This Years New Orleans Parade of Homes Will Be Both Live and Virtual

Each year the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans (HBAGNO) hosts the Parade of Homes. This is said to be the biggest official showcase of homes and their latest designs and floor plans in the Greater New Orleans area. Patrons who attend the 2021 Parade of Homes can tour homes in person or via 3D virtual tours.

The Parade of Home is a great way to be introduced to the latest in home design and innovations in building construction and industry trends. Learn and get expert advice from locally trusted builders, designers, lenders and real estate professionals. This year these will include adaptable and multi-purpose layouts, cozy vacation living, combined open-air living spaces, lighting and plumbing finishes, and the newest trends for 2021.

The Parade of Homes will include homes in Lakeview, Bucktown, Colonial Club, Metairie, English Turn, Louisiana Trace, Parks of Plaquemines, Gabriel Estates, Shrewsbury, Algiers Point, and Sugar Ridge in Thibodaux. This year there will be a total of 19 homes that can be toured in person or seen virtually via Matterport’s innovative 3D virtual tour technology. This is the latest app for the Parade of Homes. The app includes all the parade of homes and you can do a 360 tour of each room of each home.

“This year’s in-home and 3D virtual Parade offers a variety of homes in neighborhoods that reflect the diverse tastes and budgets of all potential homebuyers in our community,” said Mary Kelly of Ferguson Enterprises and Chair of the 2021 Parade of Homes. “After a year of missing the company of loved ones, working remotely and homeschooling children, home builders are creating plans with additional space for home offices, playrooms, and entertaining. We are excited and proud to once again showcase the work of our area’s most innovative builders, subcontractors, and vendors who provide inspiration while building strong relationships in the communities in which they serve.”

Visitors will be safe as the Parade of Homes will follow the CDC and governmental guidelines. HBAGNO will provide hand sanitizer and will sanitize frequently touched areas throughout the day. Proceeds will help support St. Jude Dream Home this year.

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LaDOTD Includes a Plaquemines Parish Project on Its Statewide Projects List

The Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development is spending close to $82 million dollars on 16 projects in infrastructure around the state of Louisiana. These state-wide projects include work that will be done in Plaquemines Parish. The sixteen projects will be prioritized by road/bridge condition, the urgency of improvements, type/volume of traffic, crash records, unforeseeable emergencies that caused damage, and several other factors.

The project that will be done in Plaquemines will receive around $1.2 million that will go to build a left-turn lane on Woodland Highway (LA 406) at Green Trails Drive which is the entryway to Parks of Plaquemines. The project will be listed as a “Congestion Mitigation and Safety” project.

The project stems from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Programs Directory under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program. This program funds States for projects they will complete to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality.

“This is a really good project. {LaDOTD} is helping with our infrastructure along the Woodland Highway corridor to alleviate some of the traffic issues we’ve been having,” district 2 council member Beau Black said.

The project will include building a roundabout at the intersection of E Edward Herbert and Woodland Highway. There will also be an addition of a right turn that goes northbound at the intersection of LA 23 and Woodland Highway. Black feels that this project will be a great addition to the community. There have been major traffic jams and accidents in the area and he hopes this will alleviate some of these troubles.

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Colonial Country Club In Harahan Might Turn Into A Residential Development

A revised agreement will go in front of the Harahan city officials and City Council to redevelop Colonial Country Club into a residential development. In last month’s meeting which lasted six and a half hours the revised agreement was drafted from the many amendments.

The golf course has been abandoned since it closed in 2012. The 88-acre site that sits between Jefferson Highway and the river in Harahan, is a nice green space according to many local residents. The redevelopment is not what many neighbors want.

The plan the current developers, Danny McKearan and Wayne Ducote have in mind is to build houses along with a 40-acre internal parcel along Colonial Club Drive, close to the river and on 15-acres along Jefferson Highway. Neighbors are concerned about the construction traffic and drainage problems caused by the construction. Another issue is what will happen to the mature oak trees.

To meet those concerns, a plan was devised to build a street exiting on Jefferson Highway, rather than traffic being routed along Colonial Club Drive.  Construction traffic will also be routed down the new road. A retention pond will be added so there will be no drainage concerns. The lots will be laid out to preserve as many of the mature oak trees as possible.

“That property is a whole lot more interesting to what I envision with every tree,” McKearan said.

“I think we’ve got a better agreement than before the meeting started,” Councilman Tommy Budde said. “More than likely this project is going to move forward.

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The African Pompano Reflected in Search for the Ghosts of the Gulf

A Studio in the Woods has been awarded one of the grants given by the National Endowment for the Arts to bring together art and culture in activities that will enlighten and strengthen communities economically, physically and socially. The program which is part of Tulane University’s ByWater Institute is using the Our Town funding to support, Search for the Ghosts of the Gulf.

The $75,000 grant will back the project that is headed by A Studio in the Woods, resident artist biologist and environmental activist Brandon Ballengée. A Studio in the Woods is one of the top artistic and academic residency programs in the Gulf South. The studio is located close to Plaquemines Parish along the West Bank of the Mississippi.

With the help of Plaquemines Parish, Brandon Ballengée, will use his community-based residency to study and highlight the at-risk coastal communities in Plaquemines Parish. He will have assistance from local community members, youth and fishermen who will explore missing and endangered fish species in the Gulf of Mexico.

“It is always exciting when Plaquemines Parish can partner with outside organizations to bring grant money into our parish,” said Plaquemines Parish President Kirk M. Lepine. “This project in particular will help us to expand our coastal resilience, which as we know is one of the most
important and pressing issues we face.”

The African Pompano is just one of the many species that will be researched and included in the artwork. The species became endangered when the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened. Ballengée made the image and others by chemically clearing and staining species
collected in the Gulf of Mexico after the disaster.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Brandon Ballengée and the Plaquemines Parish government to bring dynamic, accessible and fun programming about environmental change to our neighbors in
Plaquemines Parish,” said Ama Rogan, managing director of A Studio in the Woods. “We hope this project sparks new understandings, conversations and bonds in our communities.”

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A $75,000 Our Town Grant Goes to A Studio in the Woods

A program of Tulane University’s ByWater Institute called A Studio in the Woods, is receiving a $75,000 Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant will be used towards Searching for the Ghosts of the Gulf, a collaborative project with artist and biologist Brandon Ballengée and the Plaquemines Parish Government.

A Studio in the Woods is a retreat for artists, scholars, and the public. It is a place in Lousiana’s protected forest along the Mississippi River where patrons can go to relax and focus on their creativity. The organization has built a network of artists interested in works based on southern Louisiana’s environment.

Searching for the Ghosts of the Gulf is a project that artist and biologist Brandon Ballengée and the Plaquemines Parish Government are coming together to create. Brandon Ballengée will be a community-based residency at A Studio in the Woods where he will study and explore endangered fish species from the Gulf of Mexico.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Brandon Ballengée and the Plaquemines Parish Government to bring dynamic, accessible, and fun programming about environmental change to our neighbors in Plaquemines Parish,” A Studio in the Woods Managing Director Ama Rogan remarked, “We hope this project sparks new understandings, conversations, and bonds in our communities.”

Ballengée states, “Together we will build resilience for coastal populations using citizen driven art/science research while taking collaborative actions towards a collective future survival.”

Our Town funding is the National Endowment for the Arts grant that will help fund projects such as this at A Studio in the Woods. There are 63 grants like this nationwide which supports projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes; ultimately laying the groundwork for sustainable systems change.

“It is always exciting when Plaquemines Parish can partner with outside organizations to bring grant money into our parish. This project in particular will help us to expand our coastal resilience, which as we know is one of the most important and pressing issues we face,” said Plaquemines Parish President Kirk M. Lepine.

Click Here For the Source of the Information.