NEW ORLEANS — Churchill Stateside Group LLC has closed an $11 million construction loan for Canal Crossing, a 49-unit affordable seniors housing development in New Orleans. Churchill Stateside provided the tax-exempt loan through Churchill Mortgage Construction LLC. The project, which is being financed in part with low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC), is an adaptive reuse of a historic building at 2640 Canal St. and will be reserved for households age 55 and older. Canal Crossing will feature three units reserved for households earning 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), eight units at 50 percent AMI, 24 units at 60 percent AMI and 14 units at 70 percent AMI. The developer and other details of Canal Crossing were not disclosed.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $6.8 million sale of Village Square, a 47,000-square-foot shopping center located at 3132 College Drive near the Louisiana State University (LSU) campus in Baton Rouge. Situated near the intersection of I-10, the property is shadow-anchored by Walmart and was leased to tenants including Office Depot, Sally Beauty, Coffee Call, Classy Nails, Teatery & Tapioca and Juicy Seafood at the time of sale. Zach Taylor and Eric Abbott of Marcus & Millichap’s Taylor McMinn Retail Group represented the seller, an unnamed developer based in Tennessee, in the transaction. Steve Greer served as Marcus & Millichap’s broker of record in Louisiana in the deal. The buyer was not released. Don McMinn and Andrew Koriwchak of Taylor McMinn Retail Group also negotiated the $5.2 million sale of Village Square’s two outparcels, which are leased to Capital One and IHOP, in May on behalf of the same seller.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — A joint venture between affiliates of Monument Square Investment Group and a New York-based single-family office has acquired University Grove, a 381-bed student housing community located 2.7 miles south of the Louisiana State University (LSU) campus in Baton Rouge. Developed in 2024, the property offers 127 cottage-style units in three-bedroom configurations with bed-to-bath parity. Capital improvements are planned for the property, including upgrades to landscaping and amenity spaces. The community was 98.5 percent leased at the time of sale. The seller and terms of the transaction were not released.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — A partnership between New York-based companies DLC and DRA Advisors has acquired Towne Center at Cedar Lodge, a 316,031-square-foot shopping center located near the Louisiana State University (LSU) campus in Baton Rouge. The purchase price was $81 million, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate. The seller was undisclosed. Whole Foods Market anchors the property, which was 93 percent leased at the time of sale. Other tenants include Barnes & Noble, Nike, Gap and Ulta Beauty.
BOSSIER CITY, LA. — New Jersey-based investment firms Reynolds Asset Management has obtained a $23.2 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Preston Place, a 272-unit apartment community located at 400 Preston Blvd. in Bossier City, a suburb of Shreveport, La. Allan Edelson of Walker & Dunlop arranged the financing. Devli Real Estate is a joint venture partner of Reynolds for Preston Place. Reynolds acquired Preston Place in 2023 for $23.7 million, and renovations began immediately after the acquisition. Originally constructed in 1985, Preston Place sits on eight acres and comprises a mix of 133 one-bedroom apartments, 138 two-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom apartment.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Mapletree Investments has signed LifeScience Logistics, a healthcare supply chain firm, to a 625,000-square-foot industrial lease in Memphis. The facility is located at 5200 Tradeport Drive within Chickasaw Distribution Center on the city’s south side. Kemp Conrad of Cushman & Wakefield | Commercial Advisors represented the landlord in the lease negotiations, while Brian Monaghan and Bob Robers of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. The property comprises 605,510 square feet of warehouse space and 19,490 square feet of office space, including a 13,475-square-foot main office and 6,015 square feet of space for shipping, receiving and satellite offices. The facility is situated within proximity to I-22, U.S. Route 78, the BNSF Intermodal and Memphis International Airport. The lease marks the entry into Tennessee for LifeScience Logistics, which is investing $23.2 million into the project and expects to create 101 new jobs. The tenant received a 10-year Fast Track PILOT from the City of Memphis and Shelby County’s Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) for the project.
NEW ORLEANS — The Feil Organization plans to deliver a new Trader Joe’s grocery store at 2501 Tulane Ave. in New Orleans. The new 13,368-square-foot store will be the first location in New Orleans for the Monrovia, Calif.-based specialty grocer. Feil began assembling sites along Tulane Avenue in 2016 and executed the lease with Trader Joe’s in 2023. Colette Wharton and Katina Spera represented Feil internally in the lease negotiations, and Rich Lobkowicz of District Real Estate Advisors and Chris Ross of NAI Latter & Blum (now NAI Rampart) represented Trader Joe’s. The design-build team includes Sherman Strategies, SCNZ Architects and Landis Construction. Metairie Bank provided an undisclosed amount of construction financing for the project. The new Trader Joe’s is set to this summer, according to NOLA.com.
NEW ORLEANS — Gayle Benson, owner of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, plans to acquire 1515 Poydras, a 27-story office tower in downtown New Orleans’ central business district. Benson is under contract and the sale is expected to close in mid-July. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. Built in 1983, the tower comprises 529,000 rentable square feet of office space and a 494-space structured parking garage. The property occupies an entire city block bounded by Poydras, Perdido, LaSalle and Freret streets. Future development plans for 1515 Poydras were not disclosed, but Benson has shared she “has no plans” for the property to “compete in the traditional office tenant marketplace.” Benson has tapped Sue Tucker, formerly with JLL now with Corporate Realty Inc., to oversee property management at 1515 Poydras. Other New Orleans properties owned or once-owned by Benson include Dominion Tower (Benson Tower), the New Orleans Centre Mall (now Champions Square), the Mercedes-Benz Van Center of New Orleans and the 1,100-room Hyatt Regency Hotel.
LAFAYETTE, LA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $5.8 million sale of Lafayette Marketplace, an 87,122-square-foot retail center located in Lafayette. Super 1 Foods anchors the property, which occupies roughly 60 percent of the center. Additional tenants include Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Metro by T-Mobile and Ace Cash Express. Built in 1995 and renovated in 2024, Lafayette Marketplace spans 10 acres and is situated near the West Village master-planned development that is currently underway. Eric Abbott and Zach Taylor of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Steve Greer served as Marcus & Millichap’s broker of record in Louisiana in the transaction.
NEW ORLEANS — California-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. has sold the Hilton New Orleans St. Charles Avenue, a 252-room hotel in downtown New Orleans, for $47 million. The buyer was not disclosed. Situated in the central business district and near the French Quarter, the hotel was originally built in 1926 as the Louisiana Masonic Temple, according to the Hilton website. The Hilton New Orleans St. Charles Avenue offers a 24-7 fitness center, onsite dining options, fitness center, concierge and a business center.