[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish seeing revitalization along St. Claude

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Thu Jan 16 08:23:39 EST 2014


St. Bernard Parish seeing revitalization along St. Claude

wwltv.com
Posted on January 15, 2014 at 10:48 PM
Updated yesterday at 11:02 PM
Natalie Shepherd / Eyewitness News
Email: nshepherd at wwltv.com | Twitter: @NewsNatalie

ARABI, La. -- Drivers making their way down St. Claude Avenue might not see
it yet, but changes are coming to St. Bernard Parish.

Some of it's starting inside what used to be an Arabi movie theater.

Glass artist Mitchell Gaudet is on the front line of Old Arabi's
revitalization.

"Instead of gentrification, I see myself as an ratification. We're the first
wave of ruining a neighborhood," he said with a laugh.

Gaudet has done it before. In 1991, he started Studio Inferno in the Bywater
neighborhood. As the neighborhood grew in popularity, property taxes
ballooned from $3,000 to $15,000, so he started looking for something new.

He's converting the building into a fine art studio to display his glass
work, and there's also plenty of room for studio space.

"It was kind of like the initial reception I got in the Bywater," he said.
"Very positive. Everybody's very excited. Arabi is very hungry for
development."

Entrepreneurs are making it happen. There's also a yoga studio, and Old
Arabi Eats is a restaurant attracting a lot of buzz.

"There's a lot of things going on that I think will make it more attractive
to come through here," said St. Bernard Parish Councilman Ray Lauga.

Lauga wants to change the look of St. Claude Avenue. Plans are in place to
use part of a $3 million grant to beautify the sidewalks and medians.

"It's exciting. I think it draws a lot of interest, a lot of curiously, a
lot of foot traffic into the area."

And the new businesses are helping the old. Debbie Smith's family has owned
the Arabi Food Store since the '70s. She's happy to see the Maumus Science
Center going up across the street.

"It's all good. Five miles from the French Quarter and there's a lot to see
and do here," Smith said.

For Gaudet, he thinks Old Arabi is poised to be a new hot spot.

"It has a connotation, St. Bernard Parish, that it's quickly shedding.
They're putting money in the right places. There's a lot of interest in
developing St. Claude.

Gaudet plans on having his new studio space up and running later this year.

The parish hopes to complete some of the beautification along St. Claude in
time for the 100-year anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans next January
at the Chalmette Battlefield.





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