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Filmore Neighborhood Planning District 6 Rebuilding Plan Filmore Neighborhood, Planning District Six Filmore Neighborhood Planning District 6 Rebuilding Plan Filmore Neighborhood, Planning District Six Introduction Table of Contents Approximately 100 days after Hurricane Katrina Basic assumptions also formed the basis for the Acknowledgements Introduction 2 struck, Motion M-05-592 was unanimously neighborhood rebuilding plan: passed by the City Council of New Orleans. This 1. That a flood protection system will be With grateful appreciation the planning team A. Filmore Neighborhood motion ensured that community-based, designed to withstand future catastropic would like to thank all the residents of Location & History 3 neighborhood-by-neighborhood planning would loss from a 1 in 100 year storm and that District 6 who participated in this planning Recovery Vision & Goals 5 be central to decisions associated with the this is a commitment by the federal process and without whose participation this Planning Process 6 recovery of the most devastated areas of New government. plan would not be possible. Neighborhood Concerns 7 Orleans. The City Council was adamant that the Planning Pre-Katrina 7 people most impacted by the storm would play a 2. That stringent building codes will be Project Directory central role in defining the future of their implemented to further limit wind B. Pre-Hurricane Katrina communities. Overall, 47 of the 73 damage. City of New Orleans Neighborhood Existing Conditions 9 neighborhoods delineated by the City’s Planning C. Ray Nagin, Mayor Land Use and Zoning 9 Commission have had plans prepared as part of 3. That the basic urban structure of the city Pre-Katrina Demographic Profile 10 this process. is sound and that rebuliding will respect New Orleans City Council: Income & Household Characteristics 11 this structure; and Oliver M. Thomas, President Parks, Open Space and The City Council charged a team of consultants Landscape Architecture 13 Arnie Fielkow, Vice-President overseen by Lambert Advisory & SHEDO with 4. That there is an organized, coherent and Roadway Hierachy and Jurisdiction 13 Shelley Midura, District A assisting neighborhoods flooded by Hurricane operable hurricane evaluation program. Stacy S. Head, District B Housing, Architecture 13 Katrina in developing revitalization plans that are Historic Preservation 13 James Carter, District C thoughtful and can be implemented, for This section presents the Dillard neighborhood, Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, District D incorporation into a citywide recovery and one of seven within Planning District 6. This C. Hurricane Katrina Cynthia Willard-Lewis, District E improvement plan to be submitted to the State district-wide section of this report presents data, Neighborhood Impacts 15 of Louisiana and federal funding agencies. This information and projects that impact the entire Residential Damage Assessment 15 Project Management: document is one of forty-two (42) neighborhood district. This section discusses those projects as Commercial Damage Assessment 15 Lambert Advisory, LLC plans that meet that mandate well as neighborhood projects specific to this Infrastructure Damage Assessment 16 Paul Lambert neighborhood. Parks & Open Space 16 SHEDO, LLC 2 Community Facilities 16 Shelia Danzey D. Neighborhood Rebuilding Scenarios 17 City planning Commission: Overall Planning Consultant: Neighborhood Re-population 18 Planning District Designations Bermello-Ajamil & Partners, Inc. E. Neighborhood Recovery Plan 19 Alfredo C. Sanchez, AIA, AICP Strategic Initiatives 19 Hewitt-Washington, Inc. Plan Elements Lonnie Hewitt, AIA Key Recovery Projects 21 Land Use and Zoning 25 Neighborhood Planner: Transportation and Public Transit 25 Parks, Open Space and Hewitt Architects Landscape Architecture 25 Lonnie Hewitt, AIA Housing, Architecture 25 Historic Preservation 25 Public Failities 26 F. Implementation and Funding Strategies 27 Images from left to right: A: Entrance Feature - Mirabeau Gardens B: Neighborhood Home C: Lake Area Middle School City of New Orleans Neighborhoods Rebuilding Plan A. Filmore Neighborhood General Location and History Mirabeau Gardens subdivision is bounded The New Orleans City Planning Commission by Mirabeau Avenue to the north, Virgil defined boundaries of the Filmore Boulevard to the south, the London Avenue neighborhood is Robert E. Lee Boulevard canal to the east, and Paris Avenue to the to the north, Harrison Avenue to the south, west. Mirabeau Gardens subdivision is London Avenue canal to the east, and primarily single-family residential and Bayou St. John to the west. It is one of the includes Francis Gregory Junior High largest neighborhoods found in Planning School and a large open/green space District 6. Five neighborhood groups (approximately 10 acres) located adjacent comprise the Filmore neighborhood: to the school and owned by the city of New Orleans. 3 1. Bancroft Park, 2. Mirabeau Gardens, The Oak Park subdivision is the largest of 3. Oak Park, the five subdivisions comprising the 4. Paris Oaks, and Filmore neighborhood and is bounded by 5. Vista Park Robert E. Lee Boulevard to the north, Filmore Avenue to the south, Paris Avenue Bancroft Park subdivision forms the to the east, and St. Bernard Avenue to the western section of the Filmore west. The subdivision is 75% single family neighborhood running parallel with Bayou residential and includes Lake Oaks/Henry St. John which is its western edge. St. Schaumburg Elementary public school and Bernard Avenue forms the eastern Redeemer-Seton High School and St. boundary of Bancroft Park subdivision with Francis Cabrini Church which is owned and Harrison Avenue forming its southern operated by the Catholic Archdiocese. This boundary and Robert E. Lee Boulevard site will be become the home for the forming its northern boundary. relocated Holy Cross High School. Oak Park is also located in this subdivision. This neighborhood is all single-family residential but includes the Hellenic Paris Oaks subdivision is bounded by Cultural Center and church and a former Mirabeau Avenue to the north, Harrison senior assisted care living facility. Homes Avenue to the south, Paris Avenue to the immediately adjacent to Bayou St. John east, and St. Bernard Avenue to the west. Images from left to right: located on the western side of Bancroft The subdivision is primarily single-family Drive are on relatively higher ground and residential but also contains duplex homes A: Vista Park Neighborhood Sign did not flood. Homes on the eastern side of as well as a small amount of multi-family B: Typical Home Bancroft Drive did flood. apartment complexes. This neighborhood Filmore Neighborhood, Planning District Six Images from left to right: A: Bancroft Park and Vista Park Homes is also home to a significant sized with mainly single-family homes. Most of Planning District 6 Neighborhoods & Neighborhood Associations commercial center located at Paris Avenue the Filmore neighborhood area was owned and Mirabeau Avenue. Additionally, the by Alexander Milne, a Scotsman and a area includes the Sisters of St. Joseph philanthropist. Mr. Milne believed New facility which is approximately 30 acres in Orleans would eventually develop toward size. To date, no decision has been made Lake Pontchartrain despite the swamps. to re-open this facility. During his lifetime he accumulated a fortune in swampy real estate. It is from Vista Park subdivision is the smallest of the Mr. Milne’s landholdings that Filmore, five subdivisions that comprise the Filmore Dillard, and St. Anthony neighborhoods neighborhood. It is bounded by Robert E. were laid out in the 20th century. 4 Lee Boulevard to the north, Filmore Avenue to the south, the London Avenue This swampland between Bayou St. John canal to the east, and Paris Avenue to the and Elysian Fields north of Gentilly was west. The area slower than other areas to develop. The includes Jean Gordon Elementary school London Avenue canal was built before the and Pratt Park. A small commercial area turn of the century as part of the drainage fronts Leon C. Simon Boulevard adjacent system. However, the canal could not drain to Jean Gordon Elementary public school this section of land because it was on the and also includes a large apartment “lake side” of the pumping station. complex at the intersection of Paris Avenue and Leon C. Land located between Gentilly Boulevard Simon Boulevard. and Mirabeau Avenue could not be developed until after the Paris Avenue History Canal was dug in the 1930s, providing the necessary drainage. Lift pumps were The Filmore neighborhood gets its name constructed in 1945 to lift the water into from Filmore Avenue, which is a major the London Avenue canal from the areas east/west collector street. The original adjacent to it so that the land in Filmore spelling was “Fillmore” but residents and could be pumped out and made available street signs spell the name “Filmore”. for development. The Filmore neighborhood has a history George Pratt was one of the major shaped by many investors and developers investors in the area in the early 1900s. in the second half of the 20th century. Mr. Pratt incorporated his landholdings into Today, the neighborhood remains a Pontchartrain Realty Company in 1923. In conveniently located, family neighborhood 1939, he laid out the Mirabeau Gardens City of New Orleans Neighborhoods Rebuilding Plan subdivision. In 1946, Pontchartrain Realty Neighborhood Recovery Goals of the Holy Cross High School to the • Improve pedestrian connectivity sold a sizable portion of land to the west of Holy Redeemer and St. Francis within the neighborhood Mirabeau
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