How Major Construction in New Orleans is Changing the Face of Neighborhoods

Whether you look to the east bank, west bank, downtown or uptown area, you’ll find major construction projects. Even lakeside and riverside have some construction happening. New Orleans is growing and the face of many neighborhoods has been and will continue to change.

For many years, most of the construction projects were geared towards recovering from Hurricane Katrina. However, that time has come to an end and many new developments are starting to pop up all throughout the city. Here’s a breakdown of some of the construction projects by neighborhood in New Orleans.

7th Ward

The 7th Ward area runs from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. It’s found between Bayou St. John and Esplanade Avenue. This area includes the New Orleans Fair Grounds, most of the University of New Orleans and Dillard University.

Many projects are slated for this area and will either break ground this year or be completed this year. They include:

•          Nora Navra Library at 1209 St. Bernard Avenue – This project broke ground in March of 2017 and will reopen in 2018. The old 2,500-square-foot library will be replaced by a 7,800-square-foot library.
•          Hunter’s Field Playground Clubhouse at 1601 North Claiborne Avenue – Another project underway is the clubhouse for the Hunter’s Field Playground. This is a $1.8 million clubhouse project with two multipurpose rooms, a kitchen, two concession windows and a reception area.
•          Sacred Heart Church Renovations – The Sacred Heart Church at St. Bernard is a project including renovating the church and turning it into six rental units. It also includes a new four-story building with 47 additional residential units and 4,200 square feet of retail space.

Mid-City

The Mid-City area is filled with incredible construction project all throughout. You can easily find many of them just by following the Lafitte Greenway. In fact, the 2.6-mile greenway was a new development that just opened in 2015. It has become a magnet for developers looking to invest in the area.

The University of New Orleans did a real estate analysis and found that over $100 million of projects are currently going on along or near the greenway.

On the lakeside end of the greenway, construction is underway on the Cemeteries Transit Center. It’s expected to be completed in December of this year. In addition, there are several other projects along the greenway including:

•          501 North Genois Street – Construction of a bicycle-friendly beer and wine garden is expected to begin very soon at this location. It’s coming from the same developers of the Velvet Cactus, Camp Bow Wow and the Bulldog.
•          Apartment Complex at North Cortex and Conti Streets – A 382-unit apartment complex is underway at Conti and North Cortez Streets. Out of the 382 units, 14 will be used for low-income tenants.
•          Mixed-Use development at 2606 St. Louis Street – This mixed-use development used to be the Tulane Industry Laundry location. It will become a commercial space with 12 apartment units.

Mid-City is expected to include many other developments, as well. Currently, many other smaller developments are already found near or on the Lafitte Greenway. Due to the greenway, many developers have moved into this area and the entire neighborhood will look much different by the end of the year.

Riverfront

The Riverfront area of New Orleans will also include plenty of developments which are already underway or expected to start very soon. Some of these developments include:

•          Mixed-Used Development at 2930 Burgundy Street – This development will include 105 residential units and 2,500 square feet of retail space.
•          The Saxony – This is a large development with 75 condo units coming to Burgundy and Bartholomew streets in the Bywater neighborhood. It’s a $3.2 million project and broke ground on October 31st of 2017.
•          Via Latrobe – Another large project with 260 apartment units, Via Latrobe will include renovating an old cotton warehouse and some new construction at Chartres and Press Streets. It will be located across from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

The Riverfront area has already started to see some major changes with the development of Crescent Park which was completed in 2015. These additional developments will help to reshape the neighborhood including the historic Marigny area and the Bywater area.

There are plenty other developments in the approval and planning stages right now. Just about all of the major New Orleans neighborhoods include developments underway or getting ready to break ground. Check back often for more updates on the developments throughout New Orleans.