Shortly after Ed Blakely was appointed New Orleans' recovery chief in 2006, he promised the people of New Orleans that in a year they would see "cranes on the skyline. "

The statement conjured images of towering steel structures looming over the city's horizon as they constructed gleaming new buildings, ushering in a New Orleans renaissance.

Three years later, however, the skyline looks much the same as the day Blakely took office. Except for a handful of cranes at scattered projects such as the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium, there are few to be found.

But just because there aren't cranes on the skyline doesn't mean there hasn't been progress, said Robert Boh, president of New Orleans-based Boh Bros. Construction.