Canal Street Vision and Development Strategy

New Orleans, Louisiana

Development Strategies led a consulting team in 2003 to formulate a vision and a development strategy for the future of Canal Street, which is New Orleans’ Main Street. Between its beginnings at the Mississippi River and the I-10 overpass, Canal Street serves as the meeting place between the historic French Quarter and the city’s downtown.

Development Strategies led the consulting team but also had direct responsibility for projecting market-based development potential and phasing, economic and financial modeling of specific redevelopment ideas, recommending a dramatic change in the retail tenanting program for the full corridor, and projecting incremental tax revenues that might be directed toward tax increment financing. The strategic plan further addressed issues of image broader socio-economic challenges. The vision and strategy has proven to be a foremost guide in the recovery of Canal Street since Hurricane Katrina.