After Five Years the New Orleans Air Show Comes Back to Belle Chasse

The 2022 New Orleans Air Show came back to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse after five years. The airshow first began at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in the 1950s. The pandemic caused the show to cancel in 2020.

The show entertains every generation. One Belle Chasse resident has not been to the show in 20 years. She said that it brought back memories this year when she went to the show.

“I feel like I'm walking in the same footsteps that my dad did,” Hebert said. “It's magical, really. This is Disneyland in my heart.”

“I can't stop smiling,” she said. “I'm probably the biggest nerd.”

The number one favorite attraction was the Blue Angels. Local Theodore Samon said that he specifically came to see the famous Blue Angels.

“Many people only come to see the Blue Angels,” base spokesperson Andrew Thomas said of the U.S. Navy's famed demonstration team. “They are that good.”

Everyone is ready to get out and start going to different events. In the midst of the pandemic, it was nice to get out and enjoy the show.

“It feels like something normal again,” Melisa Gunzburg said.

Patrons come to the naval base but also can see the show from local house parties and picnics on the levee. Boats sit in the canals to watch the show.

“This is all part of their heritage,” Todd Bruemer, the base's commanding officer said.

“People are amazed, excited, and it's nice to give that to people,” base spokesperson Andrew Thomas said. “You're showcasing to the American taxpayer your military but you also get kids out here that say ‘I want to do that.’ It sparks an interest.”

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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.

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Delays For the New Convention Center's River District Plan

 

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has plans for its upriver acres. The new project includes a neighborhood and entertainment district. The River District's board decided to extend the deadline. The reason for the delay was prompted by a request from the Convention Center's President and General Manager Michael Sawaya. He relayed to the board that they needed until June to finalize the terms of the agreement with local developer Lou Lauricella and his consortium.

"Delays are not well accepted," Sawaya said. "When we are talking about these things it is not just about us getting lease income...We need things built and we need guarantees that we are going to get things built."

The coronavirus has been a big thorn in the side of this project. Originally a 1,200-room hotel by Omni was to be part of the project. This was dropped due to the change on the outlook for hotels caused by the pandemic. Back to the drawing board, Sawaya has commissioned HVS which is a consulting firm to look into what hotel size would work best for the project.

HVS will look at building in phases. This will include a 600, 900, and 1,200 room versions of a hotel. Now they will need to find a finance partner who will replace the previous one, Preston Hollow Capital.

"Right now we don't have something for (a potential new financial investor) to look at," Sawaya said. "But in the first phase at least we've got to get something started." He said that now that the broader upriver district is underway, "our hope is that investors will show up (for the hotel) as well."

Business is improving for the Convention Center as hotel tax revenue has rebounded to close to $3 million. In fact, the past month has been the busiest for sales at the Convention Center since the pandemic. This comes at a great time with the project in the near future and the $557 million facelift the center is currently getting.

Lauricella and Chris Maguire, CEO of Dallas-based Cypress Equities are the master developers for the entertainment-focused neighborhood. This part will be on 39-acres that the Convention owns upriver. The project will include 1,100 housing units which half will be dedicated to lower-income residents. There will also be retail space and entertainment venues.

The 39-acres, valued at around $200 million, will be given to the project. The project will create around 4,500 permanent jobs and will cost over $1 billion. The plans are to begin construction on the first section of the project, a 7-acre tract of lakeside that runs along Tchoupitoulas Street.

"The brief extension on a final agreement will give the team more time to finalize plans for the vast amount of land to be developed for our community," said Lauricella in an emailed comment.

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Plans For A Movie Studio In New Orleans East

 Many actors and musicians are New Orleans-born. One of these actors is Anthony Mackie, best known for his role as the Falcon in the Marvel movies. Mackie, 43, has purchased 20-acres in New Orleans east where he will create a movie studio. The land is located at 10 Service Road at Read Boulevard.

The project is still just in the planning stages but several of those that have been involved in the negotiations confirm this is what the property is intended to be used for. The new production company will be called East Studios LLC. The company will join other New Orleans studios including Starlight Studios, The Ranch Film Studios, Second Line Stages, and Swaybox Studios.

Film and television production is booming in New Orleans. According to Chris Stelly, executive group director of entertainment and digital media at the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, there are around twenty movies and television shows that are currently in production in the state of Louisiana.

The state was one of the first states to obtain a financial incentives program for filmmakers almost twenty years ago. In fact, $291 million was put into the Louisiana film industry by AMC, Disney, OWN, Netflix, and many more big industry companies. The motion picture production tax credit gives film productions a tax credit of as much as 40% on qualifying spending in the state, up to $150 million, including payroll for both local and out-of-state labor.

"We were one of the pioneering states in terms of offering incentives to filmmakers, and we've done a great job in terms of building state-of-the-art stages," he said. "A full-fledged studio where you have everything in-house, that's the ultimate goal."

Currently, Anthony is the executive producer for the upcoming series "Twisted Metal." Mackie who studied at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts said the scope of the planned studio is not yet clear. But if it is an "end to end" operation, which would include the acquisition of intellectual property, development, production and marketing, it would mark a new level for Louisiana's film and television industry.

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