NEW ORLEANS — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $73 million sale of two hotels located in the Arts/Warehouse District of New Orleans. The properties include Courtyard by Marriott, which comprises 202 rooms, and SpringHill Suites by Marriott, which totals 208 rooms. A group led by Robert Guidry, along with Guidry Land Partners and David Bansmer, acquired the hotels, which are located at 300 Julia St. and 301 St. Joseph St. Bill Murney, Alyson Murney and Craig Hey of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $11.6 million sale of a three-property multifamily portfolio in Baton Rouge. The 248-unit portfolio includes Howell Place located at 4150 72nd Ave., Pelican Bay at 2121 Lobdell Blvd. and Pirates Bend at 8165 Plank Road. John Hamilton, Chris Shaheen, Will Balthrope and Drew Garza of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an entity doing business as 2121 Lobdell LLC, and procured the buyer, Granite Pelican Bay LLC. Built in 2001 and 2002, the apartment communities are located just south of Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport and four miles north of downtown. Each property consists of a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans.
METAIRIE, LA. — Three new tenants, all divisions of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., will open at Lakeside Shopping Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot retail center located in Metairie, roughly eight miles outside of downtown New Orleans. Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids and Hollister Co. are scheduled to open at the property this summer. The stores will feature updated prototype formats for the respective brands. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates more than 750 stores under these banners throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
HARVEY, LA. — Colliers has arranged the sale of The Waters at Manhattan, an apartment community located in Harvey, approximately seven miles outside of downtown New Orleans. Developed in 2022 by the seller, Stoa Group, the property comprises 360 units. New York-based Four Corners Development Group acquired the community for an undisclosed price. Albert Elmore of Colliers led a team that represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.
METAIRIE, LA. — The Feil Organization has signed a tenant to a 39,000-square-foot lease renewal at One Lakeway, one of the firm’s three office towers within its Lakeway complex in Metairie. EDG, a global engineering and project management consulting firm, signed the 10-year renewal. Bruce Sossaman and Bennett Davis of Corporate Realty represented Feil in the lease negotiations. Scott Miller of CBRE represented EDG.
COVINGTON, LA. — Pelican Energy Consultants LLC, an energy consulting and project management firm, has moved its corporate office to the newly branded Pelican Energy Building, a 48,000-square-foot office building located at 4099 Highway 190 E. Service Road in Covington. Gulf States Real Estate, Development and Construction Services arranged the new office lease on behalf of the tenant and helped negotiate renovations prior to Pelican Energy’s relocation, according to New Orleans City Business. Stephen Camp is the owner/landlord of the Pelican Energy Building. Prior to the new lease, Gulf States also brokered the sale of Pelican Energy’s former 25,000-square-foot office headquarters within the nearby Ashland Business Park. Additionally, the brokerage services firm temporarily housed Pelican Energy within one of its own offices within Tammany West Business Park while renovations were made to its new offices.
METAIRIE, LA. — The Feil Organization has signed FastPass Tag and Title LLC to a 9,000-square-foot lease in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. The tenant will occupy two suites at 3445 North Causeway Boulevard, a 10-story, 127,858-square-foot office building. One suite will include a retail space where customers can obtain and renew their drivers’ licenses and IDs, while the second space will be dedicated to the company’s back-of-house and office operations. Scott Graf of Corporate Realty represented Feil Organization in the lease transaction.
For the past decade, the inventory of industrial space in the Greater New Orleans market has not been large enough to meet demand. Comprising mostly older product that would be considered Class B or C in more populous markets, New Orleans-area warehouses have an overall vacancy rate of less than 2 percent. The demand has resulted in rising rental rates. Development of new product is warranted, but a combination of factors has prevented new projects from being built. Finally, in 2023, despite increased construction costs, high insurance costs and rising interest rates, projects are underway that will accommodate the demand in a market that is long overdue for new, modern warehouse product. Despite having all the ingredients to be a major industrial market, including one of the country’s largest port systems, warehouse infrastructure in New Orleans is dated, mostly due to a lack of suitable land for development. Institutional ownership and investment here is limited to select groups that, while chasing higher yields, took the time to learn the market’s dynamics and build local relationships. Historically, as brokers and tenants bemoaned a lack of product, national developers were reluctant to deploy capital to speculate in an unfamiliar and unproven locale. …
The New Orleans retail market is in a state of flux like other markets across the country. The retail experience is changing for the end user, with an increase in online shopping, “try before you buy” customers and quicker walkthroughs. Retailers are left in an odd position, caught between experiential interactions with customers and trying to have them remember to purchase later at home. While the retail market is changing, the Greater New Orleans area is different due to the scarcity of space available for new construction and a stable flow of stores closing or relocating. Our market creates a streamlined experience where consumers have “retail corners” they can visit to shop — such as downtown New Orleans, especially the iconic streets of Canal and Magazine — but also the suburbs that include Metairie, Elmwood and the Westbank. With the concentrated shopping setup of the market, customers can shop more efficiently, and retail investors see the New Orleans market as a more demanding and creative place to build and open stores. Submarket by submarket The retail customer in New Orleans detests spending unneeded time in the car, so when customers can shop locally, get what they need and get it …
BOSSIER CITY, LA. — An affiliate of Cordish Cos. doing business as LRGC Gaming Investors LLC has broken ground on Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana, a $270 million development in Bossier City. The development represents the first land-based casino in the Bossier City-Shreveport metropolitan area, according to Cordish. The project is expected to create 750 new construction jobs and 750 permanent jobs upon completion. The site was formerly home to the vacant Diamond Jacks Casino & Hotel, which Cordish acquired earlier this year. Scheduled to open in 2025, the Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will feature more than 47,000 square feet of gaming space; a sportsbook for live betting on sporting events; an upscale 550-room hotel with a resort-style pool and fitness center; 25,000-square-foot events center; structured and surface parking; and 30,000 square feet of dining and entertainment venues, including Cordish brands Sports & Social, PBR Cowboy Bar and Luk Fu.