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Hollygrove Greenline ProjectVISIONING DOCUMENT

A Project of

THE HOLLYGROVE NEIGHBORHOOD

A Collaboration with

THE TULANE CITY CENTER

and

THE NEW ORLEANS FOOD AND FARM NETWORKCARROLLTON-HOLLYGROVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONHOLLYGROVE GROWERS’ MARKET AND FARMHOLLYGROVE NEIGHBORS ASSOCIATIONNATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTSAARP

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Vision

Overview

History

Neighborhood Analysis

Site Strategies

Next Steps

Acknowledgements

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S. Carrollton AvenueCarrollton Boosters playing fields and Cuccia-Byrnes playground complex

17th Street/Monticello Canal Airline DriveEarhart Boulevard

HGM&F

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Five years after Hurricane Katrina most of the flooded neighborhoods have made significant progress in re-building damaged homes, public services and infrastructure. Yet much work reamins to be done throughout the city and some areas have received little public investment. The Hollygrove neighborhood is located below sea level in the uptown Carrollton district. Though most homeowners have repaired their homes, many houses remain blighted, and this quiet neighborhood has no schools and little access to social services. However, an active group of residents and non-profit organizations are working to establish a vision for an economically and socially vibrant future for Hollygrove.

One part of this larger effort involves establishing a community dialogue on the possible uses for a publically-owned right of way that bisects the community. Carrollton-Hollygrove Community Development Corporation (CHCDC), The Hollygrove Neighbors Association (HNA), AARP and the New Orleans Food and Farm Network (FFN) have partnered with the Tulane City Center in the envisioning of the Hollygrove Greenline Project. Formerly a passenger rail right-of-way, the Hollygrove Greenline is a linear band of visually vacant land that extends from the neighborhood’s western boundary at the Monticello Canal to its eastern boundary near Carrollton Avenue. Through this document, the Tulane City Center seeks to facilitate this process by providing information on the history of the neighborhood, by documenting aspects of the present community and by proposing possible scenarios for transforming this land into a neighborhood amenity. The goal is for this initiative to serve as a catalyst for a broader revitalization of Hollygrove as a livable community.

The Tulane City Center has already had great success working within the Hollygrove neighborhood. Working with the CHCDC and the NOFFN, the City Center helped envision, plan and construct the Hollygrove Growers Market & Farm (HGM&F), a storefront retail center and urban farm in Hollygrove offering locally grown, affordable, fresh produce as well as ‘green jobs’ and certification programs in urban agriculture. A major component of the CHCDC’s revitalization and recovery work involves promoting sustainable living and healthy lifestyles through support of local growers. This also makes fresh regional and local produce accessible for neighborhood residents. The community food center will be a centerpiece for FFN’s food security recovery planning and will create a gateway into the Carrollton-Hollygrove neighborhood to spread agricultural education citywide. The Hollygrove Greenline Project hopes to carry on the momentum and success of the HGM&F. The Greenline Project considers the input and involvement of the residents of Hollygrove to be at the forefront of the design and advocacy process and aspires to be an outlet for the energy of the community as it work to improve Hollygrove’s physical landscape.

HOLLYGROVE

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OVERVIEW

This proposal seeks to make a neighborhood amenity out of a derelict infrastructural corridor. Located in a low lying district of New Orleans between Carrollton Avenue and the Jefferson Parish line, the Hollygrove neighborhood was crossed by major urban infrastructure long before any residential building occurred there. The Hollygrove Greenline initiative seeks to show how a 50 foot wide swath of land above an underground canal could create a series of places for neighborhood activities and for urban farming. The project layers green infrastructure strategies over conventional engineering practices in a way that aims to support neighborhood enhancement and economic development.

The study began with research and documentation of the area’s historical, physical and social contexts. This analysis has stimulated the development of some initial proposals for the corridor. The band of vacant land that constitutes the Greenline cuts diagonally across the street grid of the neighborhood, and several different types of open space are created. Preliminary design strategies have focused on the development of these spaces as essential neighborhood infrastructure in the form of public park space, stormwater management systems, community gardens and urban farms. Through continued engagement with neighborhood stakeholders, the Greenline project hopes to transform this inaccessible yet public land into active and healthy community spaces.

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PROJECT While the idea of developing new uses the Greenline site has been discussed in the Hollygrove neighborhood for some time, this collaborative project between the Tulane City Center and its Hollygrove partners is in its first phases of community outreach and project education.

LOCATIONThe project site is defined by 12 parcels of empty, city-owned land that make up the former route of the Illinois Central Railroad Company’s passenger rail line through the heart of Hollygrove. The site extends from the neighborhood’s western boundary at the Monticello Canal to its eastern boundary at Carrollton Avenue. All of the 12 empty parcels are approximately 45 feet wide and range in length from 65 feet to 350 feet. In total they represent approximately 3 acres of vacant space. A 20’ x 10’ underground canal runs directly underneath the westernmost 10 of these parcels, which are accordingly maintained by the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board. An additional 2 parcels of the former railroad line closest to Carrollton Avenue are leased and occupied by a long-term storage facility and its parking lot.

PARTNERS Project partners include the Carrollton-Hollygrove Community Development Corporation, New Orleans Food and Farm Network, Tulane City Center, Trinity Christian Community, Hollygrove Market and Farm, Hollygrove Neighbors Assoc., National Endowment for the Arts, and AARP.

SHORT TERM GOALS: -Community outreach and educational campaign to raise awareness and support for project-Advocacy with the City of New Orleans and the Sewerage and Water Board-Research and Partnerships to pursue land acquisition and legal use of city-owned land

LONG TERM GOALS: -Re-activate unused infrastructural space within the Hollygrove neighborhood-Develop community-based programmatic plan-Provide healthy, safe, enjoyable public outdoor spaces-Create new neighborhood nodes that boost local economic and environmental goals.

New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain R.R. Track constructed along present day Monticello Street New Orleans, Jackson + Great

Northern R.R Lines Completed Along current Greenline Site.

Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad Completes line from Memphis to New Orleans

New Orleans, Jackson + Great Northern R.R. Purchased by Illinois Central R.R.

Louisville, New Orleans + Texas R.R. Converted to Illinois Central Inbound route.

Illinois Central R.R. terminates service through Hollygrove

S. Claiborne St. Canal, Upperline Canal and Levee, Dublin Canal, Oleander St. Canal Constructed + Drainage Machine Installed at intersection of Dublin St and Oleander St.

17th St. Canal Constructed Along Palmetto Ave. Washington Street Canal reconstructed in Accordance with 1895 Drainage Plan of New Orleans

Claiborne Ave. Canal extended to Upperline Canal

Dublin St. Canal Reworked as Pipeline

Construction of subsurface drainage features on Hamilton, Hollgyrove, Misletoe and Nelson Streets. Oleander St. Canal Constructed

All canals covered with exception of Upperline Canal and 17th St. Canal

Culvert Installed along Illinois Central R.R. Site in Hollygrove

Carrollton annexed by New Orleans becoming the city’s 7th District.

Paul E. Dunbar School Built

Robinson Clinic Built

Levee constructed along Monticello ave in Carrollton

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HISTORY

A detail from the 1878 Hardee Map portrays the newly incorporated Carrollton district as a Cypress swamp through which the Illinois Central Railroad line passed. The recently completed Dublin Avenue Draining Machine is also shown.

1883 Robinson Map of the district shows a road network fully surveyed for occupied development. This part of town would not be drained for another 50 years.

New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain R.R. Track constructed along present day Monticello Street New Orleans, Jackson + Great

Northern R.R Lines Completed Along current Greenline Site.

Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad Completes line from Memphis to New Orleans

New Orleans, Jackson + Great Northern R.R. Purchased by Illinois Central R.R.

Louisville, New Orleans + Texas R.R. Converted to Illinois Central Inbound route.

Illinois Central R.R. terminates service through Hollygrove

S. Claiborne St. Canal, Upperline Canal and Levee, Dublin Canal, Oleander St. Canal Constructed + Drainage Machine Installed at intersection of Dublin St and Oleander St.

17th St. Canal Constructed Along Palmetto Ave. Washington Street Canal reconstructed in Accordance with 1895 Drainage Plan of New Orleans

Claiborne Ave. Canal extended to Upperline Canal

Dublin St. Canal Reworked as Pipeline

Construction of subsurface drainage features on Hamilton, Hollgyrove, Misletoe and Nelson Streets. Oleander St. Canal Constructed

All canals covered with exception of Upperline Canal and 17th St. Canal

Culvert Installed along Illinois Central R.R. Site in Hollygrove

Carrollton annexed by New Orleans becoming the city’s 7th District.

Paul E. Dunbar School Built

Robinson Clinic Built

Levee constructed along Monticello ave in Carrollton

1853

1853

188418

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1878

- 189

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83

1929

1921

1954

1947

1937

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1955

HURRICANE KATRINAWORLD WAR IIWORLD WAR IIWORLD WAR II9

The Hollygrove neighborhood was originally part of the McCarty Plantation, which was incorporated as the Town of Carrollton by the Louisiana Legislature in 1845. Construction of the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad, which followed the current day streetcar line, increased settlement of Carrollton and in 1859 the town officially became a city.

From 1858 to 1871 a series of drainage improvements, including construction of Upperline Trail Race Canal (the current day Monticello Canal) and the Dublin St. drainage machine, laid the groundwork for later drainage infrastructure that ultimately permitted settlement of the Hollygrove neighborhood. In 1874 the City of Carrollton was annexed by the City of New Orleans. The citywide adoption of the 1895 Drainage Plan inaugurated the modern drainage system that is in use to this day. The area occupied by the present day Hollygrove neighborhood remained sparsely developed before the period of modern drainage. Rapid settlement of Hollygrove occurred in the 1920’s and 1930’s and by1965 the area had become a fully-occupied medium density residential community.

Hollygrove Timeline illustrates three major histories of the neighborhood’s development. Railroad, water infrastructure and neighborhood histories paint a telling picture of not only the community but also the development of the Greenline site over time.

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FORMER CONDITION (1852-2001): ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD CO. CORRIDOR**While the Illinois Central Railroad Company discontinued use of the corridor in 1955, the site existed as an unused raised berm that cut through the neighborhood’s backyards and streets until 2001.

HISTORY (CONTINUED)

Construction of the New Orleans Jackson and Great Northern Railroad, which ultimately became the Illinois Central Railroad, directly correlates to the settlement of the City of Carrollton. In 1852 the right of way through Carrollton was granted to N.O. & G.N.R.R. and construction of the railroad to Canton and Jackson Mississippi was completed in 1858. An embankment was constructed through Carrollton to elevate the right of way above the swamp, a condition that proved to be a physical barrier within the neighborhood once housing development commenced in the 20th Century. By 1859 N.O. & G.N.R.R connected New Orleans through a system of lines to cities across the United States and preserved New Orleans status as the primary U.S. port on the Gulf Coast. Due to financial difficulties with the N.O. & G.N.R.R after the Civil War, the Illinois Central Railroad purchased the line in 1883. The I.C.R.R. purchased a second route through Carrollton that followed the alignment of present day Earhart Blvd. Until the I.C.R.R. terminated it’s service in the 1950’s, the railroad was the primary factor influencing the residential settlement and commercial development patterns in Hollygrove.

In the 1960’s the I.C.R.R sold the right-of-way through Carrollton to the City of New Orleans and the railroad tracks were removed from the embankment. The embankment existed as a dormant physical barrier in the neighborhood until the Army Corps of Engineers excavated the site and installed the underground canal from 2001 to 2003.

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EXISTING CONDITION From 2001-2003, the Sewerage and Water Board constructed the 20’ x 10’ underground canal that now exists under 3/4 of the length of the former railroad corridor.

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“The first night I lived in my home in Hollygrove I was startled out of bed when the horn from the train blew.”

“We used to tell the time of day by the sounds of the trains. Twice a day, the engine, and the whistle, would let us know the time.”

MEMORIES OF THE RAILROAD

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“In the good old days my sisters and I used to play on the railroad embankment.”

“People used to wave at you in your backyard from the train, and we would wave back.”

“Anybody taking the train to New Orleans had to pass through this neighborhood.”

“Black folks from Hollygrove had to sit in the cars called ‘Smokin’ Marys,’ right behind the

locomotive coal engine.”

Homocide

Aggrevated Battery

Aggrevated Battery by Shooting

Unsafe Corners (scale proportional to level of concern/safety)

Crime Data

Homocide

Aggrevated Battery

Aggrevated Battery by Shooting

Unsafe Corners (scale proportional to level of concern/safety)

Crime Data

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NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSISResearch and analysis of the neighborhood context of the Greenline site includes mapping of current crime, transporation, community amenities (churches) and stormwater infrastructure data.

CRIME DATA PUBLICTRANSPORTATIONHomocide

Aggrevated Battery

Aggrevated Battery by Shooting

Unsafe Corners(scale proportional to level of resident concern/safety)

Pritchard St.Pumping Station

Oleander St.Pumping Station

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EXISTING LAND USE STORMWATERINFRASTRUCTURE

Sewerage & Water Board

City of New Orleans

Public Storage, Inc.

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Tabulated below are the 13 Greenline properties, each listed with its known ownership, address, land value and speculated sale price. The City of New Orleans owns 12 of the 13 plots, 10 of which are allocated for use by the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board.

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Greenline Property Owner Address Land Value Sale Price A City of New Orleans 3304 Joliet St $1,900 $170,000 B City of New Orleans 3324 Leonidas St $ 3,800 $ 170,000 C City of New Orleans 3304 Monroe St $ 1,900 $ 170,000 D City of New Orleans 3237 Ealge St $ 1,300 $ 170,000 E City of New Orleans 3240 Eagle St $ 3,800 $ 170,000 F City of New Orleans 3204 Gen. Ogden St G Friendship Baptist Church 3125 Hollygrove St $ 13,000 $ 94,800 H City of New Orleans 3124 Hollygrove St I City of New Orleans 3100 Hamilton $ 1,300 $ 170,000 J City of New Orleans 9100 Colapissa St $ 1,500 $ 170,000

K City of New Orleans 9207 Fig St $ 3,800 $ 170,000 L City of New Orleans M City of New Orleans 9337 Pritchard Pl $ 3,800 $ 170,000

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SITE ANALYSIS

Occupied structure

Vacant structure

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Land Ownership

Map information includes land ownership, structure occupancy status and a detailed footprint of the major underground stormwater infrastructure.

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Underground CanalA 20’ x 10’ underground canal runs directly underneath the western most 10 parcels of the Greenline site. This subgrade stormwater infrastructure is managed and maintained by the Sewerage and Water Board.

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SITE STRATEGIES: Neighborhood VisionThe following images depict just a few of the many ideas that are being generated in Hollygrove about how the community will use the Greenline as a neighborhood amenity.

Urban Farming/ Community Gardens

Public Parks/Playgrounds

Stormwater Management

The Hollygrove Greenline represents approximately 3 acres of open space within the neighborhood. Working in conjunction with the Hollygrove Market and Farm, various scales of urban farms can be established for crop production and urban agriculture training programs.

The Hollygrove Greenline exists as a linear open space that is divided into 13 empty lots of various shapes and sizes.

Accordingly, these different sites provide the opportunity for a variety of types of public space: pocket parks, playgrounds,

walking parks, play fields and much more.

The Hollygrove neighborhood is situated at the confluence of multiple municipal stormwater drainage channels, both above and below ground. Hollygrove is in need of additional layers of storm water management due to the overloading of these systems and the localized rain water flooding that occurs within the neighborhood. The Greenline site--running through the whole of the communiy--represents an opportunity to explore alternative water management strategies to help mitigate this storm water

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SITE STRATEGIES: Design Scenario

LEFT Sectional perspective illustrating the

transformation of the site into activated, productive

space.

BELOW The vision of this project is to build upon initiatives that currently

operating in the community. The Hollgrove Growers

Market and Farm is an ideal example of collaborative

success for a project of this scale, relying on community involvement while providing

great value back to the community

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SITE STRATEGIES: Site + ProgramA study area incorporating 5 of the 12 vacant parcels was established to better investigate potential architectural and landscape strategies on the distinct plots that make up the larger site. The study area (5 parcels of the site bounded by Hollygrove St. to the west and Leonidas St. to the east) provided an opportunity to layer several types of program within a confined area, with considerations for proximity to existing community amenities. Public park space, playgrounds, urban farms and community gardens, built structures, and stormwater management represent only 5 of many more potential programs. Additional program considerations will be made by the Hollygrove community as intensive outreach and engagement continues.

Public Park

Playground

Urban Farm

Built Structure

Stormwater Management

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Phase 0

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Existing Condition

Pocket Parks

Urban Farm/ Community Gardens

Playground/ Built Structure

SITE STRATEGIES: PhasingThe construction of the 5-block study area can be blocked out into 3 basic phases: the smallest “corner” lots developed first; the urban farm/community garden developed second; and finally, the playground and built structure developed and constructed third.

0’ 100’

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SITE STRATEGIES: Study AreaSite plan detailing hypothetical proposal of programmatic strategies within the “study area” and their configuration over a five block span of the larger Greenline site.

Pocket Park

Playground

Urban Farm/Community Garden

Stormwater Park

Stormwater Urban Farm/Community Garden

Stormwater Urban Farm/Community Garden

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0’ 100’

Pocket Park

Built StructureStormwater

Park

Cover Pamphlet information24

Community Pamphlet and SurveyThe Stakeholder Pamphlet introduces Hollygrove residents to the details of the Greenline project and encourages involvement in the design process. Included in the pamphlet is a survey asking residents about their history with the Greenline site, as well as their uses and opinions of public space in and around the Hollygrove neighborhood.

MOVING FORWARD: Community Outreach and AdvocacyThe Greenline Project’s design process is driven by open discourse with Hollygrove residents and collaboration with neighborhood organizations. Direct engagement with the community develops a sense of neighborhood ownership over the project and insures that it will be valued asset within Hollygrove. In addition, the ultimate “sustainability” of a public project such as the Greenline is dependent upon full input, endorsement and “buy-in” by the community, who ultimately will be the project’s primary caretakers and benefactors.

Photograph of the initial project meeting for the Hollygrove Greenline project, January, 2010. The meeting was attending by the Tulane City Center, Hollygrove Growers Market and Farm, New Orleans Food and Farm Network, and the Carrollton-Hollygrove CDC.

Photograph of the kick-off Design Workshop for the Hollygrove Greenline, working wiht AARP’s Hollygrove Livable Communities Project at the Hollygrove M & F, June, 2010. The Livable Communities Project engages and builds capacity within the residents of the Hollygrove neighborhood.

Pamphlet and survey Fill out survey 25

“Community Engagement Map”The Community Engagement map is a tool that traces the Greenline project team’s outreach with Hollygrove residents. The map exists as a living document that will evolve as the neighborhood engagement process progresses.

Each of the city-ownedplots has a specific land value and sale price.

Push pins, string, notes and text document the progress of neighborhood engagement throughout Hollygrove

MOVING FORWARD: Community Outreach and AdvocacyIn June 2010, the Hollygrove Greenline project team begin intensive engagement with Hollygrove residents. With the understanding that resident-directed visioning and brainstorming was an essential phase of project development, the Greenline project team worked with the AARP Hollygrove Livable Communities Project, Hollygrove Neighbors Association, as well as over fifty residents living adjacent to the Greenline. The goal of this phase of work is to develop a series of questions, concerns, and visions for the Greenline sites. This will lead to additional engagement with city agencies, neighborhood organizations and other relevant project partners to develop an initial design proposal and implementation strategy.

Photographs of the kick-off Design Workshop for the Hollygrove Greenline, working wiht AARP’s Hollygrove Livable Communities Project at the Hollygrove M & F, June, 2010. Each of four discrete subject matter project teams developed their own initial vision for the Greenline, and then presented their proposals to the larger group.

Initial visioning proposals from the four AARP Livable Communities Project teams: Economic Development, Resident Engagement & Public Safety, Health & Caregiving, and Mobility & Transportation. The visioning proposals from the June 2, 2010 meeting represented an array of programmatic ideas, as well as a number of different approaches to dealing with the Greenline sites individually and as a network of “community spaces.”

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Reverand Earl Williams of Trinity Christian Communities presenting the history of the Hollygrove Greenline Project to a group of residents who live adjacent to the Greenline sites. Residents expressed concerns towards issues of public safety and the Greenline’s relationship to adjacent abandoned properties.

Greenline project team member Michael Cohen with Hollygrove residents and AARP staff on a July 2010 site visit that spanned the entire 3/4 miles of the Greenline. The group discussed issues of accessibility, ownership and flexibility of land use as ways to garner neighborhood engagement and support for the project as it moves forward.

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PROJECT PARTNERS Paul Baricos Director Carrollton Hollygrove Community Development Corporation (CHCDC) Paul.Baricos@gmail.com

Alicia Vance New Orleans Food and Farm Network (NOFFN) alicia@noffn.org

PROJECT TEAM Lead Designer: Professor Judith Kinnard, Tulane School of Architecture Project Team: Emilie Taylor, Tulane City Center Dan Etheridge, Tulane City Center Zachary Gong, Tulane City Center Michael Cohen, Tulane City Center Ian O’Cain, Tulane City Center Intern Joe Sherman, Hollygrove Resident Pam Mercadel, Hollygrove Neighbors Association Jason Tudor, AARP Hollygrove Livable Communitie Project Evelyn Turner, Trinity Christian Communities

*The Tulane City Center would like to give a special thanks to the entire Hollygrove community for its contributions to this publication.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS