NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by Rampart38

I knew as it got closer for the HH group to release info on The RiverWalk things would leak out. I got word that Forever 21 is going into Gaps old location with additional footage, Samsonite, CROCS is returning, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic,Levis, Sephora,
Nine West, Nike, Puma, and Guess. I'll find out more on Friday. With Raising Canes etc in the food court and that amazing Brazilian Steak house! It's going to be great not having to give Lakeside Mall any of my money. Retail will shift to Orleans parish!

I wont comment on much but I will say that Last Call is for sure signed on. Texas De Brazil will be in Spanish Plaza.

[tylerbydesign]

Very interesting...

http://www.nola.com/business/index.s...incart_m-rpt-2

[tennis1400]

Originally Posted by tylerbydesign

Very interesting...

http://www.nola.com/business/index.s...incart_m-rpt-2

Sketch city. The building sounds cool though!

[v-chop]

The port's Dock Board, its governing body, unanimously passed a resolution Thursday noting its opposition to the idea, saying it would increase travel times for trucks hauling freight in the New Orleans region, which would spike costs for cargo operators. . . . Port commissioner Michael Kearney said Thursday that the facility's board was taking the "unusual" stance of speaking out against a major development project to protect its interests: keeping costs low for its customers and remaining competitive.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.s..._river_default

[v-chop]

Passed by there today. Lookin' good!

Since our last update, the construction activities at Mid-City Market have accelerated considerably and we are seeing the finish line ahead. We have turned over all 11 spaces to tenants, including since the last update Ochsner Medical Center, Verizon Wireless, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Felipe’s Taqueria, and Pinkberry. Many of the tenants have begun their interior buildout work and are scheduled to open for business starting the first week of July.

https://stirlingproperties.wordpress...et-may-update/

[prokowave]

I have to say that I agree with the Dock Board. Between the hospitals and the Iberville area plus the French Quarter, there are already few major streets to cross the city and the street grid has been decimated. Add the Rampart streetcar/lane removal and possible street closures associated with the Lafitte Greenway and we're going to have a real traffic nightmare if the elevated expressway is removed. We already have major traffic issues on a regular basis, not to mention during special events. I like the ideals of the expressway removal, but it just doesn't seem feasible to me and I think we should focus energies and resources elsewhere.

[ardecila]

That's odd, because I think congestion isn't that bad in New Orleans compared to other cities. Uptown has some congestion issues right now because there are so many construction projects on major streets (Louisiana, Jefferson, St. Charles, Broadway, Claiborne simultaneously). Freret and Fontainebleau will begin soon as well, but this is all very temporary.

Meanwhile, South Claiborne and Elysian Fields downtown are drastically down from pre-Katrina traffic levels because population losses were so heavily concentrated in Downtown. Even the CBD isn't that bad, or wasn't before they shut down four whole blocks for Planet of the Apes. I think drivers often take Canal or Decatur and then try to claim the whole city is a traffic jam.

The reconstruction of the projects has/will construct the missing segments of the street grid, through Iberville, Lafitte, and Calliope. The hospitals will have some through-connections because Landrieu demanded it. The Claiborne removal plan also includes a new bridge at Galvez that will allow people to avoid Broad or Claiborne, and give ambulances a shortcut to the hospitals.

[NOLAmike]

Originally Posted by prokowave

I have to say that I agree with the Dock Board. Between the hospitals and the Iberville area plus the French Quarter, there are already few major streets to cross the city and the street grid has been decimated. Add the Rampart streetcar/lane removal and possible street closures associated with the Lafitte Greenway and we're going to have a real traffic nightmare if the elevated expressway is removed. We already have major traffic issues on a regular basis, not to mention during special events. I like the ideals of the expressway removal, but it just doesn't seem feasible to me and I think we should focus energies and resources elsewhere.

While it MAY increase these costs, I'd like to see a more in-depth analysis. I think theses folks can figure out a way to make the costs change only marginally if they are creative enough. I think if the expressway is torn down there's a lot of societal benefits that will have real economic ramifications (in a positive sense) as well. Regarding mention that we have real traffic issues in New Orleans, I agree with ardecila. I actually think they are minor. In fact, compared to our peers we are almost best in the country (nice to be the best for once). I've got a link to the Texas Transport Institute's annual urban mobility report. We have one of the fastest commutes in the country for a city of our size (we even fare better than Baton Rouge if you look closely). Check out how we fare in the National Congestion Tables. Just don't look at this while you're driving!

http://d2dtl5nnlpfr0r.cloudfront.net...eport-2012.pdf

[thalia]

If the city or whoever decides to tear down the expressway without an alternative being built that will become the worst decision our city has made. With all of the positive movement that has been made, this decision will def kill growth. There is a far better way to spend the billions its gonna cost, how about focus on ways to encourage fortune 500's to establish residence and offices. When was the last high rise built in the city, besides Harrah's and 930 poydras? they are great but I'm not impressed. we may be limited by land area but so was NYC.

[ardecila]

Billions is an overstatement.

It's not simply a matter of "keep it or tear it down" The Claiborne viaduct is coming to the end of its useful life. Sometime in the next 10-20 years, we will need to replace it, just like a roof or an air conditioner. It will cost several hundred million dollars to rebuild. Tearing it down and spending the money on other improvements may be a better idea.

I already mentioned the Galvez overpass; this will allow Galvez to become another major street across the city and relieve traffic on Broad and Claiborne. Since some traffic would need to divert to 610, we could widen that highway. We could build streetcar lines. We could even use the money for things that aren't transportation, like parks, streetscaping, or corporate incentives.

[drdfrenchman]

Tearing down the 10? I can see the traffic now on 610 and PontExp trying to get to cbd/pono/wb/uptn. Our local gov't couldn't/can't redevelop St. Claude, N. Claiborne, St. Bernard, Paris, Upper Jackson, Chefs, and all of the east for years and years. All of a sudden they can? Just reconfigure and paint the underneath Claiborne with art, from top to bottom. Just because it's there doesn't mean we should ignore it or the neighborhood.

[Uptowner]

Traffic in New Orleans isn't bad compared to larger cities, but compare us to cities the same size and you have something to complain about. Anyone who drives on the Pontchartrain and Claiborne expressways can tell you that traffic has been steadily increasing over the last 2 years. Travel near the CBD on either highway between 2-6 or spend mid-day around Tchoupitoulas between Walmart and the expressway. I'm curious to see just how far apart the "actual" cost of a tear down is from the cost of a replacement. To build an overpass at Galvez (not saying it's a bad idea) alone you would have to tear down 4 overpasses (including the mainline of the Pontchartrain Expwy) and deal with railroad tracks. Then there's the cost of adding capacity to every other highway and multiple surface streets to make a tear down feasible. Who wants to Google a map of NYC, SF, OKC, Milwaukee, etc. and point out the big difference between their regional networks and ours? We're talking about near simultaneous construction of the cities entire freeway system with a few main thoroughfares thrown in. It's taken 10 years to rebuild the 10 mile stretch of I-10 in JP and they're looking at another 5 years until completion. Who'sb paying for all of this?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Uptowner

To build an overpass at Galvez (not saying it's a bad idea) alone you would have to tear down 4 overpasses (including the mainline of the Pontchartrain Expwy) and deal with railroad tracks.

The Pontchartrain mainline is at grade at Galvez. You'd have to tear down the ramps to the Claiborne Expressway, but obviously they wouldn't connect to anything anymore.

San Francisco has thrived with an incomplete freeway network. It's not a perfect analogy, since SF has an excellent transit system by American standards, but it's not impossible.

The removal of Claiborne doesn't necessarily mean we stop construction on highways. We still desperately need a bridge from Algiers-Chalmette, and a Florida Avenue Expressway down into St. Bernard is still a good idea if they design it properly.

[LAandMagazine]

Tearing down the expressway would have the benefit of making the entire expanse of city from the river to city park viable. It would finally create a safe neighborhood buffer around the French Quarter! Lets not forget that the true golden goose is tourism, not the port! Mark my words, if the expressway is torn down then Treme will be safer, Rampart will be safer, and by extension even Bourbon will be safer.

[prokowave]

I think it's unwise to count on some magic fix for these neighborhoods. Remember that the decline of these areas coincided with major population loss in the city (we had well over 600K in the 60's). In my opinion, this and concentrated poverty, especially in the Iberville area, are really what caused these areas to decline and it was just a coincidence that the interstate was built around that time. Don't forget that there are plenty of very nice areas in the city that are right next to major freeways, just as there are plenty of rough places nowhere near any freeways. If we address problems of crime and education and increase economic development, I have confidence that the Treme area will rebound, especially with the hospitals coming online. However we still have just over half of peak population spread out over the city, so it's going to take some time.

I don't buy the argument that maintaining and repairing the current span as needed would cost any more than tearing it down. Just imagine the inconvenience that demolition would cause. Plus the city has billions of dollars of infrastructure needs not counting improvements to 610 and other arteries necessary to prevent a traffic nightmare. And although we're better than a lot of cities with public transportation, there's still a long way to go before it becomes practical for the average person to get from uptown to Gentilly, for example. Perhaps some sort of express elevated rail system along the Claiborne area would go a long way towards improving the situation, but again, who's going to pay for it?

[ardecila]

Hypothetical: would any of you guys support tolling I-10 so it can be rebuilt? Maybe the Feds will pay for it, but I don't think Obama's DOT will give us any money for rebuilding after the highway removal got so much publicity nationally.

Tolling would need Congressional approval but it would generate the money to rebuild the highway and invest in surrounding neighborhoods.

The West Bank Expressway is a pretty attractive structure, and LaDOTD could adapt the design for Claiborne if they figured out something better to do with the space underneath. I-310 is also pretty attractive with cor-ten steel girders on all the ramps and bridges. I'm not categorically opposed to new highways; I just don't think we can afford to replace Claiborne and do it in a way that isn't a huge blight. Tolling could solve that problem, though. The DOT might be more willing to provide funding if there was a transit component, too. Maybe a light rail on the neutral ground beneath the highway?

[DillardAlum]

Originally Posted by prokowave

I think it's unwise to count on some magic fix for these neighborhoods. Remember that the decline of these areas coincided with major population loss in the city (we had well over 600K in the 60's). In my opinion, this and concentrated poverty, especially in the Iberville area, are really what caused these areas to decline and it was just a coincidence that the interstate was built around that time.

We must keep in mind that the I-10 Claiborne overpass was not built over and through residences, but rather it displaced reputable small businesses local to the Tremé. Displacing small businesses also displaced small business owners (whether physically or by class), which quickened the concentration of poverty. If you don't think that a neutral ground is important to a neighborhood and neighboring, then google old pictures of pre-10 Claiborne, and observe how the oaks were used as a meeting place and promenade. Due to the decimation of the Claiborne business corridor (and thus, the neighborhoods it served) most of the families who could afford to move did move upward into the 7th ward/Gentilly and Pontchartrain Park. This middle and upper-working-class flight added to the concentration of poverty. So, yes, of course, I-10 is not the singular reason for the current state of the area, but it is unfounded to suggest that its construction and increased poverty are merely coincidence.

[skyscraperfan23]

Reality TV Show Duck Dynasty should move the family to new orleans and duck commander office to this big office.

[Uptowner]

Originally Posted by ardecila

The Pontchartrain mainline is at grade at Galvez. You'd have to tear down the ramps to the Claiborne Expressway, but obviously they wouldn't connect to anything anymore.

San Francisco has thrived with an incomplete freeway network. It's not a perfect analogy, since SF has an excellent transit system by American standards, but it's not impossible.

The removal of Claiborne doesn't necessarily mean we stop construction on highways. We still desperately need a bridge from Algiers-Chalmette, and a Florida Avenue Expressway down into St. Bernard is still a good idea if they design it properly.

My assumption was that there would be access to the Expressway from Galvez. In that case the the two overpasses that Galvez would run between would need to be rebuilt or heavily modified. If you just want continuity along Galvez it would be easier to elevate the expressway and run Galvez under. You would still want access to the expressway from Claiborne so those ramps would possibly remain useful.

By referencing other cities that have torn down freeways I only meant to point out that they have more "complete" regional highway networks.

My issue with the construction is that work on that scale, is not only expensive in terms of money, but it'll have an economical effect temporarily on the region. If it's done in stages it could be 30 years before it materializes.

My only issue with the entire situation is that no one wants to get up and let people know how extensive the work to make this happen is really going to be and that the cost of "demolition" is only part of it of a mega-project.

I'd support more tolls in the area, btw.

[Uptowner]

Originally Posted by DillardAlum

We must keep in mind that the I-10 Claiborne overpass was not built over and through residences, but rather it displaced reputable small businesses local to the Tremé. Displacing small businesses also displaced small business owners (whether physically or by class), which quickened the concentration of poverty. If you don't think that a neutral ground is important to a neighborhood and neighboring, then google old pictures of pre-10 Claiborne, and observe how the oaks were used as a meeting place and promenade. Due to the decimation of the Claiborne business corridor (and thus, the neighborhoods it served) most of the families who could afford to move did move upward into the 7th ward/Gentilly and Pontchartrain Park. This middle and upper-working-class flight added to the concentration of poverty. So, yes, of course, I-10 is not the singular reason for the current state of the area, but it is unfounded to suggest that its construction and increased poverty are merely coincidence.

I'm no expert, but just looking at trends I feel like those who could afford to move would have moved anyway as Gentilly, etc. was already becoming "the place to be" for residents in that area. The integration of Canal St also had an effect on business in the area as well. I feel like the expressway played some role, but keep in mind that more stretches of Claiborne have neutral grounds than those without and only a fraction of the street is desirable.