EAST BANK - NEW ORLEANS

This project was part of an international design competition to find new uses for decommissioned military bases. East Bank was built in 1919 for the US Army Quartermaster Corps during World War I. The base was a supply depot for the Army and then transferred to the Navy in 1965. It was decommissioned in September 2011.

The site is on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the Bywater neighborhood. It is dominated by three large concrete warehouse buildings. The Port of New Orleans has plans to develop a cruise ship terminal on adjacent property along the river front along with using one of the three buildings for parking.

The design proposes an adaptive reuse of the site for mixed uses that serve the local community and the city at large. Residential, retail, office, and recreational uses are integrated together. A new urban space will connect the former military base, the neighborhood along Poland Avenue and the proposed cruise ship terminal. The large size of the site and its buildings will require a phased development integrating sustainable features with the surrounding neighborhood.