Update on the VA Hospital Footprint

Last evening, the four houses that will be moved within the VA were in various stage of preparation for moving, like the two houses depicted above.

Besides those four houses and the three structures that will stay in some form - Dixie Brewery, the pumphouse, and the Pan-Am Building, there are three homes that will either be demolished or moved in the very near future: Robert Rogers' former residence, Deborah Brown-Cassine's home, and the little purple shotgun that Joan lived in.

Here are some additional items from last evening's VA Neighborhood Meeting (not exhaustive by any means):

- When the site is fully cleared, an 8-foot fence will go up around the site and dirt berms will be built around the perimeter
- The site will be "surcharged" - approximately six feet of dirt will be placed on top of the entire site to "de-water" it
- The projected final move date for the S.W. Green Mansion is March 2, 2011
- Once the Footprint is entirely clear, the state/LSU will transfer parcels gradually in batches to the VA; title to the land will never vest with the City of New Orleans even though the City is a sort of middleman between VA and LSU in the site prep. process
- The boring currently underway on the VA Footprint will include 14 borings around the site to test the soil's load-bearing capacity
- With respect to Dixie Brewery, no expropriation has occurred and neither VA nor the City have access to the building at this time to ascertain whether it is structurally sound.  A team is in place and will assess the building "as soon as [it] can."  The VA's intent, conditioned as it is, is to retain the red brick tower portion of the building in keeping with the April 2010 renderings.
- Cleveland Avenue streetwork underway in the 2500 and 2600 blocks just outside the VA Footprint since November is scheduled tentatively to wrap up in March
- It was unclear whether there's been full compliance with the PA's recordation requirement for the Pan-Am buildling; interior recordation has apparently not been done due to abatement issues, but some exterior recordation has been completed.  Something to follow up on.
- VA officials said that VA had "partially funded" the move of the S.W. Green mansion; I was under the impression that VA had fully funded the move until last night.
- The VA's contractor, Clark/McCarthy, is devising a vibration monitoring plan for the construction phase of the project.  It was unclear whether and when this would become public knowledge or if there's a way to comment - but the State Historic Preservation Office will review the plan at some point.

Residents and property owners in the neighborhood immediately above the VA Footprint were onhand.  They expressed concerns about vibration (and damaging effects on their historic homes), drainage, dust, possible lead contamination, street access to homes, street traffic increases, how construction crews would access the VA site, piledriving, trash, and more.

Panning In on the Pan-Am Building in the VA Footprint

In recent weeks, crews have been taking the "sun shade" panels off the perimeter of the former Pan-Am Insurance building in the VA Footprint.  The Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill building is being incorporated into the VA Hospital complex.

Under the Programmatic Agreement for the site preparation, the developing parties have a number of obligations with respect to treatment of the building:

Has the City posted summary reports of stabilization measures for the Pan-Am building to the dedicated Website?  If my understanding is correct, VA already has control of the actual property - and has had control for many months as actual holder of title (we've heard from City and VA officials since the fall that the Pan-Am building was the only parcel owned by VA thus far), since the early or mid fall of 2010 at least.  Indeed, the sign out in front of the building, put up by Clark/McCarthy, the construction - not demolition - contractor for the VA itself, noted today that there have been no lost time accidents on the site for 130 days:

More importantly, was the required recordation conducted prior to the present renovation work getting underway?  Work on the building was already underway in the fall.  Here's what I wrote, in green, in response to items in VA's November 24, 2010 "Interim Progress Report on the Programmatic Agreement dated 11/21/2008":

• VA will commence documentation of the Pan-American Life Insurance Company Building and
Dixie Brewery when provided access to these structures. (Stipulations V.B.2.(c).iii., and
V.B.4.(b).ii). It is anticipated that documentation of these structures will take three months to
complete.

VA has already had access to and control of the Pan-Am building for several months. It has also commenced a significant amount of work on the property, such as repainting the uppermost portion of the building. Why hasn't the documentation already been completed?

Gray and Brown

Crews removed remaining telephone poles in the VA Footprint today on the corner where Outer Banks Bar once stood.

Down at the spot where Cleveland Avenue once intersected with S. Galvez, the poles were long gone.  And crews worked on the old Pan-Am building off in the distance.  The building, built by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, will be incorporated into the final VA Hospital complex.  It is the only property in the VA Footprint currently owned and controlled by the VA.

Rooftops

In the foreground, the Mediterranean Revival Pump No. 15 building stands ever lonelier at the end of Palmyra Street.  From what I know, it is not slated to be saved when the hospital arrives.

Off in the distance, the top of the former Pan-Am building has been painted - it used to be covered heavily in graffiti.  At the moment, it is the only building owned by VA.  LSU and the State of Louisiana will turn over the properties in the VA Footprint to VA once site preparation is complete.

In the middle, workers began removing the distinctive, oddly-shaped roof on the fine aquamarine home at 222-24 S. Rocheblave.  As you can see in the shot below, the recently-occupied building from about 1905-1910 has a great front porch facade, as well as an interesting rear side entry with metal overhang.  I'm not certain if the rear wing will fit within the 60-foot maximum for moving.

Inside the Footprint Last Evening #5

Children play on a pile of sandy fill along Cleveland Avenue where three houses once stood.  All three homes have been moved off site, along with the house that once occupied the foreground of the shot.  The side of the S.W. Green Mansion at 219 S. Miro appears at right - various parties are still in discussion in an effort to save the house.

Expropriated by LSU for the VA, the former Pan-Am or City Hill Annex building dominates the skyline.  It will be incorporated into the final VA Hospital design.  Crews have begun working on the upper floors and roof as of late:

Inside the high fences...

...that ring the old Pan-Am building (seized via expropriation by LSU), the VA prepares for its symbolic "groundbreaking" - even as dozens of people, if not hundreds (and some veterans), remain living inside the proposed VA hospital footprint and dozens of historic homes remain standing.  What a farce.

I would normally be a supporter of a move like this - bringing veteran care back on line is a worthwhile goal, speaking generally.  But the tortured specifics of forcing a terribly incompatibly designed structure into the residential neighborhood lakeside of S. Galvez - an area smack dab in the middle of a National Register Historic District - has been flawed, unwise, deceptive, and inconsiderate from the start.  It's been a classic abuse of power by the federal government - no matter how much process the various officials can point to, they've never actually thrown a single bone to the legitimate interest of historic preservation, an interest that's far more relevant in a city like New Orleans than it is in many American cities.  There has been no effort to compromise to accommodate legitimate competing interests in a massive project that will impact the community in major ways.

And there's still no word on what the massive existing VA Hospital complex that's currently sitting vacant in the CBD will be used for now or in the future.  Nor are there assurances that the LSU portion of the complex will ever be built given the lack of funds.

With the exception of Mayor Landrieu's recent 45-day halt on LSU street closure to review the design, I really can't name a politician, aside from State Treasurer John Kennedy, who's actually taken a hard look at this project and publicly raised concerns about the many ill-conceived twists and turns in this saga.  All they seem to see are raw federal dollar signs floating before their eyes..."think of the economic development!"  And in doing so, they demonstrate their willingness to sell the city's soul.  It's being sold, it's being demolished.  And nobody seems to give a damn.