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30 APRIL 2007 PRESERVATION IN PRINT continued from page 29 cial space on four blocks at the intersection of Burgundy and Bartholomew streets has been more controversial and harder for some neighbors to accept, despite extensive redesign in response to concerns of the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) of the Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC) and some Bywater residents. The Bywater Neighborhood Association’s response to the development plans has been more tempered than that of individual neighbors, whose strong opinions have ranged from support for the juxtaposition of the initial Icinola modern industrial design with Bywater’s 19th century shotgun houses, to requests for designs related more to traditional New Orleans’ features such as balconies, galleries, and shutters, to outright resistance. The developers have held four charrettes to update neighbors and seek input. Their presentations to Bywater residents are part of the process that could make or break the project. If the residents don’t want it, their influence could lead council members to vote against the project. ARC has given its support to the revisions, and Icinola will be on the commission’s April agenda. Many neighbors are satisfied by the architect’s adjustments, but others still are not convinced that the project suits Bywater. Icinola plans call for some 230,000 square feet of building space. In addition to 106 residential units, the plans reserve the ground floor in each of the four buildings for commercial purposes. About 45,000 square feet of space is intended for neighborhood-oriented businesses encased in glass such as an 8,500 square foot grocery store, a coffee house, restaurants, dry cleaning drop off, fitness center, small professional offices, a newsstand, music store, art gallery and a small hardware store. Two community spaces would be available for small meetings and presentations. The nearly three-acre area of the planned Icinola project is surrounded by residences. The development would incorporate some existing structures on the site, including the Frey Meatpacking plant, and remove a transformer and electrical supply structure, the Social Security Administration building and a small concrete shed. Two historic shotgun houses would be relocated elsewhere in Bywater. The developers are seeking a Mixed Use Planned Community overlay to the current Light Industrial zoning designation. That change would remove the possibility of light industrial uses for the properties and enable the developers to add housing. In a meeting March 6 with ARC, architect Wayne Troyer presented Bywater Art Lofts would create 37 apartments within former garment factory. changes to the previous design meant to address neighborhood concerns about density, height, and style, while still meeting objectives for energy and planning. ARC and Bywater residents had deemed the original designs too modern, too tall, too cold, too massive and too aggressive, with design elements in contrast to the neighborhood. Concerned comments expressed a need to see more familiar forms such as galleries, balconies, shutters, and landscaping. Troyer acknowledged that the first designs were “unabashedly modern.” The new designs attempt to blend in more harmoniously with the neighborhood. In the changes, the architect has sought to make the designs more compatible by aiming for a sympathetic relationship to existing residential buildings while incorporating 21st century elements and contemporary building techniques. Some of the changes were to step back heights from the street and from adjacent homes. The four buildings appear to be a series of many buildings. Developers Shea Embry and Cam Mangham say that Icinola would supply much-needed services and environmentally responsible housing. Residences in the Frey building are slated for the 55- and-older age group. The plan calls for 201 parking spaces on two floors in an area not visible from the street. Residents would park on the second floor, and the first floor would contain commercial parking. When the commercial operations are closed at night, residents could use the additional parking spaces. Having commercial activity on the ground floor is expected to help lower the crime rate by adding more vibrant street activity, Troyer said. Architect and Tulane professor John Klingman was the most outspoken ARC member at the March 6 meeting. He said he was most impressed by the way the buildings mediate in scale between the larger sections and smaller buildings in the 19th century context. Klingman noted that this presentation was the fourth one presented on Icinola as the architect has adjusted the plans. “Obviously the architect’s ears are open,” he said. “You are using New Orleans elements in ways that are appropriate. I’m very comfortable with it.” Another ARC member deemed the new designs “refreshing.” His concerns previously had been how the height and density affected historic preservation by casting shadows across the yards of nearby 19th century buildings. Regardless of the architecture, some National Rice Mill near the Mississippi River would reuse an abandoned industrial building to create 60 residential units. residents believe that the development’s commercial operations and density belong on St. Claude Avenue, not in the center of an historic area of single and double one- and two-story dwellings. The development plan for Bywater, Marigny, St. Roch and Treme is to focus commerce on St. Claude Avenue. Some people fear that commercial enterprises inserted into the middle of a Bywater residential zone would compete with businesses on St. Claude. Moreover, some residents worry that Bywater’s brick streets could not withstand the increased volume of service truck traffic for the planned commercial operations. Nevertheless, neighbors are very interested in the prospect of a grocery store being offered in conjunction with the Icinola project, because they say there are no markets within a sevenmile drive. Neighbors asked if the developers had secured a grocery store commitment. Embry said they are working to get commitment for a small, moderately priced grocer. “We need development and growth,” acknowledged Blake Vonder Haar, Bywater resident and president of the New Orleans Conservation Guild Inc., “but this is the wrong project in the wrong space. Density is a major concern that will change the tenor of the entire neighborhood.” She also believes that the plans call for “obscenely high building heights.” “The project is akin to putting a Wal-Mart into Jackson Square,” Vonder Haar added. In comments addressed to HDLC, Bywater resident Meredith Spivey urged the commission to “treat Bywater just as you would treat the historic French Quarter, Warehouse District, and Faubourg Marigny…. Your decision on this project may set a very dangerous precedent for historic preservation in New Orleans.” Completion of the first building is scheduled for February 2009, and the entire development would be completed by fall 2009, according to the developers. www.prcno.org
PRESERVATION IN PRINT APRIL 2007 31 A P R I L in the CBD Arts District Specializing in Louisiana Paintings, Newcomb College Pottery & Crafts, George E. Ohr Pottery Sunlight and Shadows Landscape Paintings by Steve Frederick April 7 - 30 ART WALK: April 7 6 - 8pm Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm 600 Julia Street 504-895-7375 • www.jeanbragg.com Diego Larquia “New Orleans Landscapes” April 7 - May 3 Opening Reception Sat. April 7 6 - 9 pm 709 CAMP ST. 524-3936 Through April 8, 2007: The Eclectic Eye: Selections of Fantasy and Illusion from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation Gallery Hours: Thu-Sun 11am-4pm (504) 528-3805 O art music shop www.ogdenmuseum.org 626 JULIA ST., NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130 The best way to support local artists is to buy their work. (504) 592-0206 • (504) 524-8137 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 12:30-4:30 www.georgeschmidt.com “Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend.” John Singer Sargent www.prcno.org
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