To opponents, it's an unsightly, out-of-scale behemoth that would wreak havoc on Bywater's traffic, parking and drainage and threaten the neighborhood's somewhat raffish, unconventional character. To supporters, it's an environmentally sensitive, neighborhood-friendly engine for economic development that could be the catalyst for a dying district's rebirth. For weeks, arguments over the merits of a proposed 240,000-square-foot, 105-unit condominium development in the heart of Bywater have divided residents, even leading to the creation of an upstart rival to the neighborhood's longtime resident organization. On Tuesday, the City Planning Commission threw its support behind the proposed complex, known as ICInola. Despite hearing impassioned arguments against every aspect of the proposal from more than a dozen Bywater residents, the commission voted 6-0 to endorse plans for the complex and send them to the City Council. The site is in Councilman James Carter's district, and the council is likely to follow his recommendation in deciding whether to give the project a green light. A Web site created by the project's developers promises that ICInola "will signal a return to the time-honored tradition of a walkable, sustainable community that includes shops and services while embracing modern design and environmentally friendly building practices." The opponents' Web site lists a dozen reasons residents should resist the project, including that the proposed buildings are too big for a neighborhood of predominantly single-story houses, "will lead to . . . loss of street/neighborhood character" and "are extremely modern in appearance and do not adequately blend in with the surrounding neighborhood." Developers Shea Embry and Carolyn "Cam" Mangham propose redeveloping four separate sites, one at each corner of the intersection of Bartholomew and Burgundy streets, including the former LA. Frey meat packing plant and a former Social Security Administration office building. The site totals 2.76 acres, and the completed complex would comprise 105 condos costing $250,000 and more, 210 off-street parking spaces and 34,662 square feet of commercial and community-center space. The buildings would be contemporary in appearance and would be designed to minimize energy usage through devices such as solar panels and rooftop gardens. Bywater is a local historic district, and the Historic District Landmarks Commission has approved the building designs. The former Frey plant would be incorporated into a new five-story building with 53 condos and a two-level, 54-space garage. The old Social Security building would be demolished and replaced by a four-story building with 14 condos and a 16-space parking lot. On the third corner, a former office and garage for the Frey plant would be demolished to make room for a four-story building with 19 condos and a two-level, 63-space garage. On the final corner, two single-family shotgun houses would be relocated to nearby lots and a four-story building with 19 condos and a two-level, 69-space garage would be built. All four buildings also would have space for offices, restaurants and other retail uses, such as a grocery, a coffeehouse, a gallery and a health club, though no commercial tenants have committed to the project. Critic cites Wal-Mart One of the project's harshest critics, Beth Butler, told the City Planning Commission that ICInola would be "outrageously disproportionate" in scale, would dwarf nearby homes and would be equivalent in square feet to a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Embry said the Wal-Mart comparison is invalid because the project would be divided among four buildings with streets between them. She said she and Mangham chose to reduce the number of proposed condos in response to neighborhood pressure. Embry and other proponents said Bywater has only about half as many residents now as in the 1960s and needs a project such as ICInola to spur its redevelopment. French Quarter hotelier Michael Valentino called the developers' plans "bold, visionary and appropriate," and residents including Carolyn Leftwich, Shelton Pollet and Bill Sweeney expressed strong support. New group forms The Bywater Neighborhood Association, founded in 1975, has endorsed ICInola, though it has called for a reduction in density, but a rival group, the Bywater Civic Association, founded in October, has been leading the fight against the project. Andrea Garland said the new group has about 100 members, compared with 185 for the older one. Garland and other opponents including Denise Heston-Taylor, Meredith Spivey, Rose Mary Eagan and David Leonard raised a long list of objections: the buildings' size and appearance, the number of residential units, increased traffic, lack of parking, and fears of noise and damage to nearby buildings during construction. Leonard said the project would "drastically change the face" and the voting demographics of a "Bohemian paradise" by bringing in scores of well-to-do outsiders who would not appreciate Bywater's charm or history. But the Planning Commission's staff recommended approving the ICInola plans, saying it "recognizes the impact this change would have on the surrounding neighborhood but believes that . . . the benefits of the proposed development will outweigh the potential negative effects." The staff recommended requiring just 210 parking spaces, 67 fewer than the zoning law would normally require. Commissioner Lou Volz, who made the motion to approve the plans, said he had some concerns about the project but added that "change is inevitable" and that overall the project should have a positive economic impact. Voting with him were Kelly Brown, Lois Carlos-Lawrence, Lester Johnson, Ed Robinson and Poco Sloss. |
