One of the buildings on the old DePaul campus, viewed from outside the fence along Henry Clay Avenue. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
A proposed change in the zoning of the DePaul medical campus owned by Children’s Hospital could greatly expand the possibilities for commercial development in the middle of an Audubon Park neighborhood, drawing the attention and concern of neighbors and their City Councilwoman. Continue reading »
Jila Koobehi stands on the grand staircase at the entrance of the former Nine Inch Nails recording studio. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
For six years, the brooding former funeral home on Magazine Street that served for nearly a decade as a recording studio for musician Trent Reznor has sat vacant. Now, its new owners are taking the first steps to give it new life as a mix of office and retail space, but are hampered by one of the most common obstacles to development in Uptown New Orleans: parking. Continue reading »
An architect's rendering of the Publiq House patio and entrance from Freret Street.
The bar is proposed for part of the first floor of the large, light-blue Neighborhood Housing Services building between Cadiz and Jena streets, and owner Rhett Briggs has pitched it as a casual neighborhood bar with an art space and a stage for both local and traveling musicians. It will be 21 and older to avoid a college crowd, and will also feature an outdoor patio with a designated parking area for food trucks, instead of its own kitchen, Briggs recently told the neighborhood. Continue reading »
A recently-opened Costco Wholesale store in Burnsville, Minnesota (via costco.com)
Costco, the warehouse-style wholesale retailer eyeing an old shopping center on South Carrollton as its first Louisiana location, has begun reaching out to area neighborhood groups with its design plans, and so far, the residents like what they see.
“I think everyone is pro-Costco,” said John Schackai, chair of the Carrollton Design Review Committee, noting that the store is a work in progress but praising the developers’ willingness to listen to suggestions thus far. Continue reading »
The expansion of Audubon Charter's campus will be added near Pine Street, as shown in this architect's rendering from January. (courtesy Jacobs/CSRS)
This Loyola Avenue house was slated for conversion into an early childhood center for the Newman school, but will remain untouched for the coming year after the school withdrew its plans. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
After spending the summer meeting with neighbors and city officials, the Isidore Newman School has decided to withdraw a zoning request that would have allowed an expanded preschool facility for the coming year. Continue reading »
The old rectory at St. Henry's, currently used by Ecole Bilingue (image via Preservation Resource Center)
An exhibit of relics related to Pope John Paul II has the potential to save St. Henry’s Church and invigorate the neighborhood around it, and the demolition of the rectory across the street for a parking lot was an idea intended to alleviate traffic pressure, but is not an essential component of the plan, a parish priest told residents Thursday night.
“Not tearing down that rectory is not a deal breaker for the exhibit,” said Monsignor Christopher Nalty of Good Shepherd Parish. “I saw more parking as being a benefit for the neighborhood. But in the end, I don’t know what to do with the building.” Continue reading »
Susan Guidry
Living near two large universities can be both a blessing and a burden, City Councilwoman Susan Guidry told a crowd of about 100 constituents Wednesday night as she sought to answer their quality-of-life questions.
Guidry — whose District A includes the Carrollton, Audubon and university neighborhoods as well as Mid-City and Lakeview — offered few specific solutions during her talk, bringing a cohort of city officials and department heads to meet with people about their individual issues. Instead, she focused on descriptions of her efforts and the city’s to handle broader issues around the university areas — underage drinking, overcrowded houses and illegal parking — as well as updates on other topics, including the $55 million upcoming drainage project on Napoleon Avenue and new efforts to notify neighbors of nearby land-use changes. Continue reading »
Although a number of Uptown-based land-use items appear on Thursday’s agenda before the City Council, many are expected to be postponed in order to adjourn the meeting prior to the funeral of Archbishop Philip Hannan. Continue reading »
The apartment complex at State and Tchoupitoulas, photographed in August. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
A informational meeting originally planned for this week about an upcoming city project to beautify the Freret Street commercial corridor has been postponed, but the project is still on track to begin this month, officials say. Continue reading »
Susan Guidry
Susan Guidry — who represents Uptown’s University and Audubon neighborhoods, Carrollton, Mid-City and Lakeview in New Orleans City Council District A — will hold a town hall meeting Wednesday evening to address a number of issues in her district. Continue reading »
The NOPD Second District leadership will hold its weekly internal meeting at Children’s Hospital, 200 Henry Clay Avenue, at noon Wednesday. The meeting is open to the public.
The panel discussion will address “New Orleans’ dire blight problem … and provide input on ways to avoid mass demolition of our city’s unique and distinct housing stock.” The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 4) at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Parish Hall at 8000 Plum Street. Continue reading »
A number of ongoing land-use issues will be discussed tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 4) by the Audubon-Riverside Neighborhood Association, according to the meeting’s agenda. Continue reading »
5428 St. Charles Avenue (photo by Preservation Resource Center)
A plan to tear down a mansion on St. Charles Avenue designed by one of New Orleans’ most celebrated architects to make room for a new single-family home in its place must be decided by the City Council, after the committee that oversees demolition requests cast a split vote over the issue Monday.
Homeowner Jeff Goldring and his supporters touted the agreements they had reached with two neighborhood associations, the St. Charles Avenue Association and Hurstville, as well as the national reputation of their Covington-based architect, Ken Tate. Opponents countered that the architecture of the existing building is already significant, and that the family should not be able to tear the home down simply because they want something different there.
The Neighborhood Conservation District Committee’s vote was 6 to 5 in favor of allowing the demolition, falling one vote short of the seven needed for approval and sending the project to the City Council. Continue reading »
5428 St. Charles Avenue (photo by Preservation Resource Center)
One of the signs criticizing President Obama on Calhoun Street (via WWL-TV)
I’ll say this for Timothy Reily: There is no doubt as to his opinion of President Barack Obama.
The Uptown resident, whose home is located in the 1500 block of Calhoun Street, has adorned his house in custom anti-Obama signs. To say these signs are unflattering is an understatement. President Obama is depicted, alternatively, as a puppet, a dunce and a crying baby clothed only in a diaper. High political discourse they are not. Continue reading »
The signs — which depict President Obama as a crying baby demanding “change,” a dunce and a puppet — drew protesters across Calhoun Street, as well as a visit from former Mayor Ray Nagin, according to our reporting partners at WWL-TV. Homeowner Timothy Reily declined to speak about the signs, but Councilwoman Susan Guidry said she was investigating whether they constituted a violation of city zoning ordinances.
A rendering of the new design for the Walgreens on Magazine Street. (photo by Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
With some encouragement from City Hall, the developers of the Walgreens store planned for Magazine Street have settled on a historic-style design intended to blend with the existing streetscape, abandoning a more modern look they had previously considered. Continue reading »