WELCOME HOME! Workshops Stop in at the PRC on Thursday afternoons at 4:00 and you'll find OC Assistant Director Maryann Miller conducting a workshop. For the past four months, she has wel- comed homeowners, landlords, con- tractors and anyone else who needs guidance to free seminars addressing issues important to renovators in post-Katrina New Orleans. If you missed one, odds are it will be repeat- ed over the next several months. Or log on to www.prcno.org/workshops.html to read notes from workshops past. And for details on upcoming work- shops, see the "Live in a Landmark" calendar below, or log on to www.prcno.orgleven.html. Due to Mardi Gras, there will be no work- shop on Thursday, February 23. A recent workshop netted not only renovators, but a pair of visitors from New York who wanted an opportunity to connect with real New Orleanians about what they are going through in aftermath of the storm. According to Miller, "The folks from New York listened intently to everyone's tale. They were compas- sionate and told me later that they feel like they now understand the disaster in a way they never did before." You never know who you will meet at an OC workshop! 22 FEBRUARY 2006 PRESERVATION IN PRINT What's Up at OC? by R. Stephanie Bruno Operation Comeback property report Drive by 3901 Tchoupitoulas Street and check out the progress on Big Red - officially called 0 3901 Tchoupitoulas Street Incardonia's. Despite a bit of storm damage to the roof and fence, the building sailed through Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and is now on the fast track. All four condos will be com- pleted and on the market this spring. Look for a rebuilt canopy, a railing on the front balcony, doors and windows in place, as well as a sign designating the project as the winner of a Restore America grant, administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and HGTV. Walls are set to start closing in week or two. For information about buy- ing one of the loft-like condos, contact Maryann Miller at (504) 636-3046 or mmiller@prcno.org. Across town in Holy Cross, work is about to start on repairs to 5109 Dauphine Street, the cozy cottage that we had completed a week or so before the hurricane poured three feet of water into the building! Next door is 5101 Dauphine St., the shotgun double we'll be converting to a single and restoring in partnership with the World Monuments Fund and the Preservation Trades Neiwork. Across the street, Nicole Barron is finishing repairs to her home at 5112 Dauphine Street, a house we renovated in 2004. And around the corner at 819 Forstall, we plan to build a modified version of the contemporary Creole cottage that architect Wayne Troyer designed for us a few years ago with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. We're just one block up from Mrs. Bennett's HOME AGAIN! house and five other homes the National Trust and PRC have been helping the owners clean and remediate. Courtesy Wayne Troyer, Architect, based on the NEA design of David Gregor, Irene Keil, and Wayne Troyer. Rendering by Tracie Ashe. DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND PERMITS CITY OF NEW ORLEANS . v.v r cl its04-cc 2r, 58-7130 THIS STRUCTURE IS UNSAFE AND ITS US r EW-51_,Tre, OR OCCUPANCY HAS BEEN PROHIBITED BY THE BUILDING OFFICIAL Operation Come the fieldlOr much panying National Ttust staff mem- bers Kevin Mercadel and Walter Gallas as well as volunteer architects in surveying historic buildings that landed on the city's red-tag list after Katrina. Red tags indicate that build- ings have significant structural damage, and some of the red tagged buildings are deemed in imminent danger of collapse. The great news is that New Orleans Safety & Permits direc- tor Mike Centineo has been care- fully reviewing the first round of red tag designations and steadily whit- tling down the list, from as many as 5500 citywide at one point to 1900. About 400 are in local and national historic districts, and those are the ones we have been double checking. Many are totally collapsed, others are off their foundations. 1442 St. Claude Avenue But still others are in conditions similar to houses that OC buys and reno- vates, and can be rehabilitated. In the coming weeks we will work with the National Trust to make a case for saving several dozen of the red tagged buildings. The city's Greg Meffert, who has jurisdiction over the process, has demonstrated a willingness to work with us. www.prcno.org