The waters of and around New Orleans have been seeing an interesting building boom these days, and this is exemplified by a $20 million luxury hotel construction project happening down by Boomtown Casino on the Harvey Canal. A lot of the attraction to the waterfront is that there's so much availability for land there, making construction projects like this go much further per dollar spent.

The West Bank, which has long suffered a dearth of hotel rooms, is seeing a building boom these days.

For example, on the Harvey Canal, a $20 million luxury hotel is under construction on the batture next to Boomtown Casino New Orleans. And a four-story Hampton Inn has taken shape off Manhattan and Gretna boulevards in Harvey.

And Gretna's quest to annex land envisioned for an estimated $50 million hotel project would further increase accommodations for visitors to the region -- and revenue for the parish. Read More