New Orleans Redevelopment Moving Forward
01/17/2008 21:17
New Orleans Redevelopment Moving Forward
By T. D. Clark
It may not get nearly the attention it deserves, but New Orleans is still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. However, there are some signs that 2008 could be the year that real progress will be made.
A redevelopment project was green-lit this month for construction along a stretch of New Orleans’ riverfront on the bank of the Mississippi River. Will this effort kick-start a much-needed economic turnaround in The Big Easy?
According to recent Architectural Record article, the main goal of the redesign is to “reduce barriers that discourage people from enjoying the river and replace decaying sections with parks and public venues that will trigger private investment.”
The New Orleans Building Corporation (NOBC), which is spearheading the project, endorsed conceptual plans and authorized work to begin on the project’s first phase, perhaps within months. The first and largest of three phases will encompass $163 million of improvements in two areas. The total redevelopment is projected to cost $289 million.
Here’s more:
The centerpiece of the project, known as Reinventing the Crescent, is a linear park that devotes nearly 85 percent of the development zone’s 174 acres to parks and plazas, bike and walking paths and venues for river-gazing. Signatures of the design include examples of dramatic, forward-thinking architecture as well as inventive ideas for accommodating the various industrial wharfs and terminals that must be retained for cargo and transportation uses.
If completion of the $289 million riverfront project is realized, it could generate some $3 billion in private investments, add 4,500 permanent jobs and increase the city’s tax revenues by $40 million a year.
Not too shabby. . .
The publication also cited a report by Louisiana State University in which economist James Richardson estimates that an investment of $289 million in public funds between now and 2016 could trigger $3.6 billion in total investment by 2024. “That money would result in the creation of 5,800 construction jobs each year in addition to 24,000 permanent jobs,” writes Shawn Kennedy at Architectural Record.
Indeed, a stable workforce is a vital enabler in getting the city back on economic track, an aspect that can’t seem to come fast enough, according to Workforce Management.
The recent article, entitled Rebuilding the Workforce in New Orleans, mentions that a 2006 survey from HR professionals in the area revealed that more than a third of businesses were having trouble filling positions. And according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, there are more than 60,000 job vacancies in the metropolitan area, compared with 22,000 in June 2005, just before Hurricane Katrina. Some of the biggest needs are in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Here’s a little insight to why:
With an estimated 200,000 homes and thousands of buildings damaged, the construction boom is expected to carry on for a decade. Frances Roemer, chief administrative officer and director of human resources for F.H. Myers Construction Co., says that competition is indeed stiff within the industry. While the company is only short four workers from its pre-Katrina roster of 40, business is booming and the company is having difficulty keeping up with the work.
“Post-Katrina, our business has grown, but it is a great trouble to find skilled employees,” Laurie Watt, director of HR at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel, told Workforce Management. “Subcontractors are also overextended, to where many of them can’t take on any additional work. So there’s a battle for them too.
“Everyone is competing with everyone for skilled labor now,” Watt said.
2008 is the year when the future of New Orleans is going to be determined, according to Janet Speyer, a University of New Orleans economist, recently said in a report from The Associated Press. Speyrer also suggests the following to lure more private investment and jobs:
The city needs to abandon the "Katrina mentality, that other people are going to help us and give us the money we need, and I think we have to start moving toward doing things ourselves," she said. A proposal for a public-private economic development partnership offers hope, though past similar attempts have yielded only modest success.
Taking these developmental snapshots into consideration, do you think New Orleans on track to really turn things around in 2008?
By T. D. Clark
It may not get nearly the attention it deserves, but New Orleans is still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. However, there are some signs that 2008 could be the year that real progress will be made.
A redevelopment project was green-lit this month for construction along a stretch of New Orleans’ riverfront on the bank of the Mississippi River. Will this effort kick-start a much-needed economic turnaround in The Big Easy?
According to recent Architectural Record article, the main goal of the redesign is to “reduce barriers that discourage people from enjoying the river and replace decaying sections with parks and public venues that will trigger private investment.”
The New Orleans Building Corporation (NOBC), which is spearheading the project, endorsed conceptual plans and authorized work to begin on the project’s first phase, perhaps within months. The first and largest of three phases will encompass $163 million of improvements in two areas. The total redevelopment is projected to cost $289 million.
Here’s more:
The centerpiece of the project, known as Reinventing the Crescent, is a linear park that devotes nearly 85 percent of the development zone’s 174 acres to parks and plazas, bike and walking paths and venues for river-gazing. Signatures of the design include examples of dramatic, forward-thinking architecture as well as inventive ideas for accommodating the various industrial wharfs and terminals that must be retained for cargo and transportation uses.
If completion of the $289 million riverfront project is realized, it could generate some $3 billion in private investments, add 4,500 permanent jobs and increase the city’s tax revenues by $40 million a year.
Not too shabby. . .
The publication also cited a report by Louisiana State University in which economist James Richardson estimates that an investment of $289 million in public funds between now and 2016 could trigger $3.6 billion in total investment by 2024. “That money would result in the creation of 5,800 construction jobs each year in addition to 24,000 permanent jobs,” writes Shawn Kennedy at Architectural Record.
Indeed, a stable workforce is a vital enabler in getting the city back on economic track, an aspect that can’t seem to come fast enough, according to Workforce Management.
The recent article, entitled Rebuilding the Workforce in New Orleans, mentions that a 2006 survey from HR professionals in the area revealed that more than a third of businesses were having trouble filling positions. And according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, there are more than 60,000 job vacancies in the metropolitan area, compared with 22,000 in June 2005, just before Hurricane Katrina. Some of the biggest needs are in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Here’s a little insight to why:
With an estimated 200,000 homes and thousands of buildings damaged, the construction boom is expected to carry on for a decade. Frances Roemer, chief administrative officer and director of human resources for F.H. Myers Construction Co., says that competition is indeed stiff within the industry. While the company is only short four workers from its pre-Katrina roster of 40, business is booming and the company is having difficulty keeping up with the work.
“Post-Katrina, our business has grown, but it is a great trouble to find skilled employees,” Laurie Watt, director of HR at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel, told Workforce Management. “Subcontractors are also overextended, to where many of them can’t take on any additional work. So there’s a battle for them too.
“Everyone is competing with everyone for skilled labor now,” Watt said.
2008 is the year when the future of New Orleans is going to be determined, according to Janet Speyer, a University of New Orleans economist, recently said in a report from The Associated Press. Speyrer also suggests the following to lure more private investment and jobs:
The city needs to abandon the "Katrina mentality, that other people are going to help us and give us the money we need, and I think we have to start moving toward doing things ourselves," she said. A proposal for a public-private economic development partnership offers hope, though past similar attempts have yielded only modest success.
Taking these developmental snapshots into consideration, do you think New Orleans on track to really turn things around in 2008?