NEW ORLEANS - A New York company developing housing in the Tulane Avenue corridor said today that it has launched a campaign to promote the area "as an ideal setting to live, work, dine and play."

The campaign is the brainchild of The Domain Cos., which is constructing more than 500 housing units in the area. Domain's three housing developments - The Preserve, Crescent Club and Meridian - are expected to open by the end of this year. The company points to a slew of projects - including a proposed Veterans Affairs hospital, the Louisiana Cancer Center and planned improvements to the Criminal Justice Complex - planned by other groups for the region.

Domain's and other planned projects combine for a total investment for the nearly 25-block-long corridor of more than $3.5 billion, Domain said.

"We want residents and business owners to be as excited about the rebirth of Tulane Avenue as principals of the Domain Cos. and other commercial and residential developers are," said Matt Schwartz, principal of Domain.

The new campaign, launched to build awareness of what Domain calls the city's emerging "hot spot," will appear along the fencing of Domain's developments and other redevelopment sites throughout Mid-City.

Square Feet Design and Beuerman Miller Fitzgerald designed the campaign, which will run for the next several months. Domain also plans to expand the campaign to include billboards and a variety of print media.

"Tulane Avenue and Mid-City are emerging as one of the most exciting success stories of the region's recovery," Schwartz said. "We want to raise people's awareness of the level of investment and planning going into this area of the city. Tulane Avenue will offer some of the city's finest housing, employment and entertainment options. The area is already the focus of some of the region's most ambitious economic development initiatives."