Thriving West Bank Community for New Home Construction

One of the many perks of living on the “high ground” of the Mississippi River is that the space to build new construction homes or business is very condensed and highly valued.  This is particularly seen by the inexhaustible amount of homes that have been built in the Greater New Orleans area.  Through a rich cultural history, New Orleans has seen its streetscapes and new home construction defined by German, Spanish, and French influences.  In a reflection of this construction development, neighborhoods in this productive city in Southeast Louisiana were also developed based on race, culture, income, and status.  The term French Creole architecture stems directly from the Creoles who established, occupied, and thrived in their own sector of the city of New Orleans on the East Bank of the Mississippi.

New Home Community
Not to be outdone, the West Bank of New Orleans also established an unprecedented and condensed development of new home construction as well as commercial and industrial construction in and around cities such as Terrytown, Gretna, Harvey, Marrero, and Westwego.  All of these productive cities seem to “hug” the crescent in the Mississippi River because the ground right next to the river is considered high ground.  This is the same reason that the French Quarter has never flooded after levees were installed on the Mississippi River – it is the highest ground in the city.  Another new home construction community on the West Bank of New Orleans, just outside of Gretna, Terrytown, and Algiers that has never flooded is the Parks of Plaquemines.  This master planned development features new, custom home construction with community amenities such as private streets, gated entrance, a park & trail system, a swimming pool, tennis court, and tot lot / playground.

Lower Cost to Live Close to New Orleans
In fact, this subdivision is a thriving west bank community for new home construction, and it only gets better.  New Orleans is known for having a high cost of livability.  In other words, being able to afford to buy a new home in New Orleans is challenging because of the high cost of land taxes, utility and sewer rents, and the cost of living in general.  The good news about the neighborhood Parks of Plaquemines is that this community is located a mere 10.2 miles from the Central Business District (CBD) in New Orleans, LA. This means that if you are working in a corporate location in downtown New Orleans, you only have to commute approximately 20 total miles to and from work while saving a huge amount of money on your cost of living expenses.

Lower to No Flood Risk
The subdivision itself just happens to sit on high ground near the river as well.  And, don’t just take our word for it,  once the new FEMA flood maps are adopted, the entire neighborhood will be taken completely out of the flood zone.  Plus, as mentioned earlier, the Parks of Plaquemines has never flooded, not even during Hurricane Katrina.  In addition to its amazing location and flood zone benefits, our community also is located in a parish which has a school district which was just ranked 8th highest in the entire state of Louisiana.  The parish achieved a enough points to move it from a B grade last year to an A grade this year.  The school’s 2014 annual district performance score was 104.8 overall out of 150 compared to a 95 last year.

So, if you are interested in owning your own little piece of high ground along the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana, you should definitely check out the Parks of Plaquemines, just minutes from all the city has to offer without the cost, flood risk, or expense of private education instead of utilizing the public school system for your kids. To take a tour of the new home construction continually being done at our subdivision, Visit the Parks of Plaquemines Today!  Call 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com.

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Construction and Development for Commercial and Retail Shops in New Orleans East

Residents of the West Bank may soon have something new to do on a summer afternoon in New Orleans, Louisiana, if Tipitina’s owner Roland von Kurnatowski and his business partner, Eric George have anything to say about it.  They are currently in negotiations to develop and construct a new water park and outdoor music venue on the 4.5-acre plot of land on Lake Pontchartrain in eastern New Orleans.  This acreage is where the Bally’s Riverboat Casino stood for many years before Hurricane Katrina forced it to close and move out of the state. The venue will not only sport the water park and outdoor amphitheater – designed to seat a 5,000 capacity – but there will also be construction and development for commercial and retail shops and venues on the west side of the proposed site.  At the south end of the lakefront development, there could be a two-story building with room for a community market downstairs and a restaurant on the second floor.



The construction project has been the brainchild of Studio Network-Lakefront LLC, which is the company created by Tipitina’s owner and Dr. Eric George, a prominent New Orleans orthopedic surgeon.  These men have a vested interest in the culture and heritage of New Orleans because they also purchased the Orpheum Theater last year and immediately began renovations on the structure to bring it back to its former glory.  They pledged to put a total of $13 million into that project.  Since construction on this building in New Orleans is moving along as scheduled, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra has agreed to start performing there when the theater is completed later in the year.  So, complete renovations and seemingly impossible construction projects seems to be this pair’s forte, and New Orleans East’s lakeshore are will benefit from their expertise.

The history behind this 4.5-acre plot of lakefront land is that nothing was done to restore it once Hurricane Katrina destroyed it.  With the “separation of powers,” in 2010 which created an actual Levee Authority which would oversee all properties along the levees, the land was assessed as hopeless because of the cost of the taxes and the deterioration of the property.  Once this was realized, this and other properties were offered to the public for bids.  The only bid on this property was from Studio Network-Lakefront, LLC.  Their proposed project would be named Tipitina’s Festival Park and would include the following:

• An outdoor amphitheater with a 5,000 capacity
• A lazy river and splash park
• Water slides and zip lines
• A two-story, covered boardwalk with shops
• The conversion of the old riverboat terminal into an open-air market

Development and construction in New Orleans is always welcome especially after Hurricane Katrina, but it is enlightening and encouraging to have such an innovative concept introduced by Tipitina’s owner and his business partner who seem to have a soul-reaching interest in rebuilding and renovating New Orleans East on the lakefront of Lake Pontchartrain.

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Strengthening in the Suburbs Is Good News for New Orleans Metro Communities

Wade Ragas, real estate consultant and owner of Real Property Associates continually analyzes sales reports for new homes and previously-owned homes, as well as new home starts, new home trends, the monthly supply of homes for sale on the market, and many other real estate related information in order to present his findings to local Realtor and Builder Associations.  These types of informative seminars aid in the strategic planning of builders and Realtors for their quarterly planning.  Ragas recently gave a talk to the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors for his twice-yearly report and announced the median home prices have pretty much stayed the same in the Greater New Orleans area from 2013 – 2014.

Regular home sales in the Greater New Orleans area showed a cost of $153/square foot with an average cost of $309,533 which is actually down from the major price increases during 2012 – 2013 where the average price rose to $325,348. A 3.1% increase in price year-over-year was reported compared to an 8% increase from 2012 – 2013.  Another reason the cost was so much lower were that the homes sold reported lower living square footage, so homes sold overall were smaller.
The most drastic change in statistics that Ragas reported was that the cost to purchase a home to renovate or “flip” it has increased on average 40% year-over-year for the same time period.  The average price jumped from $52,669 to $71,845 to purchase a home in need of a renovation.

The most important aspect of his study of real estate statistics for the Parks of Plaquemines, located just 10.2 miles from the Central Business District, showed that strengthening in the suburbs is good news for New Orleans Metro communities.  Home sales in the 8 parishes around New Orleans increased by 7.5% from 11,160 – 12,000 with home sales in Jefferson Parish, the parish adjacent to the Parks of Plaquemines up by 2.3%.  The cost per square foot to buy a home in Jefferson Parish was approximately $104 / square foot which is only slightly off the $105 / square foot to buy a home pre-Katrina. Ragas also reported that most of the high volume of home sales in Jefferson Parish was on the West Bank, which is a sign that real estate on the West Bank may finally be taking a turn upwards from the real estate slump during the Recession.

Prices going up are not necessarily a bad thing, and recovery in the suburb, West Bank areas of the Greater New Orleans area means that people are moving back into our communities and may be interested in purchasing a new home for sale in the Parks of Plaquemines, right next to Jefferson Parish on the West Bank and an easy commute to New Orleans for work.  To learn more about our homes for sale and lots for sale, Contact Us at 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com.

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Custom Homes Still Available to Build Near New Orleans

Unlike other towns in the United States that have to worry about the “sprawl” of a metro area that seems to be growing faster than is sustainable by the transportation and infrastructure that the city has to offer, New Orleans, Louisiana and its neighboring cities of Metairie, Kenner, River Ridge, and Harahan seem to be “bulging” at the seams when it comes to available lots to build new custom homes.  It seems that every available inch of space on this much sought-after ground is completely full of existing homes or recently-built homes (and by recent, I mean 10 – 50 years old).
The concept of a new home subdivision in the Greater New Orleans area is also kind of a foreign concept on the West Bank of the Mississippi River as well.  With towns like Terrytown, Algiers, Marrero, Harvey, and Gretna quickly filling up with many different communities of existing homes for sale, and literally very little real estate on which to build, you may have thought that it was a hopeless cause to be able to build your own home and live on the Southshore of New Orleans.  The best that many people can do is to buy a blighted home or even a much older, probably historic fixer-upper home to renovate or restore with more modern conveniences.  In the French Quarter, many residents are doing just that, purchasing abandoned buildings, gutting them, and then recreating them from the inside, leaving the outside facade as is.
If you have the money and resources (and know the right contractor to hire in the French Quarter), then living in the very heart of the culture and history of New Orleans might be the right choice for you.  If you are, however, looking to be able to buy an affordable new home with your own yard and little bit of room to breathe, not too far from the city, look no further than the Parks of Plaquemines, a gated, new home subdivision right next to Jefferson Parish on the West Bank.  The Parks of Plaquemines is a masterplan, new home community with different neighborhoods with contain many different sizes and choices of lots on which to build.
Our builders want you to know that there are custom homes still available to build near New Orleans.  In fact, the community is only 10.2 miles from the French Quarter and Central Business District in New Orleans.  Also, to make your already short commute even easier, you have two choices as to how you might travel to the city to do business, play, or simply go to work – the Crescent City Connection (driving) or the ferry.  Most of the homes built in our gated subdivision were built by home buyers like yourself who wanted to the experience of building their own home.  They were able to bring their plans to our Architectural Control Committee (ARC) for approval and then even use their own approved builder to build their new custom home.
Lots for sale in the Parks of Plaquemines range in price from the $70’s – $140’s, and new homes for sale range in price from the $300’s to over $1 million.  In fact, with the size of lots available, the sky’s the limit as to how much you want to customize your new home.  In addition to lots and homes for sale, the Parks of Plaquemines offers a little bit of country a short commute to New Orleans with a park & trail system, swimming pool, tennis court, and tot lot / playground.  Outside of the actual city of New Orleans taxable limits, you will also enjoy a convenient and SAFE location, excellent Plaquemines Parish Schools, low parish property taxes, low sewer and water rents, and a low risk of hurricane flooding.

So, Come Out & Visit Our New Home Neighborhood Today!  Call 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com to Set Up an Appointment!

Old World Look for Old Town Homes in New Orleans, Louisiana

If you have spent any time in the city of New Orleans or even its outlying suburbs on the West Bank such as Algiers, Gretna, Marrero, Terrytown, and Harvey; you have probably noticed a variety of architectural stylings of the historic and obviously 100-year to 200-year-old homes.  When you view these homes as a current resident or as a tourist, you probably don’t think about what it takes to retrofit these homes during a home renovation, restoration, or new construction on an addition.  If you did, you would be weighing the benefits of more modern systems that are energy efficient and more eco-friendly vs. trying to maintain the integrity of the historic architecture.
Specifically, when it comes to windows in historic homes, many homeowners and home buyers spend a lot of time going back and forth as to restoration or replacement.  The ROI (return on investment) of replacing every window in the house with an energy efficient, low-E, double or even triple paned tinted window is approximately 10 – 12 years for standard-sized windows.  However, the first dilemma in starting a historic restoration is that you are probably going to run into a lot of non-standard-sized windows in your new home purchase.  If you go to custom order a bunch of different window sizes, you may not see a return on investment in savings from your electric bill for up to 20 years.
The second issue that you will have to face is that if your home is already listed on the National Register of Historic Place OR if you are interested in getting your home listed on this registry or need tax incentives for doing a historic renovation or restoration, you will probably have to reconsider using modern vinyl, aluminum, or wood framed window in the home altogether.

Finally, let’s consider what you are really getting when you decide to replace your existing wooden / glass windows in your 100 to 200-year-old home.  The wood used in today’s construction is significantly less dense than lumber used in building 100 years ago in the Greater New Orleans area. The reason for this is that the trees had been standing for a much longer period of time because they may have never been cut.  Because of this, the rings in the trees are closer together and much more dense than today’s treed lumber.  Therefore, even though you may find windows that are more energy efficient that look the way you would like or need them to for your renovation or restoration, you may be trading durability for a perceived ROI benefit on your electric bill.

Before you make your decision, consider this: the wood casing for the windows on your historic home is much more durable than today’s wooden window casings.  Also, the construction used to create the window frames themselves was a type of joinery that allowed the wood to expand and contract with the intense humidity of the New Orleans climate.  Finally, today’s wood and even vinyl has been known not to be able to last through the direct rays of the sunshine in this southern region.
The glass that is used in your windows is actually a higher quality of glass than is used today as well.  With the proper insulation, resealing and caulking, glazing, and other energy-smart tactics such as black-out shades and blinds, you can reduce the amount of heat loss in the winter and gain in the summer to fully enjoy the aesthetics of keeping an old world look for old town homes in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Will Be Constructed in New Orleans

The much maligned and re-negotiated lease for the New Orleans World Trade Center finally has a viable tenant in the form of a world-renowned, international hotel chain – Four Seasons.  The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences will be constructed in New Orleans in the old World Trade Center Building with 2 additions to be added to either side of the building.  The Four Season group are partnered with Carpenter and Co. of Cambridge, MA, and Woodward Interests in New Orleans to completely renovate the structure, creating the addition of two wings to the side of the building as well.
Part of the attraction for the Four Season’s bid was the addition of the 76 hotel-serviced condos that would also be available for sale in addition to weekend, weekly, or monthly rentals.  The revenue of sales was a separate income item for the City of New Orleans.  The second attractive and unique part of their bid was their proposal for a “digital, immersive” experience for visitors who would want to visit an exhibit named New Orleans: History at the Confluence of Cultures.  This exhibit would present a digital story-telling experience of the City of New Orleans and would be put together by Henry Louis Gates Jr., a Harvard University professor of African-American studies, and Lawrence Powell, Tulane University history professor.
The financial ramifications of this project are far-reaching.  The construction of the hotel and condos would also contribute to the city’s tax revenues in construction payroll for the $364 million project which is $95 – $130 million higher than its competitors.  Of that amount approximately $127 million of the money is designated to go to minority-owned, women-owned, local, and disadvantaged businesses putting the money right back into the economy.  Along with the construction revenue in terms of payroll as well as building materials and supplies, the hotel would also pay the City of New Orleans a lease, locked in for 10 years of $3.25 million / year, increasing to $3.75 for the next year barring any significant increases in the tax threshold.  Also, percentages of the sales of the condos as well as the gross revenues of the digital exhibit would also be collected by the city, as well as any additional bonus revenue generating components of the hotel.
“In our estimation, in this case, we have both – picking the best cities and partnering with the best developers. I’m confident we will bring new visitors to the city and add to its already vibrant tourism,” said J. Allen Smith, Four Seasons president and CEO.

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Marrero Once Again Is Going to Feature Café Hope’s Local Food Festival

It’s spring in the Greater New Orleans area which means that it must be time for the many spring and summer festivals in all of the surrounding cities – including the West Bank – to make their appearance every weekend. In the spirit of good home making with fresh food and vegetables, Marrero once again is going to feature Café Hope’s Local Food Festival at the restaurant’s location at 1101 Barataria Blvd. in Marrero on Sunday, May 17, 2015.

Café Hope not only promotes the growing of fresh food, but this restaurant (with a full-fledged

garden next door) also is dedicated to the growth and maturity of the youth of the Greater New Orleans area. Café Hope trains interested participants on how to work in a professional restaurant environment, opening the door to the many restaurant working opportunities both on the West Bank as well as the city of New Orleans.

This year’s Local Food Festival is featuring a roasted pork sandwich with taleggio cheese and pickled kale from St. James Cheese Company; roasted eggplant salad, from Angeline; hogshead cheese, garnished with cucumber and cilantro from Coquette; Jamaican jerk pork loin stuffed with plaintains and pineapple, from Steamboat Natchez; cochon de lait, from the Rugby Pub; and chocolate or creole cream cheese ice cream, from Creole Creamery.

This event sponsored by Zatarain’s will also include additional food booths, children’s activities featuring a petting zoo, and a car show. Live, local music will be performed by Michael Liuzza, Los Poboycitos and Soul Creole. The proceeds from the event will be donated to Café Hope to benefit the restaurant training program for at-risk youth. This and other local festivals will be happening in Marrero, Louisiana, in the coming months, so check back often for the local news and events from The Parks of Plaquemines.

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