HOUSINGNEWSREPORT
city. An expanding economy, driven by a growing tourism sector, oil and gas development, and the growing medical industry, has helped to transform formerly neglected corners of the city into trendier neighborhoods. And after years of decline, the city’s population is slowly growing again, ranking as one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to Census Bureau data. Besides the gentrification of hipster neighborhoods like the Faubourg Marigny, Bywater and Mid City, another trend Haase pointed out is the wave of hotel and condo projects in the central business district (CBD), the Warehouse district and other parts of the city. Today, thousands are flocking to a renewed New Orleans. The city is rebuilding its public transit system, adding a fourth new street car line along North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue, running 1.6 miles from Canal Street to Elysian Fields Avenue, traversing neighborhoods like Treme, Marigny and Bywater. In the last several years, New Orleans has also transformed its public education system, with 93 percent of New Orleans public school students attending charter schools, replacing failing public schools with high-achieving charter schools, according to the Cowen Institute at Tulane University.
“We are experiencing a historical shift right now where young buyers want amenity-rich buildings and amenity-rich neighborhoods near the urban core,” said Haase, referring to the growing crop of urban-centric high- rise condo towers being planned or under construction in the Warehouse District near the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center along the Mississippi River. “We are just entering the world of condo living. Interest in vertical communities is unprecedented.” Condo Mania Eleven years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and displaced nearly 1 million people in the Gulf Coast, New Orleans has become one of the fastest- growing commercial real estate markets in the nation. A construction boom fueled by the inflow of $120.5 billion in federal aid has launched a rebirth of the CBD and the Warehouse District. The CBD and the Warehouse District are a beehive of construction activity, and are riding a wave of hotel and condo projects as demand for downtown living surges and tourism rises, said Haase. Both areas are undergoing a rapid transformation into more residential neighborhoods,
Once a blue-collar community, Bywater is increasingly becoming a bohemian swath of the city that hugs the Mississippi and is slowly being gentrified by artists, musicians and young idealists who saw the rebuilding of News Orleans as a cause célèbre for rebuilding the Big Easy. In Bywater, 19th-century shotguns — homes known for the fact that a shotgun blast at the front door could travel unimpeded through the home’s narrow hallway to the rear — are being remodeled and converted into rentals and single family homes. And abandoned warehouses, like the red-bricked Rice Mill Lofts , a five-story structure that was once home to the nation’s largest rice processor, are being converted into apartments. Haase said a tremendous influx of out-of- town young entrepreneurial millennials — seeking amenity-rich housing — are driving up demand in these newly gentrified areas and revitalizing other areas of the
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
“
We are experiencing a historical shift right now where young buyers want amenity-rich neighborhoods near the urban core.”
Rick Haase | President of Latter & Blum New Orleans, Lousiana
P11
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter