On Saturday, the city of New Orleans will host a public presentation of its Riverfront Development Plan. Beginning at 9 a.m. at the Port of New Orleans headquarters, a team of architects and designers will unveil their final draft of how they plan to redefine the nearly six miles of riverfront located along the Mississippi. Most notable for travel agents are the plans to expand the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Tulane-Xavier's RiverSphere, the port's cruise ship terminals and add a hotel. The redevelopment also calls for green space, the restoration of natural river ecology and piers, Norten's performance venue and Seminole Portage "slice" and ferry terminal. The thought behind the revamp is that if the city of New Orleans removes the barriers to the river, creating continuous access lined by new landmarks, then the city will increase its revenue by roughly $40 million annually, without increasing the rate of taxation. Despite the French Quarter suffering mostly wind damage from 2005's Hurricane Katrina, tourism levels to the area are not what they used to be. The areas still reeling from the storm are largely suburban, such as the areas of Gentilly and Lakeside, as well as the Ninth Ward. Visit [www.neworiverfront.com].
