering of the new Macy's at Lakeside(I believe the new Macy's over at The Esplanade in Kenner will have a similar design)

medium_macys2.JPG

NCB: Why would you think the Macy's at The Esplanade would have a similar look? Is Macy's going to reclad the existing storefront in Kenner? I rather like it. It just needs some sprucing up.

The portion of the site sold to Lowes is already under construction, though the rest of the project was in jeopardy as of a few months ago. Kailas had planned to finance the project by creating a special tax financing district for the site that would allow tax revenues collected at the Renaissance Towne Center to be reinvested in the project. However, the governing board put its plans for creating the tax financing district on hold after Kailas defaulted on several loans.

Surprise surprise (NOT). Can anyone tell me what Kailas has developed that has NOT failed in some way? I'm being serious.

Edited by JPKneworleans
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