Riverfront Development Project: Reinventing the Crescent

By Sue Klein

Reinventing the Crescent is a development project of the New Orleans Building Corporation. "In 2000, the New Orleans City Council created the New Orleans Building Corporation (NOBC), a public benefit corporation charged with managing and developing under-used, deteriorated, or vacant City properties. Working with the City Council, NOBC identifies public properties with economic or cultural potential, determines development options, and guides the redevelopment effort." (quoted from www.neworiverfront.com )

The development team members listed below have been directed to "prepare a bold and specific development plan capable of redefining the riverfront and transforming the city's edge into an internationally prominent waterfront. We are looking for a contemporary symbol of a reinvigorated city. We are looking for individual elements animated by voice, light, view and human footsteps. We are looking for an ensemble, a consonant whole which redefines this waterfront. We want the greatest riverfront in North America. We want to reinvent the Crescent."

Planning began in February and is expected to be complete in June 2007.

The scope of work is a 4.5 mile section along the Mississippi River from Jackson Avenue to Holy Cross. The original proposal stopped at the Industrial Canal. A cooperative endeavor agreement with the Port defines the primary project area. This team is working with the City Planning Commission to honor the Riverfront Vision 2005 and the UNOP plan. Allen Eskew, team leader, said it would be described in Port nomenclature, or wharf language. He also said that while height seems to be the concern, height is not the only dimension to consider, and the team is looking for opportunities to express that. The City Planning Commission's Riverfront Vision 2005 is imbedded in the process. He said that the team has adopted the UNOP plan recommendation for the French Quarter parking lots. (This is one area where their tone changed. In the first meeting Mr. Eskew said the team would not be "ham-strung" by these documents.)

I have been following the plan since it began and attended the "Reinventing the Crescent" stakeholder meeting on Friday, February 23rd at the Port Authority. World-class architects and developers including the firms of George Hargreaves & Associates, Chan Krieger and Ten Arquitectos gave their presentations.

Some disconcerting non-preservationist comments were made at that first meeting. However, after an email was circulated stating some of the team comments, the tone was more preservationist friendly at the second meeting on March 16th. The next stakeholder meeting was set for April 13th.

We will be tracking the progress to monitor that the team action matches up with what they share in the meetings. This project is very important for New Orleans and we welcome positive sustainable economic development for our City within the context of appropriate guidelines. Sean Cummings the Executive Director of NOBCintroduced the project by saying, "New Orleans is all about authenticity, but we are talking about doing something in contemporary times. This riverfront is very much rooted in this culture. I have asked them to think outside the box to create something remarkable and wonderful."

The nine inspirational principles guiding the project are:
1. Great public gathering places at River's edge.
2. Importance of great perpendicular corridors to river (extend streets spaces to the river).
3. Linear connectivity along river's edge (not homogeneous, but more continuity).
4. Interacting with the water (get as close as you can, overcome harshness).
5. New housing/scale and pattern (not in French Quarter portion).
6. Landmarks (nodes of activity in various locations -- it is about activities, not just statues).
7. Variation of scale of open space and parks
8. Iconic nature of great places (establishing tradition, create institution that is instantly identifiable).
9. Hybrid strategy for development (markers in certain areas of sculptural elements, manage wall crawl.... bring development without blocking the view. Build buildings on top of box levee, not on wharves, since the Port does not allow habitable space on wharves. We can build open space on wharves, uses piers and landscape out over the water, bring Spanish Plaza back and forward...making it a significant part of the waterfront, make the riverfront present and mark the way to go to get to it).

After the 4.5 miles of Riverfront ("Sliver by the River") was analyzed, the team determined that 38 acres are available for development. It was also announced that the Governor Nicholls Street Wharf will remain, but NOBC would like to have the Esplanade Avenue and Mandeville Street Wharves removed. The Mandeville Street Wharf is in a state of disrepair and will be removed. It was learned at a meeting on April 5th that the Esplanade Avenue and Governor Nicholls Street Wharves will remain. We did learn that because of the bend in the River at the Governor Nicholls Street Wharf, it has been stuck more times by marine vessels than any other part of the 4.5 mile stretch.

Some other interests are being generated because of this project. Tulane is exploring opportunities on the River for their Biosphere Project as an energy source. Also, in the expansive development scheme, there is the issue of the big footprint of the Convention Center both for visual access and people access. Recognizing that June is the deadline for the project, the Convention Center may not have made a decision, but there may be an opportunity to build on top of it. Mr. Eskew said Warren Reuther has offered to work with the group to find options. The possibility of building on top of the Convention Center would allow for new mixed use.

The first design options were presented on April 13th. Reinventing the Crescent will be a 10 year process, planned to culminate with the tercentennial. As designers, Mr. Eskew said "the team is going to be proactive." Mr. Cummings noted that the "Public Belt Railroad is an issue that must be dealt with" (the railroad is ten times busier than before Katrina) and "the Trust for Public Land (TPL) wants to be the open space developer."

Peggy Wilson and Amy Lafont questioned the transparency of the project. Amy has a website www.amylafont.com which she encouraged people to visit, where she discusses her past dealings with NOBC. Ms. Lafont has been unsuccessfully trying to acquire some city property.

Finally, I have been in touch with Carol Bebelle, the team member in charge of the cultural aspects of the River, to share ideas and history for inclusion in the project. Ms. Bebelle is the Executive Director of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center.

The most recent public meeting took place Wednesday, April 25th at NOCCA for the four downriver neighborhoods. There will also be a public meeting for the three upriver neighborhoods and the 64 "off" river neighborhoods representing the remainder of the city. In the April 5th stakeholder meeting, I noted that while the 64 "off-River" neighborhoods have a shared history regarding the riverfront, the 7 neighborhoods adjacent to the River will be the ones directly affected by any changes. Therefore, our input should carry greater weight than the off-river ones.

As this progress develops, I will file future reports in upcoming newsletters. Also, if you are not on our email list and would like to receive late-breaking news on various issues affecting our quality of life in the French Quarter, please email bbsaint@earthlink.net to be added to our list.

The official website for Reinventing the Crescent is www.neworiverfront.com.