Times Picayune Article

St. Charles condominiums

The commission was unanimous in rejecting the other two controversial proposals.

Goldring wants to demolish a three-unit, two-story apartment building at 5428 St. Charles Ave. and build a 13-unit, five-story upscale condo building for Uptown residents seeking smaller quarters than full-size homes. He said he himself would move into the building, which would cost $15 million to $20 million.

The building now on the site was designed in 1928 by well-known local architect Emile Weil. Goldring said he considers it one of the least attractive buildings on St. Charles, but opponents said it fits in well with the neighborhood and should be preserved.

The site is across the street from a five-story apartment building, the Octavia, built in 1907, but opponents said the neighborhood consists of mostly two- and three-story buildings housing one or two families. They said Goldring’s project would be out of scale in both height and density at a site zoned for single-family buildings.

St. Charles Avenue Association President Wallace Tomlinson said Goldring’s proposal might be appropriate in some other neighborhood but not on St. Charles. Nairne Frazar said there is no need for more condos in a neighborhood she described as “a little Pleasantville.”