NEW ORLEANS -- As New Orleans continues in its fight to recover, council members agree that it's time to redevelop more of the city’s riverfront.
"When people stand in our neighborhoods, even with the river a block away, they don't know the river is there," said District E Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis.
Thursday, the council took a major step toward changing that through a 6-0 vote to allow the rezoning of a riverfront stretch from the Faubourg Marigny to the Bywater neighborhood.
Project developer Sean Cummings said the area from Elysian Fields to Mazant Street, currently home to mostly rundown industrial space, will ultimately become known as Crescent Park.
"It's got some great new architecture, terrific recreational facilities, virtually 90 percent green space, and you know what else, it's going to be energy self-reliant. We're going to generate all clean, renewable energy to power it," Cummings said.
Part of a much bigger effort – Phase One aims to begin transforming the relationship between New Orleans and the Mississippi River.
"We can make this a majestic site for, not only our residents, but all of our visitors from the standpoint of commercial development, any residential development, and green space and recreation," said City Council President Arnie Fielkow.
Cummings and other developers have faced some opposition though, primarily from neighborhood groups in the affected areas.
"These are extremely dense neighborhoods,” Lousteau said. “There's not a lot of off-street parking. They are right along the river, and there could be some negative impacts. We were just looking to mitigate those."
Lousteau said through a good neighbor agreement with project leaders, however, she believes a compromise will be hammered out.
For Cummings, the rezoning vote clears a huge hurdle.
"We're still going through some of the permitting, but certainly, street work has already begun,” he said. “We'll begin a little bit of an environmental cleanup next month, and then full blown construction before Mardi Gras."
Developers say the $30 million Phase One could be completed within 18 months from the time work begins.
In all, the "Reinventing the Crescent" project aims to transform five miles of the Mississippi, stretching from the Bywater to the Lower Garden District.
"It will truly be something we will look back on as a city, as one of the most important moments in the rebuilding and revitalization of our community," Fielkow said.
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