a strong foundation for economic

development. With an improved

infrastructure, a revived economy

and expanded airport,

New Orleans has seen dramatic

private sector investment. In the

Central Business District, on

Canal Street, the French Quarter,

Uptown, Algiers, the Bywater

and Central City - we see the

familiar sight of construction

workers and construction cranes.

But, in New  Orleans, the desire

for the new has to be ever so

deftly sublimated out of respect

for the old.

The New Orleans architectural heritage, first framed by the French and Spanish colonials, is special. And, it is with reverence for our architectural heritage that we assisted in rebuilding New Orleans.

This investment has spurred local jobs and business activity, as well as offering something new and different for the city's millions of annual visitors.

When the developers of the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Canal Street took on a $200 million restoration of the old Maison Blanche and Kress Buildings, their architects responded brilliantly with a design that reflected the best of our past while providing a modern anchor for the restoration of one of America's greatest avenues.

Since 1994, more than 7,000 hotel rooms have been constructed as new boutique hotels have sprung up in our Downtown area to accommodate the more than 1 million conventioneers and 11 million tourists who visit New Orleans every year. In many instances, boutique hotel development joined forces with our food and restaurant industry, as many of the city's leading chefs and restaurateurs located establishments in the ground floor space of many of the new and restored hotels.

An example of this synergy and revitalization of Canal Street is the D. H. Holmes project which expanded to include hotel rooms, meeting space, apartments, and The Red Fish Grill Restaurant.