business

New architect’s office on lower Magazine, expansion of McGehee school into new building both get approval

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A proposed architect’s office and condo project on Magazine Street and the use of a St. Charles Avenue mansion as a classroom building for the Louise S. McGehee school both took a step forward with approval from the City Planning Commission this week. The Magazine Street project will build an office and residential loft for Chenevert Architects at 1476 Magazine and four condominium-style apartments behind it along Race Street on a vacant parking lot that was once a gas station decades ago. The plan drew some opposition from nearby neighbors, but carried with it the enthusiastic approval of the surrounding Coliseum Square Association. “We feel the archictecture office in this proposal is not going to generate a lot of traffic.

business

Wary neighborhood postpones decision on Whole Foods requests

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Requests by Whole Foods on Magazine Street for longer operating hours, more deliveries by 18-wheelers, live music and outdoor merchandise met a mixture of opposition and understanding during a neighborhood meeting Tuesday night, but the two sides tentatively agreed to return to the negotiating table in hopes of a compromise. Whole Foods representatives argued most strenuously for more than 18-wheeler during the day, saying that limiting them to only one actually increases the traffic from slightly smaller trucks making deliveries during the day. Some of the requests, they noted, were simply ideas they thought they’d raise since they were revisiting their operating agreement with the city anyway. “We’re not looking to stomp all over the neighborhood,” said Whole Foods manager Regina West. A zoning subcommittee of the Audubon-Riverside Neighborhood Association initially recommended opposing Whole Foods’ request for longer operating hours and more deliveries, but offered some limited acceptance of the idea of more live music at the store and more merchandise on its front patio.

business

Design questions dominate town hall with developers of possible Walgreens on Magazine

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With developers insisting that Walgreens is the most likely tenant of an multi-million dollar proposed renovation of the old American Legion buildling on Magazine Street, many of the nearly 200 people at a Wednesday-night town hall on the project focused their questions on the planned design of its modern, glass-wall facade and large rear parking lot and drive-through. Many of the details of the nearly $6 million purchase and renovation had already been described by the leaders of three surrounding neighborhoods in a letter last month — with the exception of the new revelation that the store plans to sell beer and wine, in contrast to leaders’ previous expectation that no alcohol would be sold in the new Walgreens. Walgreens executives have yet to commit to the Magazine Street project (which would include closing their location on Tchoupitoulas), said developer Louis Stirling Properties, but appear to be the tenant most likely to be able to pay the building’s $600,000 lease. Stirling’s plan for the building includes removing its brick front completely and replacing it with a glass wall with steel columns — not unlike nearby Whole Foods — and many residents asked why such a modern design was chosen.

“We’re modern architects,” replied architect Mac Ball of New Orleans. “We’re designing buildings now, not in the 19th century.”

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Jackson Avenue memorial to Katrina victim Vera Smith will move to accommodate new restaurant

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During Hurricane Katrina, the vacant lot that will soon become Charcoal’s Gourmet Burger Bar was the site of the temporary grave of Vera Smith, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver and whose body lay outside unclaimed by authorities for days until neighbors built her a makeshift grave with the spray-painted inscription, “Here lies Vera – God help us,” that became a nationally-known image of the city’s despair. Smith’s body was moved soon afterward, but the site remains marked by a cross memorial designed by artist Simon Hardeveld. Hardeveld, whose studio in “Antiques on Jackson” is adjacent to the site, said he will move the memorial soon to accommodate Charcoal’s construction. Like many neighbors in the area, Hardeveld is happy to see progress made at the lot, where weeds and tall grass defy lawn-care efforts and litter accumulates quickly from a nearby bus stop. “Something needs to be done with the lot,” Hardeveld said.

business

Neighborhood eyes possible problems with zoning for proposed Walgreens

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Zoning on Magazine Street may not be as accommodating to a Walgreens pharmacy as was originally assumed, members of the adjacent neighborhood association said Tuesday evening as they began preliminary discussions of the proposed development. The old American Legion in the 5500 block of Magazine is zoned B-2, which allows for a variety of general retail uses, said Peggy Adams, an attorney on the board of the Audubon-Riverside Neighborhood Association. Although B-2 does not specifically prohibit drug stores, pharmacies with drive-through lanes are specifically mentioned in a separate section of the city zoning code, C-1A. And in some cases, Adams said, the fact that one type of development is specifically mentioned in a certain zoning has been used to preclude it in other zonings. Adams’ concerns about the building’s zoning come at a very preliminary point in the Walgreens discussion, as the three neighborhood associations are planning a public meeting with the developer, Stirling Properties, tentatively set for March 16.

business

Second phase of Magazine repairs to be “minimally inconvenient,” state tells business owners

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As the resurfacing of Magazine Street nears its lengthy second phase, officials tried to assure business owners that interruptions to their specific stores will be minimal. While the resurfacing between St. Andrew Street and Napoleon Avenue is expected to take several months, construction moves rapidly down the street and should not be disruptive to any one business for a prolonged period of time, officials said at a Tuesday evening meeting at St. George’s Episcopal School. State Department of Transportation and Development public outreach representative Meghan Legaux answered questions from an audience of more than 30 people alongside Ray Samolin, project contractor, and Michael Assaf, project manager, both of Plus Concrete.

business

Walgreens purchase, renovation of American Legion to cost $5.8 million, developer tells neighborhoods

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The purchase and renovation of the old American Legion building on Magazine Street will cost nearly $6 million, requiring a tenant that can pay approximately $600,000 per year for the lease, the developer eying the property for a possible Walgreens told neighborhood leaders on Friday. Stirling Properties plans to replace the brick facade with a glass wall, preserve some of the American Legion features inside the building and add a drive-through to the 40-space parking lot in the rear. Although the commercial zoning would allow the store to stay open 24 hours and sell alcohol, current plans are to do neither, closing instead at 10 p.m., the representatives of three neighborhoods surrounding the site wrote in a letter to members Sunday evening. The neighborhood leaders recommended the developer call a meeting with the public to discuss the project, the letter says, but no date has been announced. Read the full letter below:
Dear ARNA, Hurtsville, and Upper Hurtsville neighbors,

You may know that a prospective developer of the Magazine Street American Legion site asked to meet with representatives of Hurstville, Upper Hurtsville, and ARNA to discuss a possible development on the site.