On third anniversary of Katrina, parish leaders, residents watching Gustav closely

Looking at the hustle and bustle of traffic and commerce along Pontchartrain Drive in Slidell today, it'€™s hard to imagine that three years ago one of the city'€™s prime business corridors was literally washed away.

Hurricane Katrina pushed a 6-foot storm surge through southern Slidell Aug. 29, 2005, and every strip mall, business and apartment building along the wide street was damaged or destroyed.

The street had two major shopping malls, two large grocery stores and businesses ranging from flower shops to auto parts supplies.

Back in the 1950'€™s and 1960'€™s the street was the major gateway to Slidell, through the U.S. Highway 11 Bridge that crossed Lake Pontchartrain connecting Slidell with the South shore. Back then the street was the major commerce area and enjoyed a boom.

Then the federal government built Interstate 10, connecting Slidell to New Orleans through the Twin span Bridge. With exits from I-10 to Old Spanish Trail and Gause Boulevard, Pontchartrain started to lose its appeal, and the major business center in Slidell moved from the southern end of town to the north on Gause Boulevard. The construction of Interstates 12 and 59 took even more business away from Pontchartrain Drive.

Realtor Michael Breeding, owner of Breeding Realty, has been in business on Pontchartrain Drive since 1957, and he has seen a lot of changes. Ironically, he said that just before Katrina, Pontchartrain Drive was starting to come back as a business center.

Jeff Wood, manager of Slidell Easy Pay Tire, was also optimistic about the street before the storm hit.

'€œBusinesses were coming back,'€ Wood said.

Katrina not only destroyed businesses along Pontchartrain Drive, but also the subdivisions that lined the east and west sides of the street. The residents were major customers of stores on Pontchartrain. After Katrina, there was a smaller customer base, and Pontchartrain revival seemed problematic. But the storm seems to have started a new boom along Pontchartrain Drive.

'€œIt'€™s doing better than I thought it would,'€ Breeding said. '€œIt'€™s better than before Katrina.'€

There have been some big changes of course. The street'€™s biggest shopping mall, the John Jay Center, which used to be the St. Tammany Mall, no longer exists.

It sat damaged and empty for three years, until the owners demolished it in June. What was once the first mall in Slidell, complete with a movie theatre, is now a very long empty concrete slab.

The owners have not said what they plan to do with the space. Breeding said he has not heard what is planned for the former mall.

There is better news at the southern end of Pontchartrain Drive. The Lauren Plaza mall is back in business under new management as The Shops in Slidell. So far, Crossgates Athletic Club and Smoothie King have opened their doors in the mall. The owners are also negotiating with a grocery store to occupy the largest space in the mall and said that all the other store space has been leased.

Slidell Easy Pay Tire was one of the first businesses to open after Katrina, and that store was busy selling tires and fixing cars. However, Wood said his workers had a hard time finding a place to eat lunch.

'€œWe had to give them three-hour lunch breaks so they could find a place to eat,'€ Wood said.

That is definitely not a problem now. There are full service restaurants like Southside Cafe, plus fast food franchises such as Burger King and Sonic that are doing brisk business along Pontchartrain. Last month, McDonalds opened a restaurant, and its parking lot is always full.

Of course, there is still a lot of rebuilding to do. There are still empty and boarded-up stores along the street. Most of the strip malls are open for business, but others like the Pontchartrain Village Mall are just starting to rebuild.

Even though things seem to be on the upswing along Pontchartrain Drive, business owners face another roadblock '€” the economy. Sonny Eirich, owner of Cypress Cove Boating Center, said he has recovered after losing almost $600,000 in inventory during the storm, but now people aren'€™t buying.

'€œThe economy is terrible,'€ Eirich said. '€œBoat sales are slow.'€

He added the local government has not helped businesses to recover.

'€œThey have put more restrictions on us. Slidell is not a friendly place to do business,'€ Eirich said.

That sentiment was echoed by Wayne Breeden, who manages Furnishing Liquidators. He is in the process of closing the store, not because of Katrina, but because the economy is slowing, and nobody is buying furniture. He said the government needs to do more with the area.

'€œThere are still people living in FEMA trailers around us, and we need more businesses,'€ Breeden said. He said the restrictions put on businesses in the area is stifling growth. '€œThey have to start looking at the good, and not always at the bad.'€

Florist Norman Champagne owns The Blossom Shop, and has been struggling after losing $300,000 in inventory during Katrina. He said Pontchartrain Drive looks better since the storm, but business is '€œinconsistent.'€

'€œIt goes up and down, and that makes it hard,'€ Champagne said.

Ironically, Champagne moved to Slidell from Florida in 2003 to escape the presence of hurricanes. But Breeding is optimistic about the comeback of Pontchartrain Drive. He said Family Dollar and Dollar General are opening stores in the near future.

'€œI don'€™t have one vacant piece of property available,'€ Breeding said. '€œThings have come back very well.'€