JWR

Personally, I like Nagin. He's quite a character. I almost ran my car off the road when I hear what he said on the radio. But not because I was in total shock. I almost choked on my tongue because I was laughing so hard. I voted for the man, and unless someone who I thing loves my city and the people that live here as much as I know he really does, I'll do it again.

It's not the first time he's made a "chocolate" comment. But it is the first time that he's had the national media standing right over his sholder. He speaks his mind. Does he get in trouble for it? Yep! But at the very least, I know exactly where he is coming from because of it.

Our old governor (Foster) made some pretty colorful remarks about race while he was in office, but no one called for his head. After Katrina hit, one of our Reps. made a comment about how God finally took care of our horrid public housing situation. And I'd bet good money that he won't lose his seat come next election.

The point is, sometimes people say stupid things. Just because they are elected officals doesn't mean that they are better than anyone else, or anything less than human. Humans make mistakes.

As a "white milk" New Orleanian, I forgave my "dark chocolate" mayor, even before he made his formal apology.

Quietly, NOLA area politicians and businessmen are envisioning one of the largest gentrification projects in the history of the nation. The problem is that they still don't have the industry to attract the economic demographic that they'd prefer have there.

Meanwhile, dispersed residents have no clue what their futures will look like. My gut feeling all along has been that a very large percentage of these people will eventually not see any advantage to returning to New Orleans, as the recovery will take too long for them as they began to stabilize themselves (financially) in places like Houston, Atlanta, Dallas and Baton Rouge.

Yep, just like "THE MAN" blew up the levees to flush out the blacks. The commission is trying to do what is best for not only the entire city, but for the entire region. It will do no one any good if neighborhoods have a house here or there refurbished, while the majority just rots. The last thing we need are shanty towns littering the new landscape that we are forced to live with now. People just need to face the facts... after Katrina, everything changed. There is a choice to be made. Will things change for the better? Or will they change for the worse?

LIGHTHOUSE GLASS GALLERY

743 Camp Street

(504)529-4494

http://www.lighthouseglassneworleans.com

Right... don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to be defensive. We took a HUGE hit, but every week, you can visibly see more and more progress in the city. To me, it's just amazing what has been done so far. I had to fly out to Las Vegas for three weeks, and by the time I got back, many more places were opened, not to mention with better hours. But it's very strange for the city to be under a 2 a.m. curfew. I would also like to thank our neighbor to the south, Mexico, for supplying us with an endless amount of labor. In all seriousness, I've never been a fan of the country's lazy attitude toward illegal immigration, but I honestly don't think that we'd be as far along in the clean-up as we are without these hard working men and women. I'd love to see the work go to locals, but without proper housing and a low wage, it hasn't been worth it to the many that were forced to evacuate. I'd also like to thank Houston for taking care of our people... not the ones that will steal you blind, but our friends and families.

And you wouldn't in those shots... the ones with the fountain, that's Spanish Plaza by the Riverwalk Marketplace. It just opened back up as of today. A few of the other shots were on Convention Center Blvd. (convention center closed until the 1st qtr of the year). Shots around the Convention Center/Poydras end of the casino, the only activity you'd see would be on the second floor where they just started construction on more entertainment venues. The casino will re-open for Mardi Gras. And there was a shot of the LL&E building, taken on the grounds of City Hall which is also closed. Most of the activity is buzzing around Canal St., the French Quarter, the Garden District, and Uptown.

Monday, November 21, 2005

The 70-story Trump International Hotel & Tower, unveiled just days before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, could move forward in a matter of months -- not years -- if incentives supported by city and state economic development leaders are applied.

The acceleration of such a project, which had been expected to be delayed by at least 24 months because of the storm, could send a powerful signal that New Orleans is open for business.

"The message to the world is that a major project reflects confidence and security for investment," said Michael Olivier, secretary of Louisiana's Department of Economic Development.

Developers, lawyers and economic leaders such as Olivier and Don Hutchinson, director of the New Orleans Department of Economic Development, are lobbying Congress to include in the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief and Economic Recovery Act two incentives designed to spur area development.

"The way I see it, what Congress did for New York is good enough for New Orleans. For this (the Trump tower) to start in six months would send a critical message. It will tell other investors to take a second look," Hutchinson said.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/ind...58594240640.xml

Have you ever been to New Orleans?

by Darren Olagues (Tulane Class of 1992)

New Orleans. How wonderful those words sound when said with no quirky emphasis on odd syllables. They always seem to elicit some response. Have you been there?

Have you ever been to Caf

Sorry I haven't been around much. I've been too disgusted by some of the talk in this forum, not to mention too busy to blink. Many have been quick to welcome New Orleans' businesses with open arms, while ushering the city to an early grave.

According to Trump and the local developers, they will go forward on the project.

It finally has a name - Trump International Hotel & Tower New Orleans

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The Donald signing on to Poydras project

70-story Trump Tower to bring glitz to city's real estate market

Friday, August 26, 2005

By Greg Thomas

Real estate writer

New York real estate magnate Donald Trump said Thursday he will join a team of Florida developers in transforming a Central Business District parking lot into what could become the tallest building in New Orleans.

The building, first announced in the spring, would be one of the first new high-rises constructed in the city in more than 25 years and could reach 750 feet, or 70 stories. As planned, it will house condominiums, a hotel, a five-star restaurant and retail space, and it could cost as much as $200 million to build.

Perhaps more importantly, news Thursday that Trump is signing on with the project is the latest sign that the city's commercial real estate market is reawakening after years of dormancy.

"Real estate is hot," Mayor Ray Nagin said Thursday after being told the deal was finalized.

New Orleans has seen a boom in commercial and residential projects in recent months. But the announcement Thursday of Trump's involvement means the project is both the largest and highest-profile real estate development to date.

Adding a New Orleans site to Trump's portfolio of high-rise residential properties puts the Big Easy on the map with much larger cities where other developments by the real estate mogul exist, such as Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago and New York. And developers and analysts say Trump's involvement with the city's new tower could attract worldwide attention and maybe even boost values.

"There's no question that there is a high branding value of that name," said John Fox, a hospitality analyst with PKF Consulting in New York. "Trying to quantify that is difficult. (The Trump name) is a significant premium in the condo market," he said.

If nothing else, Trump's enthusiasm over New Orleans will force other developers to take a closer look at the market.

"It's a sexy city, a great city in so many different ways," Trump said. "And our customers (who have bought other Trump Tower condos) have requested New Orleans as a location they'd like to buy in. We've got buyers who follow us wherever we go."

Construction in 8 months

Construction on Trump International Hotel & Tower New Orleans, as the building will be called, could begin in eight months on Poydras Street between Camp and Magazine streets.

Though being called a hotel, the project will actually be a condominium project, with more than 400 rooms set aside as "condotel" units that buyers own but allow to be operated as hotel rooms when vacant. On the upper floors, 250 more units will be sold as traditional condos governed by a condo association.

Trump said Thursday from New York that the condotel concept has proven hugely successful and that his projects, such as in Chicago and Las Vegas, have sold out in weeks before construction began.

The tower will be built by Florida developers Clifford Mowe, Robert Rinke and brothers Allen and Frederick Levin. New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett has a small stake in the development group, which is doing business as Poydras LLC. And Mowe's father, Wayne Mowe, who lives in the metro area, is also a part of the team. Trump will brand and manage the building.

Mowe described the building as concrete and mostly glass with a European contemporary design.

"It's an architectural marvel," Trump said.

The project will include 650,000 to 850,000 square feet of living space and more than 200,000 square feet of parking.

Mowe said the project will also include 60,000 to 80,000 square feet of retail space, although no tenants have been lined up yet.

The building's design, including the exact number of floors and rooms, is still being tweaked. But Mowe said the team hopes to open a sales office in 60 to 90 days.

When the development team first acquired the downtown parking lot and announced plans to construct the building in the spring, sales prices were expected to average $450 per square foot, bringing the project's total cost to $125 million. But with the addition of the Trump name and an expansion of the design, prices on the units are expected to shoot skyward.

The developers say they are financing the deal privately, which means they will not be seeking a public subsidy of any sort. They did not disclose how much each party is investing in the deal.

The project, which will take three years to complete, is expected to create 500 to 700 construction jobs and will rely on the work of local contractors.

Trump said he would have nothing to do with the project if it weren't for three things: the Poydras Street location, the development team, and the project design.

"When I first saw the drawings, I said to my staff, 'This is the first building I've seen in my career where I wouldn't propose one change,' " Trump said.

"It's going to be absolutely the most incredible building New Orleans has ever seen. It will be the best building in New Orleans. Nothing else even comes close to it."

Nagin sees room for more

Trump's enthusiasm is encouraging to Nagin.

With the recent announcement of numerous downtown residential and commercial developments, and with national investors such as Judah Hertz of Los Angeles buying up to 25 percent of the city's Class A office towers, Nagin sees a positive turn for the city's real estate market.

"The market has tipped; it's pretty amazing," Nagin said.

"This is international news," he said of the Trump deal.

In fact, Nagin is already lobbying Trump for more.

"You may need a Trump Tower II," Nagin said he told Trump on Thursday. Nagin pointed out that the riverfront has miles of undeveloped land suitable for high-rise development.

Joe Canizaro, a local real estate developer and a friend of Trump's from the days when they both owned United States Football League teams, said he was pleased to see that the Trump deal was happening.

"I just have one comment: New Orleans is better off because Donald Trump is in town. He will definitely add value to our community."

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontp...37785213420.xml

I can do better than just a plain rendering. How about a video presentation?

http://www.supportourmilitary.org/site14.php

I think increased cost also went to the fact that the superdome has a solid concrete roof versus plexi glass and at one time a glass roof.

Either way construction cost for large scale projects inevitably goes up since the skilled labor needed for the project cost more and is typically unionized.  You won't find illegals working on a skyscraper or large structure project.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Normally this is true. The Superdome was built with union labor, but the New Orleans Arena was built by an out-of-state contractor using non-union labor. I'm sure that some illegals made their way to the job site. The unions protested outside of the construction site for weeks. And this expansion of the convention center was almost built with unskilled non-union labor. With three contractors bidding on the job, only Broadmoor (which is local) signs collective bargaining agreements with the local unions. In all honesty, I think that it was a huge win for not only the company, but for the local economy as well. It just helps to keep the local dollars at home.

Harrah's wants to up ante

Friday, August 19, 2005

By Rebecca Mowbray

Business writer

Four years after winning a concession from the Louisiana Legislature to operate a 450-room hotel,which is only months away from opening, Harrah's New Orleans Casino is looking for more.

The Canal Street casino, where business has been grow rapidly, has told the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association that it wants to lift or lighten the restrictions on the number of hotel rooms it can operate.

Although Harrah's 450-room tower on Fulton Street is expected to open early next year, Harrah's executives say the new hotel won't be enough to house its visitors.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/ind...31414131280.xml

More eye candy:

Convention center's construction delays end

NEW ORLEANS (AP)

http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/9194/harrahshotel2hz.jpg

Also, the domed top is supposed to tie the building in better with the casino, or at least that was the plan.

http://photos.nondot.org/2001-06-13-Alabam...d%20Harrahs.jpg

http://www.inetours.com/New_Orleans/images/FQ/Harrahs.jpg

I hate this facade with a passion.

Sure, the rendering makes the building look gold, but it's more of this gross pinky peach color. Think Cheetos and Pepto-Bismol vomit.

Developer seeks variance to build on Warehouse District parking lot

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Height a hurdle for apartment project in CBD

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

By Greg Thomas

Real estate writer

A Baton Rouge developer is proposing building a 250-unit apartment complex in the Warehouse District that would include two towers, both of which would exceed the height restrictions in that area.

One tower, which would face St. Charles Avenue, would be 17 stories and 180 feet tall. The other would face Julia Street and be 15 stories and 160 feet tall. No building in that area is supposed to be more than 125 feet tall.

Developer Tommy Spinosa, doing business as JTS Realty Services LLC, said that he will meet with architects with the Historic District Landmarks Commission today to begin preliminary work on gaining a variance for the height increase.

http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf...72556227150.xml

Yes, if you were to drive down Convention Center Blvd., turn right on Henderson St., and then left on Tchoupitoulas St. following the length, it would be a mile. The new design is much better. Located in the Warehouse District, the original Great Hall (now Hall A & was a remnant of the 1984 World's Fair. The Convention Center more or less took on the shape of it's surroundings. That's why it has such an industrial style to it. The new addition is supposed to be state-of-the-art, so the design has to stand out, and from the looks of the renderings, it will. The glass of the main lobby entrance sitting at the foot of Convention Center Blvd. should be quite a bit of eye-candy.

It really breaks my heart to see such a beautiful surface parking lot being replaced by progress.

Rendering and location

This should give a better idea of the size. The current convention center has 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space. The expansion will have over 500,000 square feet.

Expansion should begin in September

Saturday, August 13, 2005

By Robert Travis Scott

Capital bureau

BATON ROUGE -- Construction on the long-delayed fourth phase of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center should begin in September after a legislative committee gave its unanimous support Friday to a new $315 million contract, the project's chief builder said.

John Stewart, president of the New Orleans construction company Broadmoor LLC, said his firm and convention center officials will seek court approval of the agreement in the next few days, and the two sides are expected to sign the contract by the end of next week.

The company will begin clearing the site in about 10 days and begin pile driving next month, Stewart said. The 1.6-million-square-foot expansion, which will create more than 1,000 construction jobs and represent one of the largest building projects in Louisiana history, should be completed in late 2008, he said.

http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf...16124232310.xml

A $60 million mixed-use downtown development adds to New Orleans' dwindling stock of apartments

Saturday, August 13, 2005

By Greg Thomas

Real estate writer

HRI Properties said Friday it plans to build a $60 million apartment-condo complex that would be the largest residential construction project in the history of the Warehouse District.

The 10-story development, to be dubbed The IceHouse Residences, will have 221 apartments and 105 condominiums. The project also includes construction of a separate six-story garage with 509 parking spaces and 1,500 square feet of retail space.

The project would encompass most of the block bounded by Andrew Higgins Boulevard, Poeyfarre, Constance and Annunciation streets. The site once housed the Ice House Cold Storage Co., which burned to the ground in the late-1980s.

http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf...13275232310.xml

Well, luckily, the design would have to pass through the Central Business District Historic District Landmarks Commission.