On March 11, the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission denied an application to demolish an early-20th century single shotgun at 2745 Banks St. in Mid-City. The house is owned by the local nonprofit Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative, a land trust and housing rights organization with a mission to create equitable and permanently affordable housing.
The HDLC staff inspection found that the building is in fair condition overall and that there is no evidence to suggest the building is beyond rehabilitation.
At the HLDC meeting, the Preservation Resource Center advised against the demolition. Small historic vernacular homes are naturally occurring affordable housing units. Reusing this house is the most sustainable way to return this building to commerce and would serve to keep historic building materials out of the landfill. PRC is also concerned that the demolition request application indicated there are currently no redevelopment plans for the lot.
Since the building is in a National Register district, it is eligible for Historic Tax Credits, which would allow Jane Place to recoup up to 45% of renovation costs. Once this building is demolished, Jane Place would lose any chance of using Historic Tax Credits to make a restoration feasible.
The representative for the owner disagreed with the HDLC staff’s assessment of the building’s condition, noting that renovation would be cost prohibitive, and adding that the property would be better served with a new construction building with higher density occupancy.
This could be a great small, affordable home, which aligns with the mission work of Jane Place. We hope they will reconsider this demolition, preserve this housing, and secure the building envelope swiftly.
Also at the meeting, the HDLC voted to defer for the fourth time an application to demolish 1534 St. Louis St., one of the last three remaining buildings from Storyville where the experimentation of Black and Creole musicians contributed to the birth of jazz. Over these last months, the PRC has appreciated the owner’s willingness to work with us, allowing structural engineering firm Marais Consultants to provide another opinion on the building’s condition. The assessment found that the historic masonry structure is repairable, and PRC will share the report with the HDLC for review.
Saving this building would help preserve an extremely significant part of New Orleans’ cultural heritage. It is a rare and unique opportunity to convey the layers of Storyville’s untold social and cultural history including the early days of jazz and the Black and Creole musicians who lived and worked in Storyville; sex work at the turn of the 20th century and the women who worked at grander brothels or the single room “cribs”; the complexities and injustices of race relations in New Orleans; and the challenges of saving historic timber and masonry buildings that have been neglected for decades.
In other news, the HDLC approved demolitions of three ranch-style houses: 7309 and 7310 Freret St., both Uptown and 1128-1130 Lowerline St. in Carrollton. A representative from Maple Area Residents, Inc. (MARI) opposed the demolitions citing concerns that the properties were purchased as teardowns. HDLC At-Large Commissioner Jennifer Greene expressed frustration that since the buildings are outside of the historic districts’ periods of significance, they are considered noncontributing, which limits the commission’s ability to prevent their demolition.
