The city "is open to all types of proposals, imposes no limitations as to the type of redevelopment or use of the space, and encourages creative and innovative proposals."
In another attempt to put one of the city's most valuable pieces of real estate back into commerce, New Orleans officials are preparing to solicit proposals for redeveloping the long-defunct World Trade Center site at the foot of Canal Street. The proposals can call for either demolishing or renovating and reusing the vacant 1960s office tower.
Deputy Mayor Cedric Grant told the New Orleans Building Corp. board this week that he expects to release the request for proposals, or RFP, by early January. Those responding will be given 90 days to submit proposals, which must be accompanied by a $50,000 deposit.
Clik here to view.
The World Trade Center of New Orleans was designed by New York architect Edward Durell Stone in the 1960s. It was photographed in May 2006. The RFP states that the city wants to "create a world-class civic space benefiting the community and making use of the site's important location," while developing "appropriate commercial uses for this highly valuable location" and providing revenue to the city "commensurate with the market value and proposed use of the property."
It says the city "is open to all types of proposals, imposes no limitations as to the type of redevelopment or use of the space, and encourages creative and innovative proposals."
All the proposals should call for private financing, the RFP says, and members of the development team must have recent experience with projects of a similar size, scope and budget.
Besides proposing how the site or building should be redeveloped, those responding to the RFP must be able to see their proposed project through to completion, including "planning, development, construction, and operation and maintenance of the project." They must agree to give disadvantaged business enterprises at least a 35 percent stake in the project.
The city bought out the lease of the 33-story World Trade Center building in early 2012 from the World Trade Center organization. The $2.3 million deal gave the city full operational control over the 670,000-square-foot office tower and its site.
The riverfront site is considered one of the most desirable in the city, but the building's unusual X-shaped floor plan -- designed by New York architect Edward Durell Stone -- has proved a problem for those seeking to redevelop it as a hotel or some other use.
Although the city owns the building and the land under it, the nonprofit World Trade Center organization built the tower in the 1960s with proceeds from city-issued revenue bonds. The trade-promotion organization paid no rent for its lease in recent years, but it was responsible for maintenance and insurance on the property. The lease ran until 2019 until the city bought it out.
The city and the World Trade Center organization had sought since 1998 to find a way to redevelop the building, but the efforts all came to naught.
"For too long, this strategically located, important property has underperformed," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in March. "Redeveloping this site is a high priority."
The Canal Street Development Corp., a public-benefit corporation that gets the revenue from the former D.H. Holmes store on Canal Street, contributed $2 million toward the purchase price. It will be repaid with revenue from the World Trade Center's 955-space parking garage, which is leased to the nearby Hilton Riverside Hotel through 2019. The garage generates about $750,000 a year.
The WTC site is surrounded by the Aquarium of the Americas, Mississippi River ferry terminal, Spanish Plaza, Riverwalk shopping mall, Hilton and Harrah's New Orleans Casino.
The RFP says the city wants any redevelopment plan to "create a coherent, unified environment through integration of adjacent land uses and spaces" while enhancing the riverfront view from Canal Street and improving the "pedestrian transition from the French Quarter and Central Business District to the site and river."
Most of the building's few remaining tenants -- including law firms, commercial offices, a few shops and foreign consulates -- were told to move out in early 2009. The evictions were designed both to save money and to make the building more appealing to potential developers. The trade-promotion group moved the building's signature Plimsoll Club, a restaurant and bar with a panoramic view of the Mississippi River, to Canal Place in early 2010.
The building originally was known as the International Trade Mart, and a revolving lounge on the top floor known as the Top of the Mart was for many years a popular spot for tourists and locals seeking a panoramic view of the city.