FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Mary Beth Romig
New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau
504-566-5050 / 504-606-8430 (cell)
mbromig@nomcvb.com
Erica Papillion
New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau
504-566-5044
epapillion@neworleanscvb.com
NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU ISSUES “STATE OF THE CITY” REPORT, APRIL 2007
March brings pre-Katrina levels of tourism business
NEW ORLEANS – April 5, 2007 –The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau (NOMCVB) is pleased to announce that in March 2007, New Orleans welcomed 83,000 convention visitors, 10,000 more than March 2005. Anecdotal evidence from tourism businesses indicated larger than normal crowds in shops and restaurants, thanks to the American College of Cardiology, the largest convention in New Orleans in two years, and spectators from the first and second rounds of the 2007 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Championship.
“New Orleans has had a fantastic March,” said Stephen Perry, president and CEO of the NOMCVB. “From the robust crowds at the first and second rounds of the 69th Annual NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Championship Tournament to the success of the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting, the city is proud to have successfully hosted such important events. April brings three great New Orleans traditions: the Zurich Classic, French Quarter Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and a major city-wide meeting of the Risk & Insurance Management Society.”
2007 Milestones
The American College of Cardiology met in New Orleans March 24-27 for its 56th Annual Scientific Session and
i2Summit. With 30,000 attendees, the meeting was New Orleans’ largest since 2005. The conference received rave reviews from ACC leadership and members alike.
The recent Allstate Sugar Bowl match-up between LSU and Notre Dame and other festival events brought an economic impact of $126.7 million to New Orleans and the state, according to a study completed by Dr. Timothy Ryan of the University of New Orleans. The January 3, 2007 football game saw LSU beat Notre Dame 41-14 before a sold-out crowd of 77,781. Comprising the Bowl's overall economic impact figure was a sum of $68.71 million in direct visitor spending and an additional $57.99 million in secondary spending. State and local governments also realized $9.9 million in tax revenue as a result of Bowl activities.
Next week in New York, the NOMCVB will kick off a 10-market media tour and series of events which brings the best of New Orleans culture to major metropolitan cities. Along with leisure visitors, the tour promotes the destination for conventions and meetings to meeting professionals, associations and corporate decision makers. Additional stops include London, Paris, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance will relocate from Los Angeles’ University of Southern California to Loyola University in New Orleans. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance is one of the jazz world’s foremost institutions—an organization dedicated to developing first-rate musicians who are teachers as well as performers. This move is an effort to keep jazz alive and thriving in the city where it was born. The program will begin in August 2007, to coincide with Loyola’s fall semester.
Eight college teams competing in the American Marketing Association’s annual case competition were in New Orleans in late March for the final round of competition to develop a mock marketing plan for New Orleans. The students were given a pretend $5 million budget to remarket New Orleans as the top destination in the world. The winning team, selected by NOMCVB executives who served as judges, was from the University of Pennsylvania. The University of Nevada at Las Vegas placed second and the British Columbia Institute of Technology came in third. The American Marketing Association, rather than schedule their 2007 meeting in another city, raised funds to keep the conference and competition in New Orleans, as a show of support for the city.
Mardi Gras 2007 was a resounding success in February, with an estimated crowd of 800,000 and area hotels reporting a 95 percent occupancy rate throughout the last weekend of Mardi Gras. It was larger than the 2006 crowds of 700,000, but not as large as pre-Katrina numbers of 1 million. This year’s success insures the future of tourism in New Orleans and further illustrates the city’s ability to successfully and safely host large numbers of visitors.
The Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) successfully hosted their annual convention in New Orleans February 25-March 2, with 24,600 attendees. According to a front-page story in the Times-Picayune March 1, HIMSS conventioneers were pleasantly surprised and gave glowing reviews during their stay in the city, saying that their preconceptions about New Orleans and its ability to handle large numbers of visitors “inaccurate.” At a February 26 press conference at the NOMCVB, Stephen Lieber, president and CEO of HIMSS, stated, “We [HIMSS] have not heard a single complaint about not having enough cabdrivers or enough people in the hotels or the restaurants didn’t have enough help or anything like that. All of the things that we who live elsewhere have heard – and at times continue to hear about the city – we knew from the multiple trips we made here, that they simply weren’t true.”
Cultural attractions abound this spring in New Orleans. Harrah’s Casino recently debuted a new musical, HATS; the New Orleans Museum of Art opened the exhibition, Femme, femme, femme, a collection of art featuring women in French society, featuring works from Renoir, Degas, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso; and the Vatican Mosaic Studio is being presented by the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and is being hosted by the Old Ursuline Convent.
Still known as America’s most unique cultural destination, New Orleans has received multiple honors. The Los Angeles Times (Feb. 4, 2007) named New Orleans one of the world’s “don’t miss destinations.” In December 2006, Orbitz described New Orleans as an “in” location for experience seeking vacationers. Travel + Leisure Magazine’s January 2007 issue included New Orleans in its “Where to Go Next” feature and Travelocity recently named New Orleans one of 2007’s top 10 favorite gourmet destinations in the world.
The New Orleans CVB launched an aggressive, strategic marketing, public relations and direct sales campaign, designed to celebrate its authentic culture, lure domestic and international visitors back, preserve the city’s leading industry (hospitality) and overcome misperceptions about New Orleans among consumers. “A Whole New Orleans,” a 30-minute travel television show, showcasing the eclectic nature and vibrant culture of the city, is in production.
“Forever New Orleans” is an international branding campaign that celebrates a spirit of swagger, showcasing the hospitality industry’s confidence in New Orleans as a destination. It uses headlines such as “New Orleans is Open. To Just About Anything.”, “Soul is Waterproof’” and “Old World, New Promise,” which are appearing on billboards and magazines throughout the US.
January 20-23, Meeting Professionals International brought 2,600 of the world's most influential meeting professionals to New Orleans for the second largest MPI Professional Education Conference-North America ever. It was a prime opportunity to showcase the city as a destination for future meetings being planned by MPI members. For testimonials, visit www.neworleansmeeting.com.
The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport recently welcomed ExpressJet Airlines to New Orleans. ExpressJet will begin service in April and will offer non-stop service to Austin, San Antonio, Kansas City, Mo., Birmingham, Jacksonville, Fl., and Raleigh-Durham with 12 flights per day.
Corporate America is discovering New Orleans as a meeting destination, bringing new, shorter-term meetings business to the city. Many corporations are drawn to New Orleans for the wealth of “voluntourism” opportunities available during meetings to expand strategic philanthropic and branding efforts. Recent corporate meetings held in the city include Whirlpool Corporation, Coca-Cola, Konica Minolta, Sherwin Williams and IBM.
Major meetings in 2007 include:
Event/Date/Projected Attendance
Healthcare Information & Management Society /Feb. 24 – Mar. 1 (city-wide)/24,000
American Association of School Administrators/Feb. 28 – Mar. 4/7,000
National Collegiate Athletic Association/Mar. 14 – 17 (city-wide)/20,000
American College of Healthcare Executives/Mar. 18 – 22/4,000
International Association for Dental Research/Mar. 20 – 25/6,000
American College of Cardiology/Mar. 23 – 27 (city-wide)/30,000
American Institute of Steel Construction/Apr. 17 – 21/2,000
Institute of Scrap Recycling/Apr. 17 – 22/3,300
Risk & Insurance Management Society/Apr. 29 – May 4 (city-wide)/10,000
American College of Sports Medicine/May 29-June 2/4,000
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc./June 10-13/1,000
American Association of Law Libraries/July 14-19/2,800
National Council of State Housing Agencies/Sept. 15-18 (city-wide)/10,000
American College of Surgeons/Oct. 6-11 (city-wide)/16,000
International Association of Chiefs of Police/Oct. 13-17 (city-wide)/10,000
American Society for Clinical Pathology/Oct. 17-21/5,000
American Society of Agronomy/Nov. 4-8/4,800
American Academy of Ophthalmology/Nov. 9-13 (city-wide)/25,000
Pennwell Corporation/Dec. 11-14 (city-wide)/17,000
New Orleans will host major sports events in 2007 and beyond. The first and second rounds of the 69th Annual NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Championship Tournament was played at the New Orleans Arena March 15-17, 2007; the Zurich Classic, a stop on the illustrious Professional Golfers Association tour, will be held at TPC Louisiana April 16-22, 2007. The Arena Bowl will be played at the New Orleans Arena in July 2007. In 2008, the Superdome will host the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Allstate BCS National Championship Game in January and the New Orleans Arena will be the site of the 57th NBA All-Star Game February 17, 2008.
The movie business has returned to New Orleans over the past year, with the city regaining its Hollywood South moniker. Over 30 movies released in 2006 were filmed in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, including: All the King’s Men, Bug, Failure to Launch, Glory Road, Last Holiday and Déjà Vu—the first movie to be filmed in New Orleans post-Katrina. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, has just completed filming in the city. With a budget of $150 million, this is the most expensive film to ever shoot in New Orleans. There are currently over 20 movies that are filming or will be filming in New Orleans with a planned 2007 release. Film and television studios are expected to have an economic impact of more than $400 million this year. Because of tax incentives, Louisiana ranks third after New York and California as a location for filming.
Venue Updates
Under the management of SMG, the Louisiana Superdome reopened on Monday, September 25, 2006, with Monday Night Football, when the New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons before the largest audience in ESPN history. The game won the biggest share of the television audience among all TV networks, broadcast or cable, and featured pre-game concerts by the Goo Goo Dolls, U2 and Green Day, a coin toss by former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and an estimated $20 million pumped into the city’s economy. Further, the New Orleans Saints enjoyed a sold-out season for the first time in the franchise’s 40-year history, with a waiting list for future years. The New Orleans Saints finished the 2006 season with a record of 11-7, reaching the NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears and one game away from a Super Bowl XLI appearance.
The neighboring New Orleans Arena reopened in March 2006. SMG currently has 150 full-time employees, with a part-time work force of approximately 2,500, including detail police officers.
With $60 million in renovations completed, the Morial Convention Center is sporting a brand new look and level of comfort. Renovations include new flooring and furnishings on all three levels, hotel-like finishes, and a brighter, more engaging environment. The same great service and amenities that made the Morial an industry leader are better than ever-high speed wi-fi, 4,000-seat Conference Auditorium, 12 separate/combinable exhibit halls, 140 meeting rooms and a team of seasoned industry professionals. The Center is doing brisk business in 2007---hosting more than 71 major conventions, tradeshows and meetings. This includes many new short-term and future-year bookings. In January and February alone, 18 groups with 75,022 attendees and 68,178 room nights confirmed events at the Center, which currently has 250 full-time employees.
Hospitality and Tourism
Hotels: New hotel developments abound in New Orleans, including the opening of the Hilton St. Charles Hotel, which will begin accepting reservations May 1, 2007. All major hotels in New Orleans are open, with the Hyatt Hotel reopening in April 2008. The Fairmont Hotel’s opening date is still to be determined. Overall 208 metropolitan area accommodations are open, with 31,000 of 38,000 hotel rooms available. The vast majority of downtown hotel properties are reopened, many completing renovations and upgrades in the last quarter of 2005. The newly-constructed Harrah’s Hotel opened in September 2006, and the Ritz-Carlton and Chateau Sonesta reopened in December 2006 after extensive renovations. The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans’ Iberville Suites reopened in early March, after an extensive renovation. The Iberville Suites added 230 rooms to New Orleans’ hotel inventory.
Dining: According to the Louisiana Restaurant Association, there are 743 restaurants open in Orleans Parish alone--90 percent of pre-Katrina totals. These include the restaurants in the French Quarter, downtown, Warehouse Arts District, Garden District and Uptown New Orleans popular with visitors to the city. As well, 18 major new restaurants opened in the metro area and are enjoying success. (This figure does not include fast-food restaurants, most national chains, bars serving food and coffeehouses.) There are now 1,562 restaurants open in the Greater New Orleans metropolitan area, employing 39,800 people. In 2006, restaurants generated $4.8 billion in direct sales.
This month, James Beard Award-winning chef John Besh will re-open La Provence in Lacombe, Louisiana, about an hour’s drive from New Orleans. Besh worked with the late former owner, French-born Chef Chris Kerageorgiou, before operating his own restaurants.
Air Transportation: Louis Armstrong International Airport, as of April 2007, reports 107 flights serving 38 cities (68 percent the number of daily departures and 77 percent the number of destinations; 13,214 seats or 65 percent of our Pre-Katrina level of seats per day). The NOMCVB is working with the airlines and airport officials with regard to convention scheduling to ensure adequate lift to meet demand.
Airlines operating out of the Louis Armstrong International Airport include: Air Tran, American Airlines, Continental, Delta Airlines, Jet Blue, Northwest, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, U.S. Airways and ExpressJet. Delta Airlines recently added non-stop flights to Los Angeles to the delight of tourists and business travelers alike.
On Wednesday, December 6, 2006, The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport launched an unprecedented maintenance campaign to clean and improve the environment at the region's premier international airport for guests arriving and departing the New Orleans region. Dubbed "Music to Your Eyes", the campaign is designed to transform the environment of the Airport into an even fresher and more visitor-friendly facility.
Cruise Industry: The Delphin Renaissance, a 600-passenger luxury ship, was the first cruise ship to call on the Port of New Orleans in the post-Katrina era when it docked December 31, 2005 at the Thalia Street Wharf alongside the Port's Administration Building. The Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International have returned. RiverBarge Excursion Lines will soon follow. The Queen Elizabeth 2 called upon the city of New Orleans for the first time in its 40-year history on Monday, November 27, 2006.
Major Attractions: All the major attractions in the city, including the Harrah’s Casino, the Audubon Zoo, Aquarium and IMAX theater, Mardi Gras World, Café Du Monde, paddlewheel cruises on the Mississippi River, carriage rides through the French Quarter and CBD, ferry rides across the Mississippi River, the Steamboat Natchez and the Creole Queen, plantation, swamp and specialty tours, nightclubs and music venues are open.
Cultural Institutions: All major museums have reopened including the New Orleans Museum of Art and Besthoff Sculpture Garden, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the National World War II Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center and the Louisiana Children’s Museum. The New Orleans Ballet, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and community theatres throughout the metropolitan New Orleans area are back in operation.
Urban shopping destinations: The Shops at Canal Place, The Riverwalk and Jax Brewery are open, offering visitors a full complement of national stores, specialty shops and boutiques. Saks Fifth Avenue, the anchor store in The Shops at Canal Place, is now open and boutiques, art galleries and antique stores are open throughout the city. Tax-free shopping is available for international visitors in Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish.
Voluntourism: As spring approaches, New Orleans has been filled with college students forgoing the typical spring break vacations to beaches and resorts and instead, volunteering their time in New Orleans neighborhoods that still need help recovering after Hurricane Katrina.
2006 Conventions: Last year saw a strong return of meetings and conventions to New Orleans. In June 2006, New Orleans celebrated the return of city-wide meetings to the city, with the American Library Association’s convention bringing 17,000 attendees. The National Association of Realtors’ annual meeting in November 2006 brought to New Orleans approximately 24,000 visitors. Registration for that meeting marked a 17 percent increase in attendance since their last gathering in New Orleans in 2002, with a record number of exhibitors participating.
A full convention calendar for October 2006 and November 2006 included the American Society of Exploration Geophysicists, American Society of Human Genetics, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology and Avaya, a Fortune 500 company.
In addition to the large association meetings previously planned, advisory boards of major association and hotel corporations chose to host their meetings in New Orleans last year, reconfirming the allure of New Orleans as a top destination.
About the City
Neighborhoods: Late last month, Mayor Ray Nagin unveiled his first detailed blueprint for New Orleans’ recovery, announcing that the city’s years-long rebuilding process will commence in 17 redevelopment zones where he plans to unleash $1.1 billion in public money as a way to attract private investment. While the majority of the territory targeted for redevelopment is located west of the Industrial Canal, Nagin’s plan calls for pumping $145 million over five years into two of the hardest-hit areas: the Lower 9th Ward and a swath of eastern New Orleans surrounding the former Lake Forest Plaza shopping center, which has been torn down.
The core of the New Orleans hospitality and tourism destinations are open and thriving, including the Faubourg Marigny, French Quarter, Warehouse Arts District, Garden District/Uptown, Audubon and University section, Carrollton and Riverbend, and historic Algiers on the city’s westbank, including hotels, restaurants and retail.
As well, neighboring Jefferson Parish to the west (home to Louis Armstrong International Airport and including Metairie, River Ridge, Harahan and Kenner) and the city’s “Northshore,” (a true bedroom community for downtown commuters, including the towns of Slidell, Mandeville, Madisonville, Covington, Abita Springs and Folsom located on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain) are bustling. These areas also include lodging, great dining opportunities, and major shopping destinations.
Population: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of residents currently residing in New Orleans is 223,000. Over 1.1 million reside in the metropolitan New Orleans area.
Emergency Preparedness: Unveiled on Friday, March 30, 2007, under the new “City Assisted Evacuation Plan,” volunteers -- both ordinary residents and city workers -- will begin picking up elderly residents and those who lack transportation about 54 hours, or 2½ days, before tropical-storm-force winds are expected to reach the Louisiana coast. Volunteers would also be responsible for keeping track of where evacuees are sent and helping with pets. Depending on the storm’s severity, the plan calls for Mayor Nagin to order a mandatory evacuation 30 hours before hurricane winds begin.
The Bureau, the City of New Orleans, and the state and city offices of emergency preparedness continue to monitor, evaluate and outline specific emergency strategies for immediate implementation to ensure the security of every visitor and local resident alike. The New Orleans Tourism Crisis Management Plan, along with diligent and thorough preparation with an emphasis on safety, will assist visitors and community members in responding appropriately to emergencies.
The City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana have for the first time implemented a unified emergency communications plan to ensure the timely flow of information across the region in emergency situations. A comprehensive and effective citywide emergency communications plan for the Greater New Orleans tourism industry has been developed.
Health and Safety: Wrapping up the agency's 11-month effort to pinpoint chemical contamination of soil and water following Hurricane Katrina, Environmental Protection Agency officials gave New Orleans and surrounding communities a final clean bill of health in a report issued August 18, 2006. (source: Times-Picayune, August 18, 2006) In the end, federal and state officials said the contamination they found was typical of many cities.
Food/seafood: Various federal, state and local agencies have conducted tests on the quality and safety of water and food, including the area’s seafood, and all have been pronounced safe to consume.
Air Quality: Official rating scales rate the air quality in the “good” zone. www.airnow.gov.
Security: The reality is that the areas that tourists and visitors enjoy in New Orleans are as safe as those as in any big American city. The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau and the hospitality community of New Orleans continue to work in partnership with the Mayor, New Orleans Police Department, city officials, citizens, tourism and business leaders to aggressively address the challenge the city faces with regard to crime. The most visible action visitors likely will notice are increased patrols from the New Orleans Police Department and Quality of Life officers, enhancing the already safe record of popular tourist areas.
In March, the New Orleans Police Department graduated 37 new officers—the NOPD’s first recruit class since Hurricane Katrina.
New Orleans Police Department: Ratio of police to citizens is higher today.
Post-Katrina: 1,458 officers Ratio of officers to residents: 1:152
Pre-Katrina: 1,680 officers 1:238 (pop. of over 400,000)
Hospitals: Twelve hospitals are currently open in the metropolitan New Orleans area, including Tulane Hospital and Clinic, Touro Infirmary and Children’s Hospital in Orleans Parish, East Jefferson Medical Center and Clinic, Tulane-Lakeside Hospital, Ochsner Clinic Foundation and Hospital, Kenner Regional Medical Center and Omega Hospital in East Jefferson Parish, and West Jefferson Medical Center on the westbank of the Mississippi River. Memorial Baptist Hospital has opened a small portion of its uptown campus, with more improvements being made. University Hospital, located in downtown New Orleans, has recently opened a trauma center and it is being operated by Louisiana State University. It is the first trauma center to open in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. For the past year and a half, LSU was operating a trauma unit in a New Orleans suburb. The new trauma center will have 26 surgery beds and 10 intensive care beds.
Business: According to statistics from Louisiana Economic Development, as reported in the Times-Picayune on April 16, 2006, 62,300 businesses have reopened since Hurricane Katrina, of the 81,000 local businesses in the 10 parish metropolitan area. According to the LED, 17, 716 of Orleans Parish’s businesses have reopened, translating to almost 90 percent of pre-Katrina numbers.
New Orleans Lakefront Airport is open 24 hours a day. Full service fuel, line service, flight training and aircraft rescue crews are available.
Taxis: Taxis are available on New Orleans streets and at major hotels, with the taxicab bureau reporting approximately 1,200 of their cabs back on the streets. Taxi rates are $2.50 plus $1.60 per mile (.20 per one-eighth mile) thereafter. There is also an additional charge of $1.00 per passenger after the first passenger. During peak visitor times (including Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest) taxi rates are $4 per person or the meter rate, whichever is higher. A fixed rate of $28 (one to two people) is charged from the airport to most areas of New Orleans. For parties of more than two, the fare is $12 per person.
Regional Transit Authority: RTA services are $1.25, including bus transportation and the streetcar. The New Orleans Streetcar line is partially back in service, including the leg traveling on Canal Street from the Mississippi River to Mid-City, and from Canal Street north on Carrolton Avenue to City Park at Wisner Boulevard. The Riverfront line is also running. While a small leg from Canal Street to Lee Circle in the city’s Central Business District has reopened, the time line for the full return of the historic St. Charles Avenue line is well into 2007. The electrical substations were originally constructed in the 1940s and were in need of upgrading.
Airport Shuttle, Inc., is the official ground transportation for Louis Armstrong International Airport, with service to and from New Orleans’ hotels and other designated locations. Fare is $13.00 each way. No reservations are required.
Twenty-nine bus lines are running, providing 25,000 rides daily. Bus service allows transportation throughout the city’s major corridor, extending from the Faubourg Marigny to Riverbend.
Amtrak is operating in New Orleans. The City of New Orleans is running again to Memphis and Chicago, while the Crescent has resumed its regular route to Atlanta and New York.
Port of New Orleans: The Port is open to cargo traffic. Operating today at 100 percent of its total capacity, all of the ports’ stevedores and terminal operators are open during normal business hours.
Last month, the Navy commissioned the USS New Orleans before thousands of onlookers, marking the first time since at least World War II a Navy ship has been built and christened in its namesake city. The $1.3 billion USS New Orleans is the fourth ship to bear the New Orleans name. The last one was an amphibious assault vessel that served during the Vietnam War and in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. It was decommissioned in 1997 and is slated to be sunk for gunnery practice.
Education: The Greater New Orleans area has approximately 200 parochial schools, including Catholic and private schools (pre-K through 12th grade). There are 56 Orleans Parish charter and traditional public schools open. The Louisiana Recovery Schools District provides education for 28,000 students.
Local colleges and universities are open, including Tulane University, Loyola University, the University of New Orleans, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, Xavier University, Dillard University, Southern University of New Orleans, Delgado Community College, Nunez Community College and Louisiana Technical College.
Current and Future Economic Opportunities and Projects
A Georgia development company is working to assemble a vast swath of Mid-City, including the Lindy Boggs Medical Center, to create a nearly contiguous 20-acre site for 1.2 million square feet of retail space for national chains. The site being assembled by Victory Real Estate Investments LLC is huge, covering more than half a square mile from Jefferson Davis Parkway to Carrollton Avenue and from Toulouse to Bienville streets.
The World Trade Center will be redeveloped into 250 residences and a 130-room Renaissance Club Sport Hotel by Marriott. The $160 million project will also involve development of an international cultural museum and the conversion of Spanish Plaza into a public entertainment area. The right to redevelop the building belongs to Full Spectrum NY LLC. Full Spectrum specializes in “green building,” or buildings that are energy efficient and made from sustainable materials.
Proposed Riverfront Development: The cooperative endeavor agreement between the city and the Port of New Orleans symbolizes the return of a four-mile stretch of Mississippi riverfront to citizens. It includes visions of riverside green space and the construction of RiverSphere — a museum and river research center — and a riverfront performing arts venue.
Nine teams of architects and planners from New Orleans and cities around the world responded to a recent invitation to help plan the redevelopment of a 4.1-mile stretch of publicly owned land along the east bank riverfront.
The board of the New Orleans Building Corp., including Mayor Ray Nagin and two City Council members, on December 21, 2006 ratified a selection committee’s recommendation that a contract be awarded to the team led by Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, a Cambridge, Mass., planning and urban design firm; Hargreaves Associates, a San Francisco and Cambridge landscape architecture firm; TEN Arquitectos, a New York and Mexico City architecture firm; and Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, a New Orleans architecture and urban design firm. Their plans will be revealed in June 2007.
Lake Forest Plaza Redevelopment: Lake Forest Plaza, an eastern New Orleans shopping mall that has been empty since Hurricane Katrina, will be demolished to make way for a new Lowe's Home Improvement store plus another million square feet of adjoining retail space. The $147 million redevelopment plans call for Lowe's to anchor an open-air, pedestrian-friendly shopping area including a 225,000-square-foot discount retailer and a 100,000-square-foot department store. The Lowe’s store will be finished by the end of 2007 and will employ 175 permanent employees.
LIFT Productions Digital Media Studio/Soundstage Training Complex: The Film Factory is a 300,000 square foot world class motion picture production studio that includes four state-of-the-art sound stages, a film training institute, and distribution house under one roof. The Film Factory will be owned and operated by LIFT Productions, a Louisiana-based company that has produced and financed more than 30 motion pictures and television movies since it opened its doors in 2002. The Film Factory will be located on 18 acres of land just west of the French Quarter, and will be the first facility in the United States to house a state-of-the-art training institute on an active motion picture studio lot. The $185 million project was initiated in August of 2004 and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2008.
Trump Tower Condominium Development: Set to be completed in 2009, once constructed, the Trump Tower will become the tallest building in the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, at sixty-seven stories. At a height of over 750 feet, it will also be the tallest building along the Gulf Coast outside of Houston. It will be a multi-use building with the ground floors allocated for retail shopping, the lower floors will be luxury condo-hotels and the upper floors will be luxury condominiums. The development will have an economic impact of $100 million.
About New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau (NOMCVB) (www.neworleanscvb.com) is the driving force behind New Orleans' most important industry, tourism, which generates $5 billion in visitor spending and creates 85,000 jobs. Today the cultural riches, sensual indulgences and unparalleled service that define the New Orleans experience continue to flourish, as they have for centuries. The most celebrated and historic core of the city - including the French Quarter, Central Business District, Warehouse and Arts District, Magazine Street and Garden District - not only remains intact, both physically and spiritually, but is thriving. The New Orleans CVB is proudly welcoming visitors and business travelers every day.
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