After more than two hours of heated debate and the threat of a lawsuit, the Vieux Carre Commission voted Tuesday to move the controversial Habana Outpost project one step closer to final approval. The design of the proposed Cuban restaurant at Esplanade Avenue and North Rampart Street will go back to the VCC's Architectural Committee to iron out remaining...
After more than two hours of heated debate and the threat of a lawsuit, the Vieux Carre Commission voted Tuesday to move the controversial Habana Outpost project one step closer to final approval. The design of the proposed Cuban restaurant at Esplanade Avenue and North Rampart Street will go back to the VCC's Architectural Committee to iron out remaining concerns, after which the issue will return to the full commission for a final vote.
Commissioner Daniel Taylor said that developer Sean Meenan could improve his chances for final approval if he agrees to eliminate solar panels on the roof of one building and take down an existing billboard.
Five members voted to approve and one abstained. Chairman Ralph Lupin, under the commission's rules, didn't vote.
Prior to the meeting, a group of French Quarter residents issued a statement threatening legal action if the VCC approves the restaurant, which would occupy the site of a gas station that has been vacant for decades.
"Residents successfully sued Walgreens in the 1990s, requiring the national chain to meet certain guidelines before it could open a store on Decatur Street," the residents' statement said. "Much more seems at stake in the current proposal, which would place a major entertainment complex built around outdoor parties and movies in the middle of private homes and condos."
Meenan's plan calls for opening a 223-seat restaurant at the site of the former gasoline station and in an adjoining building on North Rampart Street that is also vacant. Meenan spent more than $2 million buying three properties at the intersection.
Meenan opened the first Cafe Habana in 1998 on Prince Street in New York. He has since opened two more New York locations and one in Malibu, Calif. Cafe Habana serves Cuban fare along with beer and drink specials such as margaritas and mojitos. It operates no later than midnight.
Meenan first presented his proposal in July 2012 before the Architectural Committee. It was deferred four times by committee members who requested design revisions, prompting Meenan to submit a new proposal in January.
Since then the Habana Outpost project has bounced back and forth between the review committee and the commission while Meenan and architect John Williams made significant changes to the design based on public input and the committee's advice. The VCC granted the project "conceptual approval" in March, indicating that the commission members thought it had merit but needed additional review.
The Architectural Committee approved the project's design May 15, moving it to the full commission.
The standing-room-only crowd at Tuesday's meeting was divided about equally between supporters and opponents of the restaurant. Supporters said the project would bring much-needed investment to a long-dormant corner and improve public safety at night. Opponents said the restaurant's size would create parking and noise issues and damage the historic nature of the French Quarter.
Meenan purchased an L-shaped lot at 1040 Esplanade Ave., formerly owned by Michael Wilkinson with French Quarter Realty, in June for $515,000. The property, the site of the abandoned gas station, has not been in use, except as a parking lot, for decades. He also purchased a two-story building at 1036 Esplanade Ave., formerly owned by James Cahn of Cahn Enterprises, for $1.25 million; it has an empty commercial space on the first floor and two occupied rental units on the second floor.
The initial plan called for redeveloping the Cahn townhouse with a kitchen and dining room on the ground floor that would have connected to a two-level, open-air eating area on the corner property. The project's design leaves the gas station and canopy intact while also calling for some new construction that will return the facility to its 1939 appearance.
After neighbors complained about the proposed use of the 1036 Esplanade Ave. property, Meenan purchased a vacant commercial building at 1310 N. Rampart St. for $510,000; it will now house the kitchen and the exhaust system. The Esplanade townhouse is no longer part of the restaurant project; the apartments on the second floor will remain, and Meenan said he hopes to lease the ground floor space to an art gallery.
The two properties where Habana Outpost will operate are zoned for commercial use, such as a restaurant.