Louisiana

Maverick Gaming Agrees to Buy Eldorado Shreveport Resort Casino for $230M

by Jeff Shaw January 13, 2020

SHREVEPORT, LA. — Eldorado Resorts Inc. has agreed to sell the Eldorado Resort Casino Shreveport, located on the banks of the Red River in Shreveport in the northwest corner of Louisiana. Maverick Gaming LLC will purchase the asset for $230 million. The property features 400 hotel rooms, six restaurants, two nightclubs, 1,400 slot machines, 50 gaming tables and a full-service spa. The transaction is scheduled to close in the first half of this year, prior to or at the same time as Eldorado’s previously announced merger with Caesars Entertainment Corp. “The agreement to divest the Eldorado Shreveport is consistent with our continued focus on reducing debt ahead of the expected closing for the Caesars transaction,” says Tom Reeg, CEO of Eldorado. The buyer hopes to cater to residents of Dallas, which is approximately 200 miles to the west. Casinos are illegal throughout the state of Texas. Although there are a handful of legal casinos on boats and Native American land, none are near the Dallas metro. “The population in the Dallas market exceeds 7.5 million people, and Dallas encompasses the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States,” says Eric Persson, owner of Maverick Gaming. “Maverick’s focus to …

January 13, 2020

Features Kentucky Louisiana Southeast Texas West Virginia

The Terrible T’s of Inventory: Timing and Taxes

by Kristin Harlow January 7, 2020

Inventory taxes pose an additional cost of doing business in more than a dozen states, and despite efforts to mitigate the competitive disadvantage the practice creates for many taxpayers, policymakers have yet to propose an equitable fix. Virtually all states employ a property tax at the state or local level. The most common target is real property, which is land and land improvements; and tangible personal property such as fixtures, machinery and equipment. Nine states also tax business inventory. These include Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Vermont. Another four states — Alaska, Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts — partially tax inventory. In these 13 states, inventory tax contributes a significant portion of overall property tax collections. From a policy standpoint, however, inventory tax is probably the least defensible form of property tax: It is the least transparent of business taxes; is “non-neutral,” as businesses with larger inventories, such as retailers and manufacturers pay more; and it adds insult to injury for businesses whose inventory is out of sync with finicky consumer buying habits. Few fixes Taxpayers have had few options in attempting to reduce inventory tax liability because an inventory’s valuation is seldom easily disputed. So, …

January 7, 2020

Acquisitions Hospitality Louisiana Southeast

Park Hotels & Resorts Sells Le Meridien New Orleans for $84M

by Alex Tostado January 2, 2020

NEW ORLEANS — Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. has sold the 410-room Le Meridien New Orleans for $84 million, or $205,000 per key, to an undisclosed buyer. Located near the French Quarter and less than one mile from the Mississippi River, the 23-story hotel features a fitness center and rooftop pool. Proceeds from the sale of the hotel will be used to repay a portion of Park’s unsecured debt. According to Canal Street Beat, Park Hotels purchased the former W Hotel in 2013 for $65 million before reopening the hotel as Le Meridian in 2014. Park Hotels has sold and/or disposed 22 assets it has deemed “non-core” for $1 billion since its spin off from Hilton Worldwide, according to Thomas Baltimore Jr., chairman and CEO of Park Hotels.

January 2, 2020

Louisiana Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

New Orleans Office Sector is in Rightsizing Mode as Tenants Downsize Footprints

by Alex Tostado December 16, 2019

With the recent influx of young talent, combined with the area’s thriving economy and renowned vibrant culture, the Greater New Orleans region is poised for growth. Although the office market sector is slow to show any significant gains, this signifies a potential undervalued opportunity for users. The metro area has nearly 20 million square feet of office space, including over 11 million square feet of Class A space with a published occupancy rate exceeding 87 percent. The predominant trend is a rightsizing of the market, resulting in more downsizing than growth. On a macro level, the oil and gas industry is phasing out, which has historically been a prominent space user. The conversion of office space into alternate uses also continues, as well as a reduction in company footprints. The outlying suburban office market has seen the most growth, with East Metairie being one of the strongest submarkets in both occupancy and rental rates. With less product in the area, supply and demand are closer to equilibrium. New Orleans’ central business district (CBD) and downtown office submarkets are coasting along. Class A occupancy rates are slightly down from last year, but rents have inched up to high-teens and low-20s. The …

December 16, 2019

Louisiana Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Tight Multifamily Occupancy in New Orleans Leads to 2,285 Units in the Pipeline

by Alex Tostado December 9, 2019

New Orleans (also known as Crescent City, The Big Easy and NOLA) is unique in many ways. The cuisine, architecture and music all set the city apart, but for the real estate industry, the geography is most important. In fact, it’s uniqueness among the great Southern cities is that the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain and the wetlands to the east and west have created a barrier to entry unlike any other multifamily market in the country. These factors have limited development to a select few urban sites and redevelopment of historic structures. Garden-style product has been primarily confined to St. Tammany Parish located north of Lake Pontchartrain. The parish has an abundance of land as well as the demographic profile to support new market-rate construction. The multifamily market in metro New Orleans is further strengthened by the positive economic growth the city has experienced. The local and regional economies continue to see growth in the following sectors: energy, advanced manufacturing, international trade, healthcare, education, bio-science, tourism and technology. One example is DXC Technology’s new Digital Transformation Center located in downtown New Orleans. This new employer will create 2,000 well-paying jobs and provide further stability to the downtown multifamily market. The …

December 9, 2019

Development Louisiana Mixed-Use Retail Southeast Top Stories

Owner of Metro New Orleans Mall to Start $100M Redevelopment, Adding Office Space and Apartments

by John Nelson December 5, 2019

METAIRIE, LA. — The Richards family, the longtime owner and operator of Clearview Shopping Center in Metairie, has unveiled plans to transform the 700,000-square-foot regional mall into a mixed-use destination. Located at 4436 Veterans Memorial Blvd., the new Clearview City Center sits on a 35-acre site approximately six miles northwest of downtown New Orleans. The $100 million project will add a hotel, 260 upscale apartments, open-air restaurants with rooftop seating, 100,000 square feet of office space and green space for outdoor events and concerts. “This is what the next-generation consumer is looking for in a mixed-use development, and we’re bringing it here to the heart of Jefferson Parish,” says Thomas Richards, managing partner of Richards Clearview LLC. The redevelopment will create over 1,600 jobs and is expected to have a $123 million economic impact during construction alone, according to an analysis conduced by Greater New Orleans Inc. Once all phases are complete and Clearview City Center opens, it will support 420 total jobs and deliver $26 million in annual economic impact. Construction on the first phase of the Clearview City Center development is expected to begin in mid-2020, with the shopping center remaining fully operational throughout. The Richards family and …

December 5, 2019

Development Hospitality Louisiana Southeast Top Stories

Carpenter & Co., Woodward to Open 341-Room Four Seasons Hotel in New Orleans

by Kristin Harlow December 4, 2019

NEW ORLEANS — Developers Carpenter & Co. Inc. and Woodward Interests LLC will open a 341-room Four Seasons hotel in New Orleans. The property will also include 92 private residences on the top floors of the building. The project is a redevelopment of the 33-story World Trade Center office building. Completion is slated for late 2020. Two Canal Owner LLC, in which both developers are partners, will own the building. The first Four Seasons in New Orleans, the property will be situated within the central business district. It will be located next to the French Quarter, Warehouse District and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and feature views of the Mississippi River. “New Orleans has been a priority market for us for many years and we have been waiting for the right opportunity to make our debut in this dynamic city,” says John Davison, president and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The hotel will include meeting and event spaces, four food and drink outlets, retail space, spa facilities and a rooftop pool. Mali Carow, a Four Seasons veteran of almost 20 years, will serve as general manager. Founded in 1960, Four Seasons currently operates 117 hotels and resorts …

December 4, 2019

Acquisitions Hospitality Louisiana Southeast

Partnership Acquires 1,193-Room Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown New Orleans

by Alex Tostado November 25, 2019

NEW ORLEANS — A partnership has purchased the 1,193-room Hyatt Regency New Orleans and will continue to manage the property as a Hyatt hotel. A partnership between investment company ERG, GMB Properties, The Berger Co. and asset management firm Fulcrum Hospitality purchased the downtown New Orleans hotel for an undisclosed price. The seller was Los Angeles-based Poydras Hotel Holdings Co. The ownership team plans to invest $20 million in capital investments over the next few years. According to ERG Enterprises, the sale represents the largest hotel acquisition in Louisiana history and the first time the Hyatt Regency will fall under local majority ownership. The Hyatt Regency New Orleans is the third-largest hotel in New Orleans and is accessible to sports venues including Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Smoothie King Center. Established in 1976, the 601 Loyola Ave. property occupies a space near the French Quarter and Mississippi Riverfront and features a pool, fitness center and meeting facilities.

November 25, 2019

Development Louisiana Multifamily Southeast

Corvias to Begin $15.8M Renovation of Military Housing Development at Fort Polk, Louisiana

by Alex Tostado November 14, 2019

FORT POLK, LA. — Corvias will begin a $15.8 million renovation of military housing at Fort Polk, a U.S. Army installation in Louisiana’s Vernon Parish. The renovations will include upgrading the facades, gutters, paint and roofs of 1,146 homes and three miles of roadways on the base. Corvias expects to begin construction this month with completion slated for 2021. The renovation project uses remaining basic allowance of housing (BAH) funds accumulated over previous years that are now being reinvested back into Fort Polk housing. Corvias and the U.S. Army have a 50-year partnership through the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), which leverages private-sector capital to expand and modernize housing. Corvias has 13 installations throughout the country. In addition, Corvias will soon complete the final phase of a $34 million geothermal project including the installation of more than 2,400 geothermal heat pumps and upgrades across the installation, which are estimated to save the Army more than $1 million annually in energy saving.

November 14, 2019

Acquisitions Louisiana Retail Southeast

SRS Arranges $15M Sale of Retail Center in Metro New Orleans

by Alex Tostado November 8, 2019

HARAHAN, LA. — SRS Investment Properties Group has arranged the $15 million sale of Elmwood Oaks Shopping Center, a 136,284-square-foot retail center in Harahan. Academy Sports + Outdoors and Dollar Tree anchor the property, which was 96 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Lumber Liquidators and AutoZone. Elmwood Oaks is located at 800 S. Clearview Parkway, eight miles west of downtown New Orleans. Kyle Stonis, Pierce Mayson and Steve Miskew of SRS represented the seller, Regency Centers, in the transaction. The buyer was Property Commerce Dividend Fund LP.

November 8, 2019

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