After months of uncertainty along the riverfront, the River District project is officially off life support. The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and River District Neighborhood Investors have hammered out a revised agreement that keeps the long-touted development alive while handing more control and more of the early costs to the public authority. The reset pushes the first phase toward housing and basic infrastructure, including a 220-unit apartment building that is expected to feature a large share of affordable and workforce units. Officials on both sides say the core goals of the project remain intact while RDNI gets breathing room to secure financing for future vertical construction.
As reported by The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, the Convention Center board signed off on terms that give the authority control of additional parcels and add a buyback provision the center can exercise after five years if RDNI fails to develop a tract. The center also agreed to loan RDNI $6.5 million to help finance construction of the Rivana apartments and to pay roughly $4 million for road and sewer work in the first phase. Board chair Russell Allen praised CEO Jim Cook and others involved in the talks, saying, "This is the first time we have a really promising start to a new future."
Money and milestones
City records show the City Council approved a cooperative-endeavor agreement and reallocated capital bond funds to cover roadway and right-of-way work inside the River District, formalizing public backing for the first phase, according to the City Council agenda. The agreement also sets a financing deadline of March 31, that RDNI must meet to secure purchase options for certain parcels, Verite News reported. In practical terms, the Convention Center will shoulder more of the upfront infrastructure risk while keeping the door open for the developer to move ahead if it can raise the necessary capital.
Housing plan: Rivana and beyond
The first vertical piece of the district, marketed as the Rivana apartments, is slated at roughly 220 units, with about 165 reserved as affordable or workforce housing. Officials say that mix is designed to root the new neighborhood with options geared toward local residents, not just visitors. CityBusiness reported that RDNI has committed to a total of 900 units across the full buildout, with half designated as affordable or workforce apartments.
Parcels, tenants and what's still unsettled
The reworked deal keeps intact the parcel where Shell is building its regional headquarters while stripping or terminating RDNI leases on several other tracts, which effectively leaves the Shell project as an island of certainty in an otherwise reshuffled site plan. Reporting by WDSU shows that Topgolf has pulled out of the development and that RDNI has struggled with missed lease payments and scheduling delays. The changes leave the Convention Center with more day-to-day authority over some of the most valuable riverfront land in the city while tenants and nearby residents continue to push for clear construction timelines and firm enforcement of affordability promises.
Councilmember Lesli Harris, said, "Today is a reset, but it’s more than that,We as partners are affirming our commitment to creating a transformational new neighborhood in District B, which serves residents first and foremost, with benefits to our city’s visitors," according to a prepared statement published by The Times-Picayune. RDNI now faces a tight window to lock down its financing and deliver on the affordability pledges that have been central to selling the River District to the public.
