City seizes the blighted Buddy Bolden house, NOLA.com reports

The city seized the blighted Central City shotgun where legendary jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden once lived, stating the owner, Greater St. Stephen Ministries, let fines for minimum property maintenance pile up unpaid, Doug MacCash reports on NOLA.com. Grammy winning musician PJ Morton, the son of the St. Stephen pastors, announced plans in 2019 to renovate the Bolden house at 2309-11 First St. and a twin shotgun double next door into a museum and community recording studio, but has allowed it to deteriorate for years.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 cleanup planned for Thursday

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, padlocked since 2019, will open Thursday morning (Oct. 13) for a volunteer cleanup to ready the historic “city of the dead” for All Saints’ Day. Garden District neighbors will pull up weeds, remove broken concrete and clean walkways from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 was founded in 1833 and still in use today, although the city has closed it to the public to make repairs and to protect the delicate tombs.

New York investors buy the Whole Foods building on Magazine

A New York investment group has purchased Arabella Station, the home of Whole Foods Market on Magazine Street, for $31.4 million, property records show. Whole Foods has a long-term lease on the former bus barn and is expected to remain. The property that takes up the entire block at 5600 Magazine St. was purchased by DK WFNO, a limited liability company operated by Debra Kalimian. Kalimian runs D&R Holding and A&R Kalimian Realty out of offices in Manhattan, records show.

Audubon-Riverside homes to be featured in 2022 Shotgun House Tour

The Preservation Resource Center’s Shotgun House Tour focuses on how the historic cottages can be adapted for a modern family. For this year’s tour on June 11 and 12, the PRC will open the doors to five private shotgun homes in the Audubon Riverside neighborhood, promising “smart, innovative renovations that showcase the livability and versatility of the city’s favorite house type.” As a bonus, the tour also includes the restored Hales Cottage on the campus of Children’s Hospital. Hales Cottage is one of the oldest buildings in Uptown New Orleans, with parts of its timber wall frames dating to the late 18th century. The tour headquarters is in St.

City Council approves compromise allowing new Magazine Street building

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.

New building on Magazine Street gets HDLC approval over neighbors’ objections

In a divided vote held after two months of hearings, the Historic District Landmarks Commission gave the green light to a new mixed-use building on Magazine Street in the Irish Channel. Their April 6 ruling will now go before the City Council, which could overturn the vote. The Garden District Association has filed an appeal, GDA Executive Director Shelley Landrieu told Uptown Messenger. Garden District, Irish Channel and Lower Garden District residents came out in force to oppose the plans for the three-story 15,000-square-foot building planned for an empty lot at 2230 Magazine St. The HDLC received 29 letters of opposition to the plans and one letter of support, according to city records.

City Council upholds demolition of bungalow on Henry Clay

The City Council voted Thursday (March 24) to uphold the Historic District Landmarks Commission’s approval of a developer’s request to raze a house on Henry Clay Avenue in the Uptown historic district. The demolition had been challenged by preservation advocate Susan Johnson. The HDLC staff backed the demolition request in its report to the commission and its testimony to the City Council. It’s rare that the HDLC staff support a demolition, according to Eleanor Burke, the commission’s deputy director. “Once historic resources or buildings that contribute to the heritage of a community are destroyed,” Burke told the council, “it is generally impossible to reproduce their design, texture, materials, details and their special character and interest in the neighborhood.”