| ; New Orleans, LA AREA: CBD |
| 07/01/2006 18 Months |
| Current Status |
Effective Date |
Comments |
| Under Development |
04/07/2006 |
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The City of New Orleans had been a major tourist attraction for admirers of historic architecture, unique food and cultural celebrations---reviving these community assets is critical to economic development activity. A major thoroughfare for tourism is along the Canal Street Corridor which spans approximately 1.6 miles within the Central Business District (CBD). Approximately 10,000 hotel rooms, 3,000 of which were in the CBD, have been placed out of service as a result of the storms; directly related to the loss in hotel availability is the significant decrease in convention bookings with the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau reporting FY 2007, 2008 and 2009 bookings at 138, 88 and 54, respectively. In 2004 the NOCVB reported that it hosted 953 conventions. As of July 2005, there had been 885 conventions. Leisure and Hospitality, the major economic driver accounting for 40% of total employment in Orleans Parish and 30% of local revenues pre-disaster, needs to be restored by comprehensive improvements along Canal Street including streetscape, mixed-income housing, mixed-use developments, parking, upscale retail and employment opportunities. These improvements will strengthen tourism as an economic development activity by increasing foot traffic along the corridor, thereby increasing revenues for recycled use within the CBD for maintenance of the tourist attractions along Canal Street.
As part of the Canal Street Development Strategy, the below mentioned projects will revitalize the Canal Street Corridor, known as the anchor of the New Orleans hospitality industry. The revitalization efforts will be focused on upgrading the retail mix of small businesses along Canal Street through business retention and recruitment activities, conducting a feasibility study of 1 million square feet of upper floor vacant space for potential residential and mixed-used developments, recruitment of businesses to the corridor from outlying areas to occupy vacant ground floor space, streetscaping and physical infrastructure improvements, and the creation of a world-class entertainment district. Also, a study of parking expansion opportunities will be conducted to support the new improvements. All of these improvements, including more parking in the Central Business District, are intended to restore the cultural attractiveness of the Canal Street Corridor as a key generator of tourism revenues through the construction of a new, pedestrian-friendly, welcoming public environment along Canal Street.
A critical focus of the Canal Street re-development will be the restoration of a vibrant entertainment district in the area surrounding the intersections of Rampart Street and Basin Street. Because this area borders the Medical District and the Iberville housing development, a balanced approach to comprehensive neighborhood-based planning will be undertaken to ensure a fair, but adequate, transformation to the proper mix of new restaurants, night clubs, museums, shopping and other entertainment uses, while maintaining accessible affordable and mixed-income housing, job training, improved infrastructure and more parking.
Complementary to both the Medical District Development and an Entertainment District near Upper Canal is the proposed Community Lifestyle Improvement Center Development (CLIC). This project would kickstart revitalization under the Master Plan for the Bienville Corridor, a 60-square block area anchoring the Canal Street Corridor. The scope encompasses redevelopment of a 6-story structure that would house an oncology center, health food market/cafe, ambulatory surgical center, cancer control unit, medical offices, health/fitness/nutrition center, chronic disease intervention center and a recovery atrium.
Similarly, the proposed Louisiana Music Experience project is a viable prospect for the entertainment district; it is currently being explored by local sponsors to assess the feasibility of developing a cultural and entertainment complex that will promote, celebrate and honor the rich musical heritage of New Orleans. The project would fund elements of a business plan including the market feasibility analysis, estimate of potential attendance and revenues; facility design, engineering analysis and cost estimates; program development; explore alternative organization and management structures; evaluate existing theaters and venues for potential renovation and restoration; assess alternative funding sources and financial strategies and partnerships. Pending the results of these steps and implementation of a viable management organization, funding would be used to facility development and one year of operations.
In addition to the Upper Canal Street redevelopment efforts bordering the Medical District, this project will also address riverfront access at the lower end of the Canal Street Corridor. Infrastructure reconfigurations will be studied to connect Canal Street to the riverfront. Also, the vacant parcels that divide the riverfront from Canal Place will be studied for improved connectivity through exploration of redevelopment opportunities. The reconfigurations and redevelopment will have a direct impact on tourism by improving accessibility to attractions along the river, as well as providing a clear route from the corridor to such attractions as the Aquarium and Spanish Plaza.
To support the implementation of all of the aforementioned plans for development along the Canal Street Corridor, the DDD is requesting an amendment to recent legislation adopting the International Building Code. The Code does not however address rehabilitation of existing buildings, particularly those of historic character. Therefore, adoption of a rehab sub-code is necessary to encourage investment in existing neighborhoods and to support reuse of existing buildings. The rehab code would also improve upon pre-disaster conditions by making restoration a more attractive option than new construction. This would also support smart growth principles. Smart growth recognizes connections between development and quality of life. It leverages new growth to improve the community. The features that distinguish smart growth in a community vary from place to place. In general, smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to center cities and older suburbs. New smart growth is more town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses. All of these factors are identified in the Canal Street Redevelopment project. Because these improvements can be undertaken simultaneously, this entire project can be successfully implemented in approximately 18 months. Therefore, the City of New Orleans can expeditiously reap the benefits of this project, said benefits including a positive impact city revenues through property taxes, sales taxes and occupational taxes, in addition to increased employment opportunities through this comprehensive redevelopment. Thus, by achieving these aesthetic and development improvements along the entire Canal Street Corridor, these projects will also bring reality to the vision of the Canal Street Development Strategy.
It will help to bring tourism back into the CBD and New Orleans, draw businesses, corporations and bio-medical institutions into the CBD which will create jobs and taxes, draw residents into the CBD which will also increase the tax base of the area.
The project will act as a catalyst for economic development throughout the city and it is essential to have a restored and vibrant CBD in order for the rest of the city to recover.
"If New Orleans is to rebound, then downtown must lead"
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