New Orleans, LA—River Garden's Boettner Park—formerly in the center of a troubled housing project and now the centerpiece of a newly developed traditional New Orleans neighborhood—was recently dedicated in honor of HRI Properties' co-founder Ed Boettner.
Highlighting the dedication of the park was the unveiling of an original four-sided relief sculpture surrounding a concrete plinth holding a growing oak tree.
Boettner Park is a 2.75-acre park featuring rolling green space, trees and walkways built as a form of "new urbanism" to provide a pedestrian sensitive atmosphere. It was created as part of the development of River Garden, the HUD HOPE VI Redevelopment of the former St. Thomas Housing Project.
HRI co-chairman Eddie Boettner, son of the HRI founder, presided over a brief ceremony that celebrated his father's vision and the creation of the company that pioneered the redevelopment and adaptive reuse of historic properties in city centers all over the United States.
HRI co-founder and chairman Pres Kabacoff shared memories of the earliest days of the company with the crowd of about 200 that included Ed Boettner's widow and three generations of offspring and family.
Christopher Saucedo, creator of the Ed Boettner sculpture and chairman of the UNO Fine Arts Department, explained the park's contribution to the community and the symbolism of his bronze creation. According to Saucedo, "This park design attempts to address growth, change, and rebirth while respecting our past. Ed Boettner had the vision to 'put the pieces together' and revitalized much of our community."
Saucedo explained, "The primary theme of Boettner Park is presented via the acorn and the oak tree and is the cycle of life, the cycle of change and rebirth." Three sculptural reliefs represent a chronological view of different periods of time: The Ancient Past, The Distant Past, and The Recent Past.
The fourth panel features a portrait of Ed Boettner, an acorn from a live tree, an image of the park's namesake walking with a child and a Cessna airplane (Boettner was an avid private pilot). Boettner's name is inscribed in musical notation, as "Mr. Boettner is the man who wrote this song, the song of urban rebirth."
Boettner Park is a roughly triangular tract bound by St.Thomas, Chippewa and St. Mary streets in the center of the River Garden neighborhood.
River Garden represents the re-creation of a traditional New Orleans neighborhood and serves as the model for mixed income housing to replace the troubled projects of the past. Beyond just housing, River Garden provides 773 residences to all income levels and ages a true neighborhood, including retail facilities and the recently dedicated community park:
• River Garden Apartments on Felicity Phase 1: River Garden Phase 1 includes 296 apartments in duplexes, fourplexes and townhouse construction. Designed with special attention to historic design sensitivity, River Garden offers all of the amenities of newly constructed residential with a uniquely New Orleans neighborhood feel.
• River Garden Apartments on St. Andrew Phase 2: River Garden Phase 2 is comprised of 310 townhomes and four story residential buildings. Like the first phase of River Garden developments, the final on-site phase featuring energy-saving insulation, modern appliances, professional landscaping, off-street parking, 24-hour maintenance, on-site management and neighborhood watch patrol. River Garden's location benefits from the convenience of an adjacent Wal-Mart retail center and the neighborhood park.
• Boettner Neighborhood Park: A 2.75 acre neighborhood park named after HRI co-founder Ed Boettner sits in the center of the River Garden neighborhood offering ample green space, trees, and pedestrian walkways.
• River Garden Homes: Offering home ownership opportunities in this community, River Garden Homes will create 73 new construction homes built in proximity to the central River Garden Boettner Neighborhood Park.
• River Garden Elderly Apartments: River Garden Elderly Apartments includes 57 elderly apartments in a new construction four story building. Located immediately adjacent to the Redemptorist Church complex, residents will have access to a private landscaped courtyard.
• River Garden Historic Apartments: Bringing new life into five historic St. Thomas buildings, River Garden Historic Apartments creates 37 apartments in the brick and masonry structures, all surrounding an oak tree canopied courtyard.
• Retail Development: In keeping with the mixed use concept for the site, HRI properties spearheaded the efforts to develop a Wal-Mart retail center on the south end of the River Garden overall site. Additionally, approximately 26,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space is constructed in association with the River Garden Phase 2 development. To provide the services and amenities of a fully functional neighborhood.
Current occupied retail operations include: Anytime Fitness; GameStop; The Notary Shoppe; Pinky Nail Salon; Seattle's Best Coffee Shop; Simply Fashion and Subway.
About HRI Properties
Based in New Orleans, HRI Properties (HRI) is a full-service real estate development company and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI's mission is revitalizing cities by creating diverse, vibrant, sustainable communities. For more information, go to www.hriproperties.com.