NEW ORLEANS — The weather on Wednesday was perfect. Cool, crisp and sunny.
It was the kind of day that accentuates the positive, so it was the perfect setting for the Nov. 29 groundbreaking ceremony for the River District Neighborhood, a $1 billion plan to transform 40 acres just upriver from the Morial Convention Center into a mixed use “live, work and play” community.
A few hundred stakeholders and supporters crunched across the Convention Center’s gravel parking lot to an outdoor podium in a grass-covered field to celebrate the occasion. The Crescent City Connection looked majestic as it disappeared over the roof of Mardi Gras World. Even the abandoned Plaza Tower in the distance, topped by its million-dollar safety net, looked impressive against the perfect blue sky.
Development partners and Convention Center leaders were joined by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other officials, including Governor-Elect Jeff Landry, who was all smiles as he made one of his first New Orleans appearances since winning the race for the state’s top job.
The massive project, which various speakers at the event described as “catalytic” and “transformational,” has been years in the making. And it will take a few more years — and roughly $1 billion — for it to come to fruition. The developers are seeking a variety of public subsidies to support what they say will be a $1 billion annual economic impact.
“Today we are delighted to announce that New Orleans is rising at the River District,” said Louis Lauricella, co-managing member of River District Neighborhood Investors. “The result of a bold vision and three years of intentional planning, the River District reflects the time-honored New Orleans connection points of resiliency and inclusiveness and will serve as a national model of how neighborhoods can be responsibly built.”
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- Savoie Named Interim Dean of Loyola College of Business
- HRI Closes Financing for Second Phase of Lake Charles Apartments
