On June 14, the Department of Public Works contractor, Hard Rock Construction closed the 7200 to 7500 blocks of Leake Avenue to vehicular traffic for approximately two weeks to conduct waterline repairs. Today (June 27), the decision was made to extend this closure for another two weeks to address newly discovered waterline damage. The anticipated completion date for all repairs is July 15. Barricades and traffic detours will be placed on Broadway and Magazine streets to direct traffic toward St. Charles and South Carrollton avenues, as well as St.
The city’s Neighborhood Engagement Office is hosting representativea from the Department of Public Works’ RoadworkNOLA: Nakia Polk, director of Special Projects & Strategic Engagement Office of Capital Improvement and Christopher Lloyd, outreach manager for the city’s Capital Improvement Program will be there. Polk and Lloyd will provide updates and answer questions about infrastructure projects in District B.
District B residents can bring their questions and concerns to a “Coffee on Your Corner” event on Thursday (June 30) from 10 to 11:30 a.m. It will be held in the Large Meeting room of the Keller Community Center, 4300 S. Broad St. Pre-registration is required. Go to www.nola.gov/neoevents to register. Uptown includes sections of both District A and District B. To find out if you’re in District B, check the map here.
On Wednesday (June 22), the city closed Broadway from Earhart Boulevard to Colapissa Street to vehicular traffic for approximately two days due to an emergency sewer point repair. Department of Public Works contractor Wallace C. Drennan installed security fencing and signage around the intersection. and flaggers will be onsite to direct drivers and pedestrians. That section of Broadway will be closed to vehicular traffic while crews complete the sewer point repair and Sewage & Water Board of New Orleans conducts a full inspection to avoid the possibility of a sewage backup. Drivers will detour from Colapissa to Pine Street until the expected reopen date of Friday (June 24).
The City Planning Commission approved Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts’ latest venture on Magazine Street. An Italian-themed restaurant and bar with balcony service could inhabit the former space of their short-lived Bayou Burger & Sports Co. concept on the corner of Magazine and Pleasant streets. A zoning request by the building’s owner, T.H.P of New Orleans, and the restaurant’s owner, Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts, was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission, minus one absent vote. The commissioners recommended permitting a standard restaurant in the HU-B1 neighborhood business district and the Magazine Street Use Restriction Overlay District.
Beginning today (June 14), the Department of Public Works contractor, Hard Rock Construction, LLC, will close the 7200 to 7500 blocks of Leake Avenue to traffic for approximately two weeks to conduct a waterline repair. Barricades and traffic detours will be placed on Broadway and Magazine streets to direct traffic toward St. Charles and South Carrollton avenues, as well as St. Charles Avenue at South Carrollton Avenue to direct traffic toward Henry Clay Avenue. The Black Pearl East Carrollton Group A project is scheduled to be completed this summer, weather permitting.
The Clerk’s Office consists of two divisions – Land Records and Civil. Our Civil Division is where civil cases — such as personal injury, accidents, successions and foreclosures — are filed. Domestic matters, such as divorce and child support, are also handled in the Civil Division. The Land Records Division is where documents regarding property are recorded. Documents regarding changes in ownership, sales, donations, as well as mortgages, liens and encumbrances, are recorded in our Land Records Division.
The battle between Uptown residents and developers over doubles-to-dorms conversions continues to play out in municipal hearings over zoning decisions. “Doubles-to-dorms” refers to the conversion of homes intended for families into private dormitory-style housing for college students.
The Board of Zoning Adjustments on June 6 denied two appeals from University area residents who stated the Department of Safety & Permits wrongly issued a zoning determination and a building permit for 636-40 Audubon St., a multi-family building at the corner of Hampson Street.
The first appeal was filed by architect Collette Creppell, a longtime neighbor of the property and a former executive director of the City Planning Commission. Creppell questioned the validity of the developer’s statements on the building’s previous unit and bedroom count and stated that “going from eleven (claimed) bedrooms to a proposed sixteen bedrooms under an interpretation of Existing Multi-Family is a distortion of the zoning code.”
The BZA staff maintained that unit count, not bedroom count, determines the density of a building and that Safety & Permits’ determination was in line with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The Board of Zoning Adjustments agreed, voting unanimously to deny the appeal.
In the second appeal, neighbor Keith Hardie objected to the building permit for the rental property that an LLC controlled by developers John P. Hamide and Preston Tedesco purchased from Riverlake Properties in January 2020. The permit was granted by the director of the Department of Safety & Permits to allow the developers to turn 636-40 Audubon from a five-unit, 11-bedroom house into a four-unit, 16-bedroom house.
The City Council backed a plan to approve a controversial new building on Magazine Street in the Irish Channel while requiring further design changes to the three-story mixed-use building. The Historic District Landmarks Commission had gave the project its conceptual approval in April. The Garden District Association then filed an appeal asking the City Council to overturn the HDLC’s decision. In the appeal, Garden District Association President Frank Tessier quotes liberally from the HDLC’s guidelines for new construction, pointing out requirements — such as aligning balconies, roof ridges and other elements with adjacent buildings — that he states were not followed by the commission when it approved the design for 2230 Magazine. The appeal states the building is too large for the site, despite guidelines that require compatibility in size and massing.
On Monday (May 23), weather permitting, the city’s Department of Public Works contractor, Boh Brothers Construction Co., will begin construction on the Martin Luther King Jr. Patch Mill Overlay project, extending from St. Charles Avenue to South Claiborne Avenue. Parking restrictions and temporary changes to traffic patterns along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will start at 7:30 a.m. and will remain in effect throughout the duration of the project. Construction crews will be working the full length of the travel lane in each direction from St. Charles to South Claiborne.
The Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region applauds Mayor Cantrell, the New Orleans City Council, Entergy and the Sewerage and Water Board for working together to advance one of the most critical infrastructure projects for New Orleans. The new S&WB power substation will greatly enhance the reliability of the City’s water-related infrastructure, including pumps and pump stations, and reduce the chances of boil water advisories and flooding resulting from bad weather events. This is a major milestone in creating the critical infrastructure necessary to ensure a prosperous future for New Orleans.
