Last year we reported that Tipitina’s owner Roland von Kurnatowski had agreed to develop an outdoor music venue and other amenities at South Shore Harbor on the New Orleans lakefront. Now, NOLA.com reports that the entrepreneur and the architecture firm working on the project have submitted their official plans to the City Planning Commission.
According to the publication, Kurnatowski has proposed a number of things as part of the development’s first phase, including:
- Turning a shuttered terminal facility’s ground floor into an open-air community market, and turning its second floor in to a restaurant with panoramic views Lake Pontchartrain and downtown New Orleans
- Building an outdoor amphitheater for live music and festivals
- Constructing a promenade with restaurants and shops
- Building a fuel dock and marina store for the purpose of stimulating boat traffic around the harbor
Kurnatowski also plans to build a recording studio during a future phase of the development. That project will find him partnering with Boston’s Berklee College of Music, which will send musicians down to the harbor’s studio to record.
Additionally, Kurnatowski has also expressed interest in partnering with the National World War II Museum to bring the last working PT boat to the harbor, where visitors will be able to ride in it.
NOLA.com reports that the new development is expected to bring 400 to 500 visitors daily, with 4,000 to 5,000 coming through for large concerts and festivals.
The 19-acre South Shore Harbor site, which includes the old Bally’s riverboat casino, was utilized for the inaugural Landing Festival last September. The new music festival was put on by Galactic and Tipitina’s.
