JIE XU

RETURN VOYAGE

 

DESIGN and DEVELOPMENT NARRATIVE

 

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans still suffers from population loss caused by the hazard. Designing with the risk of floods and social issues within the area, Return Voyage embraces risks as opportunities, createshealthy communities, emphasizes the identity of the area and generates vitality in the city.

 

Due to the site’s proximity to the French Quarter, Louis Armstrong Park, St. Louis Cemetery, and the old canal site, the proposal incorporates the rich historical and cultural elements of its surroundings. The lynchpin of the proposal centers around the transformation of the current negative public space and vacancy intoa positive area with strong cultural semiotics that combines resilient thinking with ecological, social and economic considerations.

 

Identity – Sense of Belonging

To enhance the connection of both sides of the site separated by the interstate highway, the development plan takesadvantage of the area adjacent to the highway in Block I, creating joiningLaffite Greenway and the historic St. Louis Cemetery. With the help of numerousarts and culture nonprofit organizations,public spaces have the opportunity to play as artists’ canvases on the site. The design language stretches throughout the site and includes artful hardscapes and playful landscapes with varied topographic change.Cultural and historical symbols like the Saints’ Logo, the popular foodokra, and theanchor icon representing the well-known pirate Jean Laffite are respectively woven into paving patterns, the form of a pavilion, and the character of a sculpture.Tropical vegetation, such as palm trees and banyan trees,provides shade and lets you know just where you are. Day markets associated with a new food market will create more energy for the spaces with vibrant color showing a taste of New Orleans’ Caribbean spirit.

 

Resilience – Design with Risk

Return Voyageresponds to ecological and social issuespost-Katrina with a resilient solution for the area.

The creation of a semi-open canal not only slows down and stores storm-water, but also provides an engaging public space by symbolically unearthing the canal that ran through the site over 100 years ago. Other moves, like green roofs, bio-swales, rain gardens, pervious paving, exfiltration basins and subsurface storage, are used as a mitigation strategy for flooding. The mitigation move is integrated into the design. For instance, the amphitheater can also act as a storage basin in the storm. The design solution for water, together with an emphasis on cultural semiotics can benefit the quality of life for the community and increase citizen wellbeing and confidence. The combination of different housing typesis open to a mixed community.The resilient initiatives of the urban design will also encourage a dynamic economicwith higher insurability to create more job opportunities for local residents.

 

The overall built pattern is based on the analysis of the existing surroundings – open to public space pared with local density, buffering the impact from grey infrastructure and grasping institutional and commercial opportunities. The buildings are not just elevated mitigating flood damage, but are also decorated withNew Orleans-style balconies and details in modern architectural language. They alsoholdand create multi-scalar and multifunctional space to mixed groups of people – from startups to cultural performers.

 

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”(Hebrews 11:1) The creation of new Live/Work/Play environments and an inherited sense of belonging will help the area with healthy reconstruction and development, making the area more attractive both to returning New Orleans residentsand to new residents, tourists, investors and opportunities.

 

FINANCING NARRATIVE

The City of New Orleans lost much of its population after the hurricane, yet the city is currently striving to bring people back and revitalize the previously flooded community. Toward that end, our team proposes to develop an active mixed-use neighborhood surrounding the Lafitte Greenway and build on the identity of New Orleans as a tourist city.

The plan begins with the buyout of all involved parcels of land before an increase of price. Phase I focuses on the remediation of the Lafitte Greenway and the creation of amenities/landmark views in this area, aiming at attracting both tourists and local residents. At the same time, various facilities including hotels, parking spaces, food markets, retail centers, restaurants, and cinemas will be developed on the two sides of the Greenway. The increased activities in this area will not only generate steady revenue streams for further development of the site, but will also create many job opportunities. Phase I lies at the core of the goal to revitalize the community.

Phase II focuses on the development of residential units as a part of the long-term endeavor to bring people back. Given that the Faubourg Lafitte Housing project next to the site has provided a large number of affordable units, a more balanced mixture of residential units will be offered on the site, with a concentration on workforce units. In addition to the employees in the commercial areas, these residential units can also house the employees and students of the two hospital campuses (under construction) to the south of the site. An office building will be developed to embrace the business opportunities resulting from the hospital campuses. The population density and activity level of the community is expected to increase substantially after Phase II. The sales revenue from residential units improves the net cash flow and reduces the financial risks of the project.

The development in Phase III further increases the capacity of the community. In particular, more office spaces will be provided next to the hospital campuses and more residential units will be provided at various locations throughout the site. The goal of this phase is to provide support for the on-going growth of the community in the future.

Overall, the financial strategy of the proposed development plan is quite flexible. The land acquisition cost of this area is not high due to the low density of this area. The proposed development can benefit from a number of subsidies, such as the Small Rental Property Program, Community Development Block Grant, and the FEMA’s Public Assistance Program. With 65% of development cost funded by loans, the proposed development would yield an IRR of 29.5%.