blight and demolition

Preserving St. Henry’s rectory is “not a deal breaker” for papal exhibit, priest says

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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.”

church

Archdiocese: “No plans to demolish” rectory at St. Henry

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans denied any current plans to demolish the rectory at St. Henry Catholic Church, though it acknowledged inquiring about the possibility of doing so in order to host an exhibit on John Paul II. The statement released by the Archdiocese late Wednesday afternoon follows in its entirety:

We have received several inquiries about a possible John Paul II exhibit at St. Henry. The Archdiocese of New Orleans is interested in hosting this exhibit, and we are in the process of looking for resources to make this possible.

business

Irish Channel corner store, Ecole Bilingue childcare center receive planning commission approval

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With relatively minor opposition, both a corner store’s request to reopen on Jackson Avenue in the Irish Channel and the conversion of a residentially-zoned building on General Pershing into the childcare center for Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle Orleans received the approval of the City Planning Commission on Tuesday afternoon. Ecole Bilingue plans to put six classrooms and a cafeteria inside the old two-story house at 812 General Pershing, remodel the garage at into a playroom and install outdoor playground equipment, but it needs city council approval before it can use the house as a child-care center under its current zoning, according to the preliminary report filed with the City Planning Commission. No one from the school spoke on behalf of the project, but Travis Guilbault, a neighbor on Constance Street, asked the commission to deny the request on the grounds that the school will increase noise and traffic in the neighborhood and consume on-street parking – despite a planned 27-space parking lot for the school. “That parking lot does not seem sufficient,” Guilbault said. The commission voted 7-0 to send Ecole Bilingue’s request to the city council with its approval, subject to a number of conditions.