Rampart Street Development
400 Block of South Rampart Street
Client: GBX
Scope: 3 New Construction Buildings and 3 Historic Renovations
Status: 2025 - ongoing
Size: 49,500 sq.ft
Budget: $12,000,000
Celebrating the birthplace of Jazz Music
A district commonly referred to as “Storyville,” the 400 block of South Rampart Street in New Orleans was once the main street of ‘Back-a’-Town—remembered as a vibrant downtown destination for Black New Orleanians at the turn of the twentieth century. This cherished street marks the epicenter of jazz music and culture, serving as a catalyst to shape a new identity and economy for the New Orleans community, and where notable musicians such as Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong first launched their careers. 400 South Rampart Street remains symbolic as a beacon of inspiration, though today, the street consists of empty historic buildings and surface parking lots.
The new construction buildings invite entertainment and hospitality uses back to this formerly vibrant commercial corridor, inspiring creative revenue opportunities to emerge while sustaining the mixed-use development for future generations.
To give back to this well-loved and identity-making street, Studio West was selected by the developer GBX to design and plan the new construction and historic renovation of the 400 block of South Rampart, which includes the development of four new construction buildings, as well as the reconstruction of the Karnofsky Tailor Shop, which was destroyed during Hurricane Ida in 2021, and an additional renovation to both the historic Iroquois Theatre and Eagle Saloon.
By preserving existing structures, the design proposes a combination of new cultural and community buildings and introduces exhibitions and educational programming that shine light on the history of the site while revitalizing the district to inspire locals and visitors alike.
To ensure cultural integrity and honor community values, community engagement played a vital part in guiding the design process. Alongside the property owners from GBX, Studio West facilitated and participated in multiple community stakeholder engagement events to solicit feedback from members of the community, many of whom were directly involved in preserving New Orleans jazz and cultural traditions. Learning and discoveries from this process have also been strategically used to further inform, guide, and measure the long-term success of the project.
Collaboration and storytelling from stakeholder engagement bring forth preservation and place-based design strategies as an homage to the rich history of Rampart Street.