NIMBY
A development company called Victory apparently has dibs on some property starting right by where the Can is to Carrolton – they already developed the Sav-A-Center and the Home Depot on Carrolton. They are proposing a massive retail development that includes Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dickie’s Sporting Goods, as well as other national chain stores.
A dilemma for sure.
We all want to keep our tax dollars in Orleans Parish and right now we drive to Jefferson Parish and spend our dollars there. We all want development that offers jobs. We want the convenience and the affordable goods offered by big box stores. BUT none of us want big box stores. None of us trust developers.
So everyone chimes in and suddenly it becomes an us versus them equation – Victory is evil, we are good. They are developing an area that has been blighted by the storm – that was light industrial – but they are not putting back anything historical like the small old houses that all have signs to be demolished – they are not proposing a scale that is the equivalent of our charming neighborhood. They are not – in a nutshell – proposing anything nice by way of architecture and open space – they are offering simply convenience and low prices.
Nothing is black and white – but can we all get along? Can we walk away from this with everyone of us getting something we want and conceding on something we don’t want?
Why is development so tricky?