BATON ROUGE, LA. — Hunt Capital Partners has provided $6.2 million in LIHTC equity for Government Corridor, a 103-year-old affordable housing redevelopment in Baton Rouge. The project will renovate 34 detached single-family and duplex homes that are reserved for families earning up to 30, 50 and 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Additionally, 30 percent of all homes at Government Corridor will be set aside for special needs households. Originally built in 1920, the campus comprises three clusters that are situated within short distance of the recently overhauled Government Street. Only 15 percent of Government Corridor is occupied, and residents of the occupied units will be relocated until the first phase of the project is complete. The development team for Government Corridor includes general contractor Ethridge Construction; architect Erick Parnell, owner of ArchBoutant; and property manager GHCP Management LLC, an affiliate of nonprofit partner Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GHCP). Rehabilitation work is underway and scheduled for completion in February 2024. Other capital partners include United Bank, the State of Louisiana Division of Administration Office of Community Development and GCHP.
GONZALES, LA. — J.W. Logistics LLC, a last-mile delivery firm based in Texas, has signed a 30,120-square-foot lease at Pelican Point Commerce Center, a 32-acre industrial park in Gonzales. The tenant will occupy space at 8200 Highway 44, which fronts I-10 adjacent to the Louisiana Regional Airport. The facility features 16-foot clear heights, rear dock doors and surface parking spaces. The Gonzales site marks the third location for J.W. Logistics in Louisiana as the firm has existing locations in Baton Rouge and Shreveport. Kent McCoy of Centric Commercial represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Todd Pevey represented the landlord, Baltimore-based St. John Properties, on an internal basis. St. John Properties is underway on the buildout of Pelican Point Commerce Center, which will span 265,000 square feet of flex industrial space upon completion. The developer has delivered approximately 100,000 square feet at the park to-date and is currently developing an 83,000-square-foot high-bay warehouse.
RUSTON, LA. — Timberline Real Estate Ventures has sold CEV Ruston, a 432-bed community serving students attending Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. Constructed in 2008, the property offers two- and four-bedroom, fully furnished units. Shared amenities include a fitness center, group and private study rooms, a computer center and swimming pool. The community is situated adjacent to campus at 1812 W. Alabama Ave. Scott Clifton, Stewart Hayes, Teddy Leatherman, Kevin Kazlow and Jack Goldberger of JLL represented Timberline in the disposition of the property to Briar Meads Capital. The sales price was not disclosed.
NEW ORLEANS — Cronheim Mortgage has secured an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing for The California Building in downtown New Orleans. Originally an office building, the property has been converted to Class A multifamily, with units leased as a combination of both multifamily and short-term rentals due to the building’s advantage of holding a hotel license. The sponsor, Servio Capital, plans to convert the building to condos and sell units to both short-term rental investors and owner-occupants. An undisclosed lender provided the loan, which was underwritten at 75 percent loan-to-cost. The California Building is located adjacent to the French Quarter, Superdome and Tulane Medical Center.
VIOLET, LA. — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has announced a public-private partnership between the State of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) and two global maritime industry leaders to build a $1.8 billion container facility on the Lower Mississippi River. The new Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) will be located in Violet, a tiny municipality of fewer than 6,000 residents approximately 10 miles downriver from New Orleans proper. The new facility will be able to serve vessels of all sizes, dramatically increasing Louisiana’s import and export capacity and stimulating the creation of more than 17,000 new jobs statewide by 2050, Port NOLA estimates. New Jersey-based Ports America, one of North America’s largest marine terminal operators, and Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Co., through its terminal development and investment arm Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), have committed $800 million toward the project. In addition to the partners’ investment, the construction of the terminal will be supported by a substantial commitment from Port NOLA, as well as state and federal funding sources. The joint venture will operate the terminal once construction is complete. “This public-private partnership with the Port of New Orleans, TiL and Ports America has the potential to become one of …
Increased interest rates and challenging insurance costs would normally stifle a multifamily market. However, an inventory constrained by a lack of land, supply chain issues, labor shortages and the increased cost of homeownership have contributed to a further stabilization of the metro New Orleans multifamily market. The overall vacancy factor for our seven primary submarkets that make up metro New Orleans are in the 5 to 6 percent range. We anticipate occupancy rates to steadily increase going forward as new construction has stalled and rising interest rates have delayed many tenants from transitioning to homeownership. Overall rental rates in the metro average in the $1,250 to $1,350 per month range. The rents represent a 3.5 percent increase over the past 12 months. It should be noted that some submarkets have seen considerably higher increases. The highest rental rates reported in the metro for garden-style communities are in Eastern St. Tammany Parish, where the newest inventory exists. The highest rents in New Orleans are downtown in the CBD/Warehouse District. These communities comprise mid-rise and high-rise developments and command rents exceeding $2.50 per square foot. The downtown market experienced some softness during the COVID-19 pandemic but made a robust recovery once restrictions …
New Orleans has seen significant, pent-up retail growth over the past 12 months as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, however, external forces have provided some headwinds and caused tenants and investors to go back to their corners to reassess. Inflation, rising interest rates, insurance premium increases and elevated construction costs have all contributed to uncertainty in the Greater New Orleans retail landscape. Within the French Quarter and CBD, growing concerns from crime have forced some CEOs to look outside of the city core for their office headquarters. This issue, coupled with the current “work-from-home” environment, causes downtown retailers to rely even more on tourism and convention business. Thankfully, the hospitality sector has had success and is now exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Due to an active 2021 hurricane season that saw Hurricane Ida devastate South Louisiana, insurance rates have skyrocketed as carriers continue to leave the state. As a result, landlords have struggled with how to handle these unforeseen spikes in expenses. Should they pass those on to the tenant or eat them to remain competitive, or a combination of the two? 2022 has been a surprisingly quiet storm season, so with any luck these rates should begin to …
In the post-pandemic environment where employers are trying to navigate new work schedules, office tenants are focusing more on the finish and design of office space than they are the rents. In New Orleans, we are seeing office tenants rethink the concept of office space altogether, and their employees are thinking differently about their individual offices as well. There has been a shift from the traditional office space of years past where one spends eight hours a day in a large private office with the door closed. The office has evolved into more of a social place. Companies want their employees to come back to the office and not to be fully remote. Many employees want to get out of their pajamas and come back to the office. But, getting them all to come back has proven to be the challenge. Companies are now enticing their employees with redesigned spaces that are more aesthetically pleasing and rich with amenities that allow for more social interactions and collaboration. Employees who work remotely a few days a week are coming to the office because they want that engagement with their colleagues. Tenants are now less interested in refurbishing private offices and spend …
LAKE CHARLES, LA. — Schelin Uldricks & Co. has arranged $13.9 million in financing for the redevelopment of University Plaza, a grocery-anchored shopping center located at the corner of Ryan Street and Sale Road in the southeast Louisiana city of Lake Charles. Financing will enable the renovation of portions of the property that experienced hurricane damage in 2020. When finished, the retail center will span 203,965 square feet. An undisclosed regional bank lender provided the loan. The property is currently leased to a mix of tenants that include a fitness center, grocery store and several inline restaurants and retailers.
NEW ORLEANS — Servio Capital has purchased the California Building, a luxury condominium property at the corner of Tulane Avenue and Rampart Street in New Orleans, for $40 million. Designed in 1949 and built in 1950, the property is one of the oldest standing international-style buildings in the city. Previously home to the Hibernia Bank operation center, the building has since been converted to multifamily housing and features amenities including a media room, fitness center, business center and a game room. The seller was not disclosed.