flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Bill signing signals approval to revitalize New Orleans’ convention center corridor

Bill signing signals approval to revitalize New Orleans’ convention center corridor

A plan to revitalize New Orleans' Convention Center moves forward after Louisiana governor signs bill.


By New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | BD+C Staff | June 11, 2014

Governor Bobby Jindal’s signature on House Bill 788 gives final approval to the Ernest N. Morial Exhibition Hall Authority to begin executing bold plans for the Convention Center District Development Project that will revitalize New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Corridor from Poydras Street to the Market Street power plant along the city’s riverfront.

The legislation, sponsored by Representative Walter Leger of New Orleans, is designed to allow the Authority, which operates the New Orleans Convention Center, to move forward with a comprehensive plan to revitalize an important part of the city through new development on a 47 acre tract owned by the Authority, and to make significant visual and functional improvements to the area around Convention Center Boulevard.

“This is an historic moment for the city and state,” said Authority Chair Melvin Rodrigue.  “This action by the Governor allows us to take aggressive steps to develop a long underutilized part of the city’s riverfront and to make the kind of improvements in our hospitality and entertainment offerings that will ensure the city will continue to stay competitive as a visitor destination of choice for millions of people. This Convention Center District Development Project will be a demand generator that will benefit the local hospitality industry and economy for years to come. ”

According to Representative Leger, “Leveraging public dollars in a way that requires no new taxes, or the reallocation of existing tax dollars to attract major private investment will continue the renaissance of our City, region and state.”  Convention Center officials estimate that the project could entail up to $700 million in private investment, which in turn would produce thousands of new jobs and sales and occupancy tax revenues in the City’s booming hospitality industry.

 

 

Bob Johnson, President and CEO of the Convention Center notes that new investment and a reimaging of the area is timely.  “With the exception of our $50 million construction of the Center’s Great Hall, and the recent re-opening of the Riverwalk there hasn’t been any large scale investment or development along the corridor since the 1984 World’s Fair.  The time is now to seize this landmark opportunity, and to give visitors and locals new options for enjoying and exploring our city.” Johnson also noted the “efforts of Authority’s commissioners over the past many years to continually keep the Convention Center viable among stiff competition through facility upgrades and expansions.”

“With the bill becoming law, we are now free to begin exploring options to identify the right master developer to lead us through this process and generate the outside investment that will make this project one of the largest infrastructure project for Louisiana in recent history,” Johnson said.

The Convention Center Authority, which lead the efforts to expand the Center in 1991 and 1999, has been studying options for redeveloping and improving the area since mid-2012.  A variety of studies have been undertaken to assess possible changes in traffic patterns to reduce congestion and improve public safety, and analyze current and future retail, housing and hotel needs.  Central to the plans is the construction of a new “headquarters” hotel on the upriver side of the Convention Center, needed to accommodate the current demands from meetings and conventions and the projected increase in visitors to the city leading up to its 300th anniversary.

Other proposed aspects of the Convention Center District Development Project include a linear park along Convention Center Boulevard, outdoor entertainment, arts and cultural venues and new retail and housing options.  An added benefit of the project is its ability to provide a “relief valve” for the already stressed tourism infrastructure in the French Quarter an along Magazine Street and the Marigny/Frenchman Street areas.

Related Stories

| Apr 18, 2011

Greening and Upgrading Today’s Vertical Transport Systems

Earn 1.0 AIA/CES HSW/SD learning units by studying this article and passing the online exam.

| Apr 14, 2011

U.S. embassies on a mission to green the world's buildings

The U.S. is putting greater emphasis on greening its worldwide portfolio of embassies. The U.S. State Department-affiliated League of Green Embassies already has 70 U.S. embassies undergoing efforts to reduce their environmental impact, and the organization plans to increase that number to more than 100 by the end of the year.

| Apr 14, 2011

How AEC Professionals Choose Windows and Doors

Window and door systems need to perform. Respondents to our annual window and door survey overwhelmingly reported that performance, weather resistance, durability, and quality were key reasons a particular window or door was specified.

| Apr 14, 2011

USGBC debuts LEED for Healthcare

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduces its latest green building rating system, LEED for Healthcare. The rating system guides the design and construction of both new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings, and can be applied to inpatient, outpatient and licensed long-term care facilities, medical offices, assisted living facilities and medical education and research centers.

| Apr 13, 2011

National Roofing Contractors Association revises R-value of polyisocyanurate (ISO) insulation

NRCA has updated their R-value recommendation for polyisocyanurate roof insulation with the publication of the 2011 The NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems.

| Apr 13, 2011

Professor Edward Glaeser, PhD, on how cities are mankind’s greatest invention

Edward Glaeser, PhD, the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University and director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, as well as the author of Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Healthier, and Happier, on how cities are mankind’s greatest invention.

| Apr 13, 2011

Southern Illinois park pavilion earns LEED Platinum

Erin’s Pavilion, a welcome and visitors center at the 80-acre Edwin Watts Southwind Park in Springfield, Ill., earned LEED Platinum. The new 16,000-sf facility, a joint project between local firm Walton and Associates Architects and the sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, based in St. Louis, serves as a community center and special needs education center, and is named for Erin Elzea, who struggled with disabilities during her life.

| Apr 13, 2011

Virginia hospital’s prescription for green construction: LEED Gold

Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va., is the commonwealth’s first inpatient healthcare facility to earn LEED Gold. The 630,000-sf facility was designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with commissioning consultant SSRCx, both of Nashville.

| Apr 13, 2011

Office interaction was the critical element to Boston buildout

Margulies Perruzzi Architects, Boston, designed the new 11,460-sf offices for consultant Interaction Associates and its nonprofit sister organization, The Interaction Institute for Social Change, inside an old warehouse near Boston’s Seaport Center.

| Apr 13, 2011

Expanded Museum of the Moving Image provides a treat for the eyes

The expansion and renovation of the Museum of the Moving Image in the Astoria section of Queens, N.Y., involved a complete redesign of its first floor and the construction of a three-story 47,000-sf addition.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

The magic of L.A.’s Melrose Mile

Great streets are generally not initially curated or willed into being. Rather, they emerge organically from unintentional synergies of commercial, business, cultural and economic drivers. L.A.’s Melrose Avenue is a prime example. 


Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 


halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021