Habana Outpost, the proposed Cuban restaurant at the intersection of Esplanade Avenue and North Rampart Street, has finally cleared the Vieux Carre Commission's Architectural Committee after nearly a year of meetings, countless draft revisions and the threat of a lawsuit from several neighbors. Committee members recommended Tuesday that the project go before the full commission July 16 for a...
Habana Outpost, the proposed Cuban restaurant at the intersection of Esplanade Avenue and North Rampart Street, has finally cleared the Vieux Carre Commission's Architectural Committee after nearly a year of meetings, countless draft revisions and the threat of a lawsuit from several neighbors.
Committee members recommended Tuesday that the project go before the full commission July 16 for a final vote.
Developer Sean Meenan's plan calls for opening a 223-seat restaurant at the site of a former gasoline station that has been vacant for decades, and in an adjoining building that is also vacant. Meenan spent more than $2 million buying three properties at the intersection.
Supporters claim the restaurant will bring life back to a corner of the French Quarter that has been blighted for decades and increase public safety at night. Several neighbors, however, threatened in May to sue if the VCC approves the project.
"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 first presented his proposal to the VCC's Architectural Committee on July 24, 2012.