NEW ORLEANS — Gayle Benson, owner of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, has announced she is acquiring The Windsor Court, a 314-room hotel located at 300 Gravier St. in downtown New Orleans. The luxury property opened in 1984 ahead of the World Fair and is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ Legend Collection. The Windsor Court houses high-end restaurants including The Grill Room, The Polo Club and Le Salon, as well a coffee bar, pool bar and an expansive art collection. The Berger Co., which has operated the hotel since 2009, helped facilitate the acquisition and will continue to manage the property, as well as retain a minority interest. Benson plans to invest in capital improvements at The Windsor Court during her ownership.
Supply constraint has been the story of the greater New Orleans industrial market for the past seven to 10 years. Institutional capital is reluctant to develop new projects in smaller markets, despite national demand trends. In 2026, it seems as if the story is being rewritten by science fiction writers who are focused on a future of AI and space travel. In the near term, brokers and owners still face limited Class A inventory and single-digit vacancy rates. The longer view shows Louisiana’s natural resources attracting significant investment, including SpaceX’s Starbase, Louisiana in Vermilion Parish, North Louisiana’s hyperscaler data center build-out and river corridor manufacturing and port milestones driving logistics, contractor and staging demand across South Louisiana. National trends of high borrowing costs, elevated construction pricing and high insurance premiums continue to keep speculative builds rare and expansions slow. Triple-net rental rates are in the range of $8 to $12 per foot across South Louisiana markets, with newer product easily garnering the higher end of the scale as tenants have few modern options as only a handful of developers have been willing to invest capital to build speculatively in these markets to take advantage of the supply/demand disconnect. Against …
NEW ORLEANS — Matthews has brokered the sale of Magnolia Marketplace, a 115,281-square-foot shopping center located at 2900 S. Claiborne Ave. in New Orleans. Pierce Mayson, Kyle Stonis and Boris Shilkrot of Matthews represented the locally based seller, Stirling Properties, and sourced the buyer, Agree Realty. The sales price was not disclosed, but the deal marks the highest sales price for a retail property sold within New Orleans’ Mid-City/Central City submarket within the past 10 years, according to data from CoStar Group. Built in 2015 by Stirling, Magnolia Marketplace was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx, Michaels, Five Below, PetSmart and Ulta Beauty. Stirling is retaining ownership of an outparcel at the center leased to Raising Cane’s.
Over the past two decades, the multifamily sector, both nationally and locally, has had relatively calm seas, expanding demand, low predictable interest rates and, in the case of metropolitan New Orleans, significant barriers to entry. As a result, the headwinds that New Orleans has faced have been primarily due to national factors (interest rates, inflation) as opposed to any significant local factors. The metro New Orleans market is holding up surprisingly well despite some challenges. Demand is strong, new supply is restrained and although rent growth has been flat, occupancy remains relatively stable. Metro New Orleans is reporting overall occupancy in the 91 to 95 percent range. Average rents are $1,325 per month, with the highest being reported in Downtown New Orleans and St. Tammany Parish. It should be noted that the actual occupancy is at least 100 basis points higher as the metro has a significant number of units off-line as they undergo major renovations. The highest reported rents are in the Central Business District (CBD)/Warehouse District, which consists of predominately mid- and high-rise developments. Rents average $1,985 per month, with reported occupancy in the 92 to 94 percent range. The Mid-City market is reporting average monthly rents of …
ELMWOOD, LA. — RNGD has begun vertical construction on The Francis, a 251-unit multifamily development located in Elmwood, about nine miles west of New Orleans. The project will replace a former Kmart store at Elmwood Center, a 1 million-square-foot open-air shopping center. Construction is slated for completion in spring 2028. Hancock Whitney Bank is providing financing for the project. The Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) collaborated with the Jefferson Parish Council and the development team on economic incentives, including a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) structure. LRK is serving as architect, Parallel is leading interior design and RNGD is the general contractor. The Francis will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments with open-concept layouts and modern finishes. Amenities will include a central courtyard with a resort-style swimming pool and landscaped green spaces, a fitness center, coworking and creative spaces, resident library, dog walk and additional community gathering areas. The development team estimates the project will support more than 200 construction and permanent jobs. In addition to the residential building, Lauricella Land Co. is also planning a 70,000-square-foot expansion of Elmwood Center’s retail and dining options adjacent to The Francis.
VERMILION PARISH, LA. — Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) (NASDAQ:SPCX) plans to invest at least $100 billion to build a spaceport facility in Vermilion Parish, located southwest of Lafayette in coastal Louisiana. The site, which will be named Starbase, Louisiana, is located on an 18-mile strip of Pecan Island. At full build-out, the site will feature five launch complexes with two launchpads, each facilitating thousands of space launches annually, as well as propellant production facilities. SpaceX intends to begin construction in 2027 and launch its first rocket from the location by 2029. Starbase, Louisiana will eventually be the company’s largest launch site, per SpaceX. “We’re preparing to build a spaceport that, until now, has only existed in science fiction,” Founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk said. “SpaceX was founded to bring about a future where humans are out exploring amongst the stars, which will only be possible when we make going to space as routine as flying on an airplane. Starbase, Louisiana will unlock that future.” The company brokered a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with Vermilion Parish that will see the parish receive a $20 million upfront payment as well as $25 million each year for …
SHREVEPORT, LA. — Amazon has unveiled plans to invest an estimated $6 billion in northwest Louisiana for the development of a new data center. The data center, which will be located at Resilient Technology Park in Shreveport, is expected to create 210 direct jobs and 499 indirect jobs. This expansion marks the third data center planned in the state, bringing Amazon’s data center investment in Louisiana to $18 billion. The announcement comes less than six months after its initial $12 billion investment in February. Amazon will continue to partner with STACK Infrastructure, the developer and owner of the three planned campuses, to lead the construction and development of the data center facilities. The data centers in Louisiana are expected to rely on air cooling for most of the year, using water for cooling only when temperatures exceed approximately 85 degrees Fahrenheit —which is anticipated to occur less than 13 percent of the year in the region. Amazon also plans to invest up to $400 million in public water infrastructure to support all three campuses and has coordinated with local utilities to ensure sufficient capacity for both its facilities and existing customers. The company says it will fund all water and wastewater …
BATON ROUGE AND NATCHITOCHES, LA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of two multifamily properties totaling 462 units in Louisiana: Magnolia Trace in Baton Rouge and The Melrose in Natchitoches. John Hamilton and Jessica Thompson of Marcus & Millichap marketed the properties on behalf of the undisclosed sellers. Further details of the transaction were also not disclosed. Situated near Louisiana State University (LSU), Magnolia Trace spans 36 residential buildings and features 246 apartments in one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. Built in 1975 and renovated in 2025, recent improvements at the property include full roof replacements, façade rehabilitation and interior/exterior infrastructure upgrades. The property includes a swimming pool, leasing office and laundry center. Located adjacent to Northwestern State University’s campus, The Melrose was built in 1973 and comprises 216 apartments that range in layouts from one- to three-bedrooms. Amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, laundry facilities and walking/biking trails. Recent improvements at the complex include a full roof replacement, HVAC replacements, pool upgrades and new flooring.
NEW ORLEANS — PENN Entertainment Inc. plans to invest approximately $195 million to relocate its Boomtown Casino & Hotel New Orleans riverboat casino operations to a new landside property on adjacent land, pending regulatory approval. If approved, the publicly traded gaming company will rebrand the property, which is expected to open in 2029, as Hollywood Casino New Orleans. The investment will include the build-out of roughly 140,000 square feet of new development, approximately 875 slot machines, 45 table games, a retail sportsbook and multiple dining options. The existing riverboat will be vacated upon opening of the new property, and PENN expects to keep the existing hotel open. The investment would represent the fourth landside relocation of a riverboat casino for PENN, which expects to finance the project with cash on hand, allowing for the option to access its balance sheet or other sources of liquidity. PENN currently operates four other casino destinations in Louisiana, including L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles, L’Auberge Casino Hotel Baton Rouge and Margaritaville Resort Casino and Boomtown Casino Hotel in Bossier City.
MANDEVILLE, LA. — SRS Real Estate Partners has negotiated the $8 million sale of Mandeville Marketplace, a 62,324-square-foot retail center located in Mandeville. Built in 1988 on six acres, the property was fully leased at the time of sale to five tenants including Altitude Trampoline Park and Crunch Fitness. Sabrina Sapienza and Chad Lieber of SRS Real Estate represented the seller, a Louisiana-based owner. Ben Stalter of Maestri-Murrell represented the buyer, a Louisiana-based private investor, in the transaction. Both parties requested anonymity.
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