Formal approval to move forward with the development of the River District Neighborhood, 45 acres of land that includes to the abandoned Market Street power plant, has been given.
The land is publically owned, but controlled by the Convention Center and has been part of their growth and development plans for nearly 20-years.
The River District Neighborhood Investors, the development group spearheading the project, got the votes they needed from Convention Center to move forward on Wednesday, according to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.
The RDNI won approval by increasing the number of affordable housing units and by providing more details on a plan civil rights museum.
"It is an exciting day for many reasons and a major milestone for this project," said Michael Sawaya, the Convention Center's president and general manager told the paper.
Slated for the property is an entertainment focused area designed as a destination for tourists coming to New Orleans on par with the French Quarter.
RNDI will be building 350,000 square feet of office space, 115,000 square feet of retail space. Other features include entertainment and cultural venues to be developed over a ten year period.
No less than the creation of a whole new district of New Orleans is planned to take shape in this area.
"This is what the city needs and exactly the project we ought to be doing right now," said Louis Lauricella, head of the RDNI consortium.
