Plans For A New Subdivision in New Orleans East
James Smith of Imperium Estates LLC is a developer which has plans to build a subdivision on 36-acres close to the former Six Flags. The plans include over 116 homes that will be built in several different phases close to the intersection of Interstate 510 and Chef Menteur Highway, just south of the Eastover neighborhood.
“The homes are beautiful,” said Dawn Hebert, chairperson of the East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission, a group that represents several homeowner and neighborhood associations in the east.
The neighborhood has a few obstacles, including the property’s current zoning. The city’s master plan has the property zoned for an industrial park. Luckily District E Council member Oliver Thomas is backing the idea of changing the zoning to residential. He feels the master plan does not match the needs of New Orleans East development or the wishes of surrounding residents and landowners.
“I just thought it was appropriate in terms of what they wanted to do to fit to where that community was going,” Thomas said. “I haven’t seen or heard of anyone submitting plans for light industrial development out there.”
Herbert explains that the industrial designation for the area was originally placed in 1970. In five decades there has been zero interest or demand for an industrial park.
“I think it’s outdated zoning because, since Katrina, more homes have been built over there,” said Hebert.
“You don’t have a long line of people trying to invest out there,” a neighboring property owner, Robert Charbonnet.
