on February 23, 2016 at 5:04 PM, updated New Orleans businessman Sidney Torres IV has plans to redevelop the former Carmelite Monastery on the lakeside edge of the French Quarter into a mix of residential and commercial spaces. Torres said Tuesday (Feb. 23) the Archdiocese of New Orleans chose to sell him the walled property, which encloses nearly an entire city block in the quiet residential area bounded by Rampart and Burgundy streets, between Gov. Nicholls and Barracks streets. Torres was among eight real estate developers who bid on the site in December. Torres did not disclose a purchase price. The property, which covers more than an acre of land, is one of the largest pieces of French Quarter real estate to change hands in recent years. The sale also includes the parking lot located across Rampart Street from the former monastery complex. Torres envisions a mixed-use development, including apartments and commercial space for dining and retail. He also wants to restore four freestanding houses inside the complex as single-family homes with street access.

"It's such a great canvas to work with because of the fact that it's such a large site," said Torres, who aims to have a more solid vision for the property to show to neighbors and city leaders in six months. Sidney Torres sells Bahamas resort The French Quarter complex, dedicated in 1895, is the site of the former Monastery of St. Joseph and St. Teresa of the Discalced Carmelites, an order of Catholic cloistered nuns who did not wear shoes, only sandals. The high brick walls that surround the site today hint at the fort that stood there before it was converted to a monastery. At the monastery's height, nuns took vows of poverty and spent their lives praying, caring for the sick and working as artists, gardeners and craftswomen behind its walls. In 1971, the nuns left the complex, unable to maintain it as it deteriorated. In recent years, the Archdiocese of New Orleans converted the site into a retreat center. Today, the walled property is a lower French Quarter landmark, located near Cabrini Park and the Jazz and Heritage Foundation office.

The site includes a church, courtyards, the four residences and former living quarters for the nuns. The property fronts the serene green space of Cabrini Park and is a comfortable distance from the busier, tourist-heavy parts of the French Quarter, making it a natural fit for housing. But Torres said the historic site demands "more than just apartments." Sidney Torres plans high-end Bayou St. John project He thinks part of the property, including the spacious chapel onsite, could be converted into a mixed dining and retail space inspired by the nearby St. Roch Market on St. Claude Avenue and Chelsea Market in New York City. Torres said the complex has ample interior space as well as off-road parking for residents and visitors. New streetcar tracks on Rampart Street will be completed later this year, better connecting the area to downtown. "I'd really like to create something that's more of an event," Torres said. Torres, the developer behind the Los Islenos condos nearby on Esplanade Avenue and other historic properties, said he wants the community to vet his ideas and provide feedback before he moves forward with a plan.

The goal is a project that "complements the neighborhood, is consistent with the history of the buildings, and makes the historic structure beautiful and useful again," Torres said in a news release.You may have heard the news that a German businessman has reportedly purchased a photograph of a dirty potato for $1.8 million. garage door opener delawareIf verified, the sale would make the photograph the 15th most expensive one ever sold, right up there with works by Cindy Sherman and Edward Steichen.upvc front door standard size The photographer, Kevin Abosch, is beloved by high-profile Silicon Valley executives and celebrities — he’s made portraits of the likes of Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, actor Johnny Depp, and artist Yoko Ono.baldwin door knob colors

The alleged sale of “Potato #345 (2010)” has, of course, sparked outrage across the internet. But before you, too, despair for humanity, remember that the businessman who allegedly bought this potato photo for $1.8 million over dinner and “two glasses of wine” in 2015 is as yet unnamed, and the sale has not yet been verified. home depot solid core doorWe can hope that we’re all being trolled and the supposed sale is a performance art stunt, maybe some comment on Emperor’s New Clothes Syndrome, or that there’s been a failure of fact checking on par with that hoax story about a high schooler who claimed to make $72 million on stock trades.garage door repair oakland county Or maybe it’s all true, and as people all over social media seem to think, this super expensive potato photo is a sign that end times are nigh. garage door cable binding

Herewith, a potato-rage sampling. “All because of the stupid fad of potatoes of this generation.” (Is anyone else aware of this fad?) “Human beings are really dumb.” Kevin Abosch sold a photo of a dirty #potato for a million bucks. Purchase price: 1 Million Dollars. kitchen door knob backplate#KevinAbosch #dumbart #highend #photography #potatography #onemilliondollars #imgonnaberich #thisisnotapotato A photo posted by Travis Poling (@travpol) on Jan 23, 2016 at 11:01am PST “You’re clearly not being pretentious enough.” A lesson in how to be “pretentious enough:” Talking to CBS News, Abosch explained the deep deep artistic depth of his potato portrait for those who fail to immediately see it. “I see commonalities between humans and potatoes that speak to our relationship as individuals within a collective species,” he said. “Generally, the life of a harvested potato is violent and taken for granted.