what

Been a little too busy to keep the yellow blog updated lately. That should be changing soon. But it's impossible to resist jumping in to just ask... what

Sidney Torres is the proud new owner of the building that housed an historic New Orleans grocery.

Torres, a real estate mogul and reality TV star, bought the Circle Food Store for $1.7 million as the store was put up for auction Thursday afternoon. He said before the auction that he intended to keep the store as a grocery.

No idea what level we've sunk to at this point.  But the NOligarchs are just picking properties up out of the bargain bin now.

Speaking of which, what do we make of this mess?

A golf driving range venue is being considered for Morial New Orleans Convention Center property, potentially a complement to a proposed hotel next to the facility.

The New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority, which oversees the state-owned convention center, was scheduled Tuesday (April 23) to ratify a letter of intent on a lease with Topgolf. The Dallas-based company operates nearly 50 similar facilities in the U.S., including one in Baton Rouge, and five international locations. The authority’s board meeting was canceled, with president Melvin Rodrigue in Baton Rouge earlier in the day to testify at a legislative committee meeting.

The Advocate story is a bit better here. It mentions Topgolf's rivalry with Drive Shack as well as the names of the local investors now enlisted on either side of it. Notice Joe Jaeger's odd position. 

Drive Shack's $29 million Howard Avenue project will occupy the site of the old Times-Picayune building, which is currently undergoing demolition.

The site was bought in 2016 by a consortium led by developer Joe Jaeger, with partners including Barry Kern of Mardi Gras World and developer Arnold Kirschman.

Jaeger is also involved in developing the Convention Center's $557.5 million Omni hotel project. A decision about that project is expected to be made this year.

The Convention Center is trying to get Jaeger to build them a hotel on land adjacent to an amusement project that will put them in competition with one he's trying to build elsewhere.  That's pretty messed up.  Maybe if the same 7 or 8 mega-millionaires didn't own all the important land in the city, this wouldn't happen. 

Update:  Aaand it looks like Jaeger's position was untenable. 

Joe Jaeger Jr., one of the owners of the property where a Drive Shack golf and entertainment complex was set for construction soon, said Thursday that the actions of the Convention Center had made it untenable for Drive Shack to move forward despite its lease for the site.

"It appears that the project is dead," said Jaeger. He said he is currently negotiating with Drive Shack about splitting the costs incurred so far and plans to let them out of their obligations.

"Holding their feet to the fire over the lease wouldn't be right. ... They've been duped by the leadership (of the Convention Center), and it's not fair, it's not right and I can't make them do something I don't believe in," Jaeger said in an interview.

Or to put it another way, it looks like the Convention Center put him in that position on purpose.  Which, again, is what happens when the city is governed according to the whims and resentments of its competing oligarchs.