Developer plans 19-story apartment and retail building at site of old Woolworth's store
In a 5-2 vote, the New Orleans City Council gave its blessing Thursday to a proposed high-rise building on Canal Street, approving needed zoning waivers but also imposing some conditions on developer Praveen Kailas. Councilmembers Stacy Head and Cynthia Hedge-Morrell voted against the plan.
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Architect's rendering shows design of proposed high-rise for the old Woolworth site at Canal and Rampart streets in New Orleans. The HDLC is expected to vote on the design.Kailas wanted permission to build a 19-story, $70 million building at Canal and North Rampart streets on the site of a long-vacant former Woolworth's store. As he proposed it, the new structure was to contain 307 apartments, 486 parking spaces and 38,000 square feet of retail space, perhaps including a restaurant.
As proposed, most of the building would be 193 feet high, with a penthouse reaching to 205 feet, or three times the 70-foot limit allowed by the site's current zoning. The ordinance approved by the council will limit the building's tallest portion to 190 feet.
On the recommendation of Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, whose district includes the site, the council voted 5-2 to limit the height of the portion of the building on Canal Street to 147 feet, and to limit the height of the portion on Iberville Street to 70 feet. Palmer's amendment said that the height limit along Iberville Street must extend back for at least 30 feet, while the height limit along Canal Street must extend back for at least 25 feet.
Her ordinance also will require the developers to get approval for final design plans and exterior building materials from the staff of the Historic District Landmarks Commission.
Head and Hedge-Morrell, who are expected to square off next spring in a special election to fill the at-large seat Councilman Arnie Fielkow is leaving, were the only two members in opposition to Palmer's compromise.
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View full sizeHead proffered an amendment that would have limited the building to a maximum height of 154 feet, but her amendment failed to attract a second.
Hedge-Morrell said she was voting against Palmer's compromise plan because she wanted to support French Quarter property owners. "The integrity of the French Quarter will always come first," she said.
Both supporters and opponents spent recent weeks trying to lobby council members and mobilize public support for their position.
Proponents touted the project's purported $200 million economic impact and the fact that more than 1,000 citizens and the owners of nearly every business along Canal Street have expressed their support.
Opponents, primarily leaders of preservation and French Quarter residential organizations, criticized the building's size, saying it would contribute to creating a wall of high-rises along one edge of the city's most historic neighborhood. The site, however, is not in the Quarter itself as defined by city laws.
Critics also objected to the building's design, calling it undistinguished and out of harmony with its neighbors, such as the Saenger Theatre.
Backers, including some French Quarter residents and business groups, said the building would revitalize an economically distressed and uninviting section of Canal Street, attracting hundreds of new residents to the Central Business District and providing badly needed parking for nearby theaters. About 200 spaces would be available for shoppers and theater patrons.
Opponents also suggested that Kailas was trying to get away with violating zoning rules that others must follow and that the project would violate the city's master plan. They said the mere idea of granting large waivers violates the basic spirit of the master plan, which was intended to set up uniform rules everyone must follow and to end the age-old custom of developers cutting special deals with council members.
Proponents noted that the City Planning Commission staff concluded that the proposal was not in direct conflict with the master plan, which did not include specific height limits. Although the plan suggests that "highest density" development should take place along Poydras Street and Loyola Avenue, not on Canal Street, the planning staff said the project "would meet the goal and range of uses" of the "downtown mixed use" designation the plan lists for the site.
Although the site's current zoning sets a 70-foot height limit, a draft of the city's proposed new comprehensive zoning ordinance would raise that to 120 feet. The planning staff recommended approving a 120-foot building, but the commission voted 5-3 last month to approve the 190-foot height Kailas sought.
Even the preservationist and French Quarter leaders said they would accept a 120-foot building, but Kailas said that limit would make the project "100 percent non-financeable." He said he has financing in place for the 205-foot building, though he would accept limiting it to 190 feet.
Palmer said last week she was looking closely at two issues. One is how large the building must be to make the project economically viable. She said she was trying to verify for herself how many apartments and parking spaces the project needs to make financial sense.
The other issue, she said, is what sort of retail tenant the building might attract. Kailas has said he would like to bring in an upscale retailer such as Nordstrom or Bloomingdale's, but some experts have said there is little chance of attracting such a tenant unless the building owners offer such favorable terms that they would lose money on the deal.
Palmer said she was trying to understand whether an upscale tenant could be attracted to the site and whether the planned retail space was large enough for such a store.
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Bruce Eggler can be reached at beggler@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3320.