At BRR, the Entitlement & Planning services concentrate on developing design schemes that not only satisfy all governmental issues and codes, but fit within our clients construction parameters.

Case Study: From High Crime Area to Best Use Community

Local strategic partnerships proved to be the combination that was needed to get the job done.


Bill Boyden, Assoc. AIA Bill holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois and a BA from Illinois Wesleyan University in Political Science. For seven years Bill headed the Entitlement Team of BRR and has been the Designer for the North/Central/East Team since 2005.

Our Challenge
The challenge was to develop a multi-use site anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter on a former HUD site in one of the most difficult and hazardous urban sites in the United States. Located minutes away from Bourbon Street, the Superdome, The Market District and the New Orleans Convention Center, this site represented one of the most depressed urban landscapes in America with extreme poverty, rampant drug dealing and the highest crime rate outside of the Los Angeles' South Central area.

Our Solution
Partnering with local political activists, clergy, community groups and former residents from the torn down HUD high-rise tenements proved to be the combination that was needed to get the job done. This was a ninety-acre site that would eventually be home to 2,000 new homes (for rent, rent to own and to own - house, condos, apartments, town homes, etc.), a hospital, and a retirement center, and a variety of retail all anchored by the Supercenter.

Wal-Mart agreed to buy the land upon which the store would be built, develop the project, sell that land back to the developer who would, in turn, collect 20 years rent the first day the store was opened. The developer would then use this money, combined with funds from a Hope 6 Grant to develop the remaining project components. No other national retailer was willing to step forward and make such a huge commitment.

Our Results
Although the road was rocky, the challenges many, the obstacles too numerous to count, the project was completed successfully. The day the store opened, the developer not only received a twenty year rent check from Wal-Mart, the company had dozens of applications in hand from other national and local retailers wanting to join in developing the remainder of the project.

This blighted area is a shinning example of what teamwork among the United States government, the City of New Orleans, the clergy and parishioners of St. Thomas and free enterprise can accomplish. Coincidently, the St. Thomas store, which is located across the street from the Port of New Orleans, sustained no exterior damage as a result of hurricane Katrina. In fact, the City of New Orleans used this very Supercenter's parking lot as home for its Police Department (several months) until their regular offices were cleaned and rebuilt.