5514-5516 Tchoupitoulas St.

District: Uptown - Partial Control

Owner: Carwash Blues LLC

HDLC Staff: Jesse Stephenson

Rating:  Contributing

Applicant: Jonathan Drennan

Permit #:  23-31172-HDLC

HDLC Guidelines: 

Section 12, Pages 23-24 of the Guidelines for New Construction, Additions and Demolition states that the demolition of all or portions of historic resources within a local Historic District or Landmark site are considered drastic actions, since they alter the character of the area. Once historic resources or buildings that contribute to the heritage of the community are destroyed, it is generally impossible to reproduce their design, texture, materials, details and their special character and interest in the neighborhood. When reviewing demolition applications at properties located within a Historic District or at a Landmark site, the HDLC uses the following criteria in its evaluations:

• The historic or architectural significance of the building or structure as designated by its “rating”:  Contributing

• The importance of the building or structure to the tout ensemble of the area:  FEMA survey research indicates the double shotgun at 5514 Tchoupitoulas was constructed between 1885 and 1895 and the building first appears on the 1896 Fire Insurance Maps. 5514 Tchoupitoulas is one of three remaining shotgun doubles that remain on the riverside of Tcoupitoulas. The building provides a residential screen to the otherwise industrialized portion of the block and compliments the historic residential fabric on the riverside of Tchoupitoulas.

• The alternatives to demolition that have been explored by the applicant: Expansion of the carwash at the rear of the property.

• The difficulty or impossibility of reproducing such a building or structure because of its design, texture, material or detail: While reproduction might not be cost-prohibitive, recreation of historic details such as wood windows, massing and decorative elements would be difficult and unlikely. Any new construction of a carwash service buildings built in place of 5514 Tchoupitoulas  would likely not share this building's same massing, roofline and character, which could alter the streetscape considerably.

• The special character and aesthetic interest that the building or structure adds to the local Historic District:  5518 Tchoupitoulas retains it's wood trim, front wood windows, door transoms, wood trim, brackets, fish scale shingles, soffit vents, and decorative gable window. Other than the removal of the historic front doors the building remains predominantly intact. 

• The condition of the building or structure: 

Staff Recommendations: 

HDLC Staff conducted an interior and exterior inspection on November 28, 2023.

Staff Recommendations: 

The vacant one-story residential building rests on a masonry pier foundation. The exterior wall structure consists of barge boards nailed to heavy timber sills and is covered in wood weatherboards nailed directly to the barge boards. The main portion of the roof is a single gable with small hipped gable at the front of the building. A small shed roof covers an addition at the rear of the building.

The exterior wood weatherboards appeared to be in good condition with some missing predominantly at the rear of the building. Where the weatherboards were missing the material was saturated with moisture. Presumably this was caused by missing gutters at the side elevations. Wood windows were present and seemed to be in good condition with some requiring replacement. The asphalt roof shingles were in poor condition and require replacement. The small shed roof at the rear of the building is in very poor condition and would require reframing.

The barge board studs showed some damage from wood destroying insects predominantly where they met the sills. This is likely caused from missing weatherboards, gutters and the poor condition of the fascia at the side elevations. The overall wall framing could not be inspected in detail because of finishing materials on the interior. However, the walls were plumb and straight suggesting that much of the framing is in good condition. In some locations the joists run parallel to the exterior bearing walls and rests on a central beam which is an atypical condition. Debris prevented a more detailed inspection of the crawl space.

The interior spaces were mostly dry. Paint was separating from the drywall where the roof was leaking into attic spaces. The flooring appeared to be in fair condition. Most of the wood flooring was covered in laminate or painted. All interior trim and wood flooring seem salvageable. As previously noted the rear shed addition is in very poor condition in comparison to the main structure.

• Staff Recommendation: 

The building retains many of it's original architectural features and there is no indication that the building is beyond repair. The purpose of the HDLC is to preserve the architectural integrity and heritage of New Orleans. With that responsibility, the HDLC has a dual responsibility to preserve housing stock. It has been noted by many government officials and the New Orleans City Council that the city of New Orleans has a housing shortage. It is utterly inappropriate at this time to be "City of Yes". For the aforementioned reasons Staff recommends denial of the demolition to grade.

• Recommendation: Denial