City Council approves microbrewery and restaurant in Hollygrove

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The New Orleans City Council unanimously approved the plan last week for the Catalyst Microbrewery and Restaurant to be built on the former site of the Hollygrove Market at 8301 Olive St. Grove Holly LLC plans to construct two buildings to house the new brewery and restaurant. The site — which once had metal sheds, small warehouse structures, fragmented concrete pads and overgrown plants — has been cleared to prepare for construction. 

Following the recommendation of the City Planning Commission, the City Council approval also included the CPC’s 11 provisos that include, to address concerns expressed by neighbors, requirements to provide plans for lighting and noise abatement. “We are excited to be one step closer to the opening of Catalyst,” Grove Holly principals Eric Augustin and Elise Cahn said. They could not yet provide their timeline for completion. 

land use & development

Hollygrove tract is set to be redeveloped into affordable housing

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When Paul Irons and his sister Marseah were growing up, they regularly passed the corner of Monroe Street and Earhart Boulevard a block and a half from their Hollygrove home. “I remember when it was a Church’s Chicken. I remember when it was not a Church’s Chicken,” said Irons, noting that four generations of his family have called Hollygrove home. “And I remember seeing it vacant for a long period of time.”
At last week’s City Council meeting, Irons and Marseah Delatte, managing partners with New Orleans Restoration Properties, saw the council members give unanimous approval to their plan to develop the now-blighted square block — including the cement slab where the Church’s used to be — into affordable housing. The Grove Place complex promises 43 affordable housing units in an area with convenient access to multiple job centers.

land use & development

City plans to turn McDonogh 7 site into affordable housing

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By Sharon Lurye, Uptown Messenger

A proposal from the Housing Authority of New Orleans to turn the former McDonogh 7 school building into affordable housing drew intense interest from neighbors as more than 50 people attended an online community meeting on Friday (June 18). Representatives from HANO and the architecture firm VergesRome laid out plans for the Uptown site, which currently houses the upper grades of Audubon Charter School. The three-story school building would be turned into 27 affordable housing units for seniors, while the rest of the site would house 12 more units in the form of family duplexes. There would be 41 parking spaces in total, and 20% of the site would be green space. If all goes according to plan, the Housing Authority aims for City Council approval in December or January and would start construction in the fall of 2022 or spring of 2023.

city government

Roadwork update: Audubon, Black Pearl, Broadmoor, East Carrollton, Central City, East Riverside, Garden District, Irish Channel, Freret, Hollygrove, Fountainebleau

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From the Mayor’s Office

The Mayor’s Office announced in its monthly roadwork update that 60 roadwork projects are currently underway around the city, totaling over $600 million. They said that the city hopes to demonstrate accountability and effectiveness in its current infrastructure projects in order to help secure more federal infrastructure funding in the future. The mayor’s message also said that, with hurricane season underway, the city is working with contractors to make sure they are prepared to secure construction sites in the event of serious tropical weather. Roadwork NOLA released updates on the following projects in Uptown:  Broadmoor Group A, Marlyville-Fountainebleau Group C, Octavia Street, East Riverside/Garden District/Irish Channel/St. Thomas, Black Pearl/East Carrollton, Black Pearl Group B, State Street, and Hollygrove-Leonidas.

sports and recreation

NORD senior activity center opens in former Boys & Girls Club

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The New Orleans Recreational Development Commission has opened a senior activity center next to the Rosenwald Recreation Center on South Broad Street. Available to seniors throughout the year, the Rosenwald Annex fills a gap in services, NORD CEO Larry Barabino Jr. noted during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the end of May. “‘Something for everyone’ is NORD’s hashtag, our motto,” he said. “But in summer months, our morning senior programs would halt because we take in all of our kids during summer programs. One thing I told our mayor when I first came on is that we need to have something for our seniors year-round.” The 8,500-square-foot Rosenwald Annex at 1140 S. Broad St.

community meetings

Carrollton neighbors back “Marsalis Unity Park” as the new name for Palmer Park

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The Carrollton area neighbors of Palmer Park agreed on “Marsalis Unity Park” as a new name for the park at a meeting hosted by Carrollton United. Palmer Park, which sits at the corner of Carrollton and Claiborne avenues, is currently named after the Rev. Benjamin Palmer, a 19th century minister who was a staunch vocal supporter of both slavery and the Confederacy. Originally called Hamilton Park, it was renamed in 1902, during the Lost Cause movement, for the New Orleans minister who preached to Confederate soldiers and was best known for a speech given after the election of Abraham Lincoln defending slavery and endorsing secession, according to New Orleans Historical. Marsalis, who died April 1, 2020, was a jazz musician, educator and lifelong New Orleanian who lived near Palmer Park for many years. Members of his family still live in the neighborhood.

Traffic advisory: Temporary road closure of Broadway extended through mid-June

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From the Mayor’s Office

Due to weather and construction-related delays, the 3100 block of Broadway Street between Earhart Boulevard and Colapissa Street will remain closed through mid-June 2021. Department of Public Works contractor Wallace C. Drennan Construction Co. will continue sewer-line replacement operations as part of the Marlyville-Fontainebleau Group C infrastructure improvement project. View the original project presentation with more information on the construction here. Residents and commuters are reminded to use caution when driving, bicycling and walking near the construction site.

city government

Catalyst Microbrewery in Hollygrove clears a hurdle in the approval process

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The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the plan for the new Hollygrove neighborhood Catalyst Microbrewery and Restaurant proposed for the former site of the Hollygrove Market at 8301 Olive St. 

The developers plan to construct two buildings on the lot to house a new brewery and restaurant. The site behind the Carrollton Avenue post office now consists of metal sheds, small warehouse structures, fragmented concrete pads and overgrown plants. “We were pleased by the unanimous approval by the CPC for our project, and look forward to moving closer to starting construction,” Eric Augustin, a principal with Grove Holly LLC, told Uptown Messenger after the vote. Grove Holly is the group proposing the development. 

The approval came with provisos, 11 of them. They mostly had to do with submitting detailed plans for parking (cars and bikes), setbacks and trash location. 

In response to concerns expressed by neighbors, plans for lighting and noise abatement also will be required. 

The developers also plan to continue the garden tradition at the site with raised beds.

city government

City planners approve affordable housing development for Hollygrove

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An affordable housing development planned for Hollygrove has won the unanimous approval of the City Planning Commission. Called Grove Place, the development would take up an entire square, about 1.8 acres, bounded by Earhart Boulevard and Monroe, Leonidas and Colapissa streets. Eleven existing doubles and triplexes, now vacant, will be renovated. The developers, New Orleans Restoration Properties, are also planning to construct a three-story 20-unit apartment building at Earhart and Monroe, on a site that once held a Church’s Chicken. That section of the property has commercial zoning, requiring a use exception from the city for the multi-family residential building.

city government

Library expands services as coronavirus restrictions ease

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Beginning today (May 17), the New Orleans Public Library will expand services, including allowing patrons to come into library buildings without making appointments. Nix Library at 1401 S. Carrollton Avenue remains closed for renovations to bring the building into compliance with the American with Disability Act. It’s expected to reopen this summer. Other Uptown libraries will be open for walk-in service, with tables and chairs available. The book drops will also be open.