The Warehouse District is one step closer to losing two early-20th century warehouses after the Central Business District Historic District Landmarks Commission voted 6-2 to recommend approving their demolition to the New Orleans City Council.
The warehouses, including 1000 S Peters St. and the former Sugar Mill event venue at 1040 S Peters St., will be razed for development of the Omni New Orleans Hotel, which would serve as a headquarters hotel for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Because the convention center is a state-owned entity, HDLC was only allowed to provide a recommendation.
The commission voted in opposition to the HDLC staff’s recommendation that the commission push to save the buildings.
The HDLC meeting on March 11 was focused solely on the demolition of the two warehouses, not on the proposed plans which currently includes a 27-story tower rising 315 feet above the historic district.
Two people spoke against the demolitions, including the PRC which is also a near neighbor of both warehouses. The PRC helped get the Warehouse District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in the 1980s and this designation provided critical access to the Historic Tax Credit, one of the main driving forces behind the revitalization of the neighborhood.
Recently, the PRC has shared concerns raised by the CBD HDLC about the rate of demolitions of modest warehouses in the Warehouse District, resulting in the loss of 411 Andrew Higgins Drive, 1060 Magazine St., and 1031 Annunciation St. to name a few. This development pressure is a threat to the historic integrity of the district, its National Register status, and thus, access to the Historic Tax Credit.
Variety is a key characteristic of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans. On a single street, high-style architectural gems are peppered between simple vernacular buildings. Minimal or utilitarian warehouses may not draw attention or praise, but they are a binding element in the Warehouse District, and without them, the sense of place suffers.
The PRC supports appropriate and strategic development in New Orleans, but not at the cost of its historic buildings and neighborhoods – one of the city’s greatest assets.
Eight people spoke in favor of the demolitions, including representatives from the Convention Center, the Omni, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, New Orleans & Company, Greater New Orleans Inc., New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute, and NANO Architecture + Interior. Representatives from Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, the Atlanta-based architecture firm doing the designs for the Omni, and Eskew Dumez Ripple, the local consulting architecture firm, also spoke in favor. Several studies were referenced to explain the infeasibility of adaptively reusing the buildings, although none of the studies were provided to the HDLC staff. Most of the comments focused on the critical importance of the new hotel to help New Orleans compete with other cities for major events and conventions.
Next, the New Orleans City Planning Commission will consider the Convention Center’s application to create the Convention Center Hotel Overlay District to exceed the current zoning regulations in terms of height and size of the proposed building. According to NOLA.com, this hearing could occur as early as April 14.
