Single-Family Homes in the Greater New Orleans Area

New home starts for single-family homes in the Greater New Orleans area are on the rise, according to Jon Luther with The Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans.  New construction starts were at 1.21 million last month, and that included single-family home starts of 600,000 – 700,000.  Between commercial building conversions and new construction, apartments are leading the race on new construction in New Orleans simply because the opportunity to build new homes is more limited within the city limits because of the lack of land to build.  However, even if builders cannot start and build out full-scale, new home developments, there is plenty of new construction going on in the city

in the form of tearing down blighted housing and even taking an existing home “back to the studs” and starting over again as a complete rebuild.

“Anytime you see 600,000 to 700,000 new (single-family) starts, home builders are going to be pretty damn happy,” Luther said. “They’re the best numbers we’ve seen in about 10 years.”
According to Luther, the best chance that New Orleans has of starting and building a large scale development would be to utilize the 5,000 acres of land near the Avondale shipyard.  Officials in Jefferson Parish have had several meetings about rezoning this property which is owned by several different owners.  If they were to release the land for building purposes, New Orleans would be able to develop and build either a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) or similar master planned community on this property.

Another obstacle for providing new homes for home buyers on the Southshore in New Orleans is that it is difficult for builders to provide housing for first-time home buyers.  According to Luther, the appraisal system in New Orleans recently went through an overhaul to ensure that appraisers knew how to appraise a new home for sale in New Orleans because the values given during appraisals were losing local builders a lot out of their profit margins.  Also, with the recent concessions by the

Department of Housing and Urban  Development in lowering the down payments on FHA loans for first time home buyers, there is now a possibility of Millenials being able to move out of apartment living in owning their own home – as long as affordable housing can be built in New Orleans.

If you are interested in living close to New Orleans but not having to “pay for it” with higher taxes, higher utilities, and city rents, you should consider moving to The Parks of Plaquemines, a masterplanned subdivision located just 10 miles from the Central Business District in New Orleans, across the Intercoastal Bridge.  With a convenient location, safer neighborhood proximity, and a little bit more lot space on which to play, The Parks of Plaquemines offers lots for sale and homes for sale at competitive new home pricing.  Contact Us at 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.comInfo@TheParksLifestyle.com for more information.

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New Orleans Convention Center to Expand Its Economic Reach

With the latest addition of developed riverfront property on the Mississippi River in and around the French Quarter, many local New Orleans’ businesses have expressed an interest in developing riverfront property into usable and money-making ventures to encourage more visitors, tourists, and business to come to New Orleans.  Because of this, there are plans for the New Orleans Convention Center to expand its economic reach “upriver” on 47 acres of property.  Owners of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center are in talks with Howard Hughes Corp. and local developers Joe Jaeger and Darryl Berger to build a 1,200 room hotel which would also be surrounded with retail, entertainment, restaurants, and housing in the form of condos and apartments.

Because the current configuration of the Convention Center is “walled off” from the river, this new construction project will offer guests riverfront views, luxurious rooms in which to stay, and even a

path from the new development to the current convention center for their meetings and seminars.  This $65 million proposal would revamp Convention Boulevard, reducing it from 4 lanes to 2, and creating pedestrian-friendly walking areas for convention goers.

In addition to the hotel on which the construction is estimated at approximately $360 million to $600 million, there are also talks about creating a green space that extends all the way to the river – similar to but better than Woldenberg Park.  The infrastructure construction would also include adding on to the streets of Euterpe, Race and Orange in the Lower Garden District so that the neighborhood would be connected to the new development.

“We’ve got to reclaim the parts that are not being used for maritime commerce and make the river a gathering place for our people and our visitors — generate some commerce, generate some opportunities for visitors and locals alike to come downtown and have a unique shopping experience or unique dining experience or some other attraction that’s uniquely New Orleans,” said Bob Johnson, president and general manager of the Morial Convention Center.  “It would dwarf anything that’s been done, ever, in the city,” Johnson said.

Plans are still in the works and the new neighborhood is being designed by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple and Manning Architects.  This is just one of many riverfront projects that are in the planning stages in the Greater New Orleans area.

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Plaquemines Parish Experiences a Growth in Home Prices

Plaquemines Parish, specifically Belle Chasse, saw a 7.9% growth in home prices during the first 6 months of 2015 according to Wade Ragas, local real estate consultant and expert.  The 7.9% growth was based on numbers pulled just before Hurricane Katrina, and overall in the Greater New Orleans area, home prices have jumped 50% since just before Katrina.  On the Southshore, the average sale price for a single-family home in New Orleans went from $114 / square foot to $166 / square foot which was a different in home pricing of $228,620 vs. $339,743.  Belle Chasse in Plaquemines Parish saw the 2nd highest increase in home prices in Greater New Orleans followed by a 6% increase in St. John the Baptist Parish.

Home prices on the Southshore in New Orleans have risen on average 4.6% per year for a record-high increase of 46%.  All numbers culminated for the 8-parish region surrounding Lake

Pontchartrain in the Greater New Orleans area saw an increase in home prices of 18.6%, which is still a pretty significant increase for a 10-year period.  However, interestingly, Jefferson Parish home pricing has not “moved” very much at all since Hurricane Katrina.

Homes for sale in Jefferson Parish have remained nearly the same pricing overall in this period with only a 1% growth in 10 years.  The average price of a home in Jefferson Parish is $194,510 which equals approximately $106 / square foot.  Spikes of home pricing in Jefferson Parish can be seen in prominent neighborhoods such as Old Metairie and Bucktown where the average price of a home is $494,724 amounting to $204 / square foot.

The Greater New Orleans area can actually be compared to larger metros in its growth rate.  These metros, such as Dallas, Houston, or Miami were seeing similar growth according to Ragas.
“We have a surge in demand, but we don’t have enough inventory to keep that at an affordable level,” Ragas said. “Problems like this tend to solve themselves if markets are left alone.”

Ragas claims that there is a supply of buyers but not such a large supply of homes to be purchased, which have led to bidding wars for homes located in safe and quality neighborhoods in the city.  The Parks of Plaquemines, located just across the river from New Orleans offers new lots for sale as well as new homes for sale.  When buying a new home in our master planned community, you can avoid the high price of purchasing a home in the city of New Orleans with lower taxes, lower utilities, and a much higher level of safety.  For More Information about purchasing a home at The Parks of Plaquemines, Contact Us at 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com.

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Mixed-Use Development to Form the Trade District in New Orleans

With the improvement in the national economy, developers want to seize the opportunity when it comes to mixed-use development. 10 years after Hurricane Katrina, the residential and commercial development growth has started to increase, especially in the last few years. The end of the Recession and the resurgence in the housing market has much to do with this growth with even places such as the Central Business District becoming more residential.

In addition to the Central Business District, New Orleans metro area also includes the Warehouse District and the Lower Garden District. Now, savvy developers have come up with the Trade District which will be located just 10 miles from The Parks of Plaquemines neighborhood on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. The vision for the new site is to create a master planned community consisting of an MGM Grand hotel, more than 1,400 residences, retail and restaurants and a towering needle-like sculpture all along the riverfront. The vacant land, which sits upriver from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center between Pontchartrain Expressway and the Market

Street power plant, is owned by the Convention Center and has been envisioned as a mixed-use development for many years.

The Convention Center plans to spend upward of $175 million dollars on the existing buildings and adding to the Center’s infrastructure to hopefully attract a whopping billion dollars in private investments for the project. The “big picture” plan is that the hotel, retail and restaurants will attract visitors to book meetings and conventions at the Convention Center which will help boost not only tourism but business from residents in towns such as Terrytown, Gretna and Westwego across the river on the West Bank of New Orleans. Developers on the project are in talks with the Howard Hughes Corporation, which developed and owns the Outlet Collection at the Riverwalk, and Darryl Berger and Joe Jaeger local real estate moguls to appoint the lead developers of the new site.

Mark Bulmash, Howard Hughes senior vice president, plans for the mixed-use, real estate development project to take years to complete. He goes on to say that, “We think it’s the opportunity to really knit different neighborhoods together … It’s one of these projects that could be a seminal project in the city’s history if it all comes together.” He believes the new construction needs “to be executed well” and that the architectural design and ideas will constantly be changing in order to develop into the community as it is destined to be.

The first step in the multi-layered project is to spend $ 65 million to change the way traffic would flow around the Warehouse District by building a linear park with a moving walkway for pedestrians

heading to the Convention Center. This will improve the pedestrian traffic that occurs around Convention Center Boulevard.

For the commercial aspect of the development, the plan is to incorporate an economic development district to levy special sales taxes which will eventually result in paying for parts of the commercial development. The “headquarters hotel campus” which will be comprised of conference spaces, restaurants, a spa, nightclubs and performance venues will include designers such as the MGM Hakkasan Hospitality group which will aid with the design and execution of the added amenities for the hotel.

The Trade House has been described as the “culinary emporium” where food venders and chefs come under the same roof selling their creations at the intersection of Tchoupitoulas and Race Streets. The concept of the Trade House is patterned after the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco and Pike Place in Seattle. The Riverfront Building will include restaurants as well as an additional 250,000 square feet of retail space adding to the already 50,000 square feet of retail sales areas in the hotel.

Another area will be a “cultural campus” concept where there will be possibilities for research, higher education and museums. The residential potential totals to 1, 427 new homes and rentals consisting of 29 townhouses, 979 apartments, 359 condos and 60 “MGM Skyloft” units at the top of the hotel. The whole neighborhood will also have a public green space throughout the development.
Many are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this project and what it will bring to this underdeveloped section of the city.

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The Perks of Living NEAR New Orleans, Louisiana

When a person thinks of living in or moving to New Orleans, Louisiana, there are many positive ideas and feelings that invoked with that thought.  The most popular draws to this city in the crescent of the Mississippi River are that the city has amazing cuisine, culture, climate (well, for 8 months of the year), and fine arts – music, arts, theater, street performers, etc.  Images turn to the French and Spanish influenced architecture of the French Quarter and the simplistic design of cottages and shotgun houses of the Marigny.  There are well-known segments of the city – Uptown, Lakeview, the 9th Ward, and the long glorified Garden District made famous by Anne Rice and her vampires.  And speaking of vampires, visitors and residents alike must remember that the City of New Orleans is about to celebrate its 300th birthday, so it is steeped in history, memories, and sometimes even ghosts.  All that the city has to offer includes not only the partying and debauchery of Bourbon Street or the elegance and wealth of the Garden District, it also is a thriving metropolis with the opportunity to work with some of the nation’s top corporations.

New Orleans is also known for being one of the most entrepreneurial cities in the United States.  In New Orleans, “we celebrate everything,” and this is emphasized in the fact that there are at least 2 conventions / seminars held in the city to encourage and finance start-up small businesses or inventions.  Another less savory thought that comes to mind when someone thinks of moving to and living in New Orleans is the crime and the poverty of the city.  Just like any larger “central city” in America, with a large city comes more people with more problems.  Murders are down, but petty crime and property crime is up – try to figure that one out!

What IF…what if you could “have your cake and eat it too?”  What if there was a place that you could live that had a lower cost of living, lower property taxes, lower city taxes, and lower utility bills.  What if you could design a new custom home, framed out in any architectural style that you wanted, built to your exact specifications on a lot of your choosing?  What if you could live in a city that was semi-private, had a strong police presence, a low crime rate, that was only 10.2 miles from the Central Business District of New Orleans. Would this be an idea that would appeal to you?
Yes? Great!  Welcome to The Parks of Plaquemines, a gated, master planned community just 10.2 miles from the Central Business District of New Orleans.  Our new home subdivision has a country feel with a city flavor.  New homes being designed and built in this neighborhood have many different types of architecturally designs.  While all floorplans are subject to approval by our Architectural Committee, local builders are used to the building homes that appeal to an aesthetic New Orleans-styled home.  Our community has many Amenities including (but not limited to!) a swimming pool and tennis courts.  Because The Parks is located in Plaquemines Parish, you are not subject to the City of New Orleans and Orleans Parish tax rates.  Also, the Plaquemines Parish School District was just ranked 8th in the entire state of Louisiana, receiving an A performance score for the entire district.  This community offers a safe place to live, at a lower cost of living, with an incredible school district – what more could you want?

I know what you’re thinking…it’s New Orleans; it’s going to flood again from a massive hurricane.  Well, we are happy to report that The Parks of Plaquemines existed BEFORE Hurricane Katrina.  It did NOT flood during Katrina, and it has never flooded.  In fact, the subdivision was strategically developed on “high ground” that was just certified by the new FEMA flood maps to need minimal flood insurance in our community.  Currently, we are featuring Traditional Lots for Sale as well as the possibility of building a new, custom home of your dreams with one of our qualified builders.  Our subdivision features the best of both worlds – a close proximity to “playing” and working in New Orleans but living in a less expensive, safe community which also offers walking / biking trails within the community.  So, Come and Visit Us to Check Out Our Quickly Growing Community!  Call 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com to Schedule Your Tour.

Healthcare Grant Offered to Greater New Orleans Area

New Orleans, Louisiana, was one of three cities to receive an invitation to apply for up to $350,000 in grants from Humana. However, in addition to the city of New Orleans, non-profit businesses in the entire Greater New Orleans area including Orleans, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, St. James, Plaquemines, Washington, and Tangipahoa Parishes are eligible to apply. The grants are being offered to non-profit businesses and organizations in order to assist them in lowering the physical and financial hurdles for people trying to obtain care for diabetes and congestive heart failure. The program called the Humana Communities Benefit is being solicited by the Humana Foundation, a division of Humana, Inc. The two other cities selected were Ft. Lauderdale and Knoxville, TN.
In order for non-profit organizations to be successful during the application process, the Humana Foundation is offering services to applicants such as education seminars, a newsletter which covers standards and Frequently Asked Questions, an “e-mail hotline” which will handle all e-mail inquiries, and mentorship from former grant winners who will be able to give advice and guidance and answer questions that may not be covered in the application materials.

This healthcare grant is unique in that is specific to certain areas of the country each year, and it specifically covers two types of healthcare issues – diabetes and congestive heart conditions. New

Orleans, Louisiana, will soon benefit from the much anticipated opening of the University Medical Center which was developed and built on a footprint in downtown New Orleans which actually overtook entire neighborhoods and decades-old housing units and homes. With the addition of the opportunity to receive funding from a $350,000 grant, a non-profit medical company in New Orleans could soon be able to offer even more convenience and affordability to patients needing care for these particular diseases.

Businesses interested in applying for the grant must submit a letter of intent stating the following: how the money would be used and how their planned program would align with the goals of Humana Communities Benefit to increase accessibility of patients to care for diabetes and congestive heart failure. Letters of Intent will be accepted by Humana from May 2 – May 29, 2015 and applications are due by June 30^th.

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New Orleans Will Soon Feature Beachfront Property

The Greater New Orleans area may soon have not 1 but 3 new locations for locals and tourists alike to enjoy “a day at the beach” right on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain on the Southshore.  If developers, builders, and zoning ordinances work together efficiently New Orleans will soon feature beachfront property on the lake at the Treasure Chest Casino, near the airport at the original location of Pontchartrain Beach and in New Orleans East where Baily’s Riverboat Casino once stood.
The plans in Kenner are the newest brainchild of Mayor Yenni in Kenner, Louisiana for a resort-style area to be built on property adjacent to the Treasure Chest Casino.  Envisioning a “Destin-like” town atmosphere, Mayor Yenni

wants to build condos, a hotel, and boardwalks on 15 acres overlooking the lake.  The property in question was recently changed from a recreational zoning to a commercial zoning by working with lawmakers.  With investors from Dubai as well as right here in the Greater New Orleans area, construction on this new commercial development could begin by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Pontchartrain Beach is set to open by the beginning of 2016, kind of a dull time of year to open a beach, but it will be ready for recreation and entertainment by the time the warm spring weather comes around.  A lease between the New Orleans Levee Board and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation will allow the beach to reopened as a beach and nature preserve.  Considering the number of people who may use the beach will dictate if more development may come in the future, possibly in the form of fair-like rides or even restaurants right on the water.  As with the development in Kenner, major planning should be made for hurricane protection by building whatever structures may go up high above the potential flooding of the lake.
These two new developments on New Orleans beaches come in conjunction with plans by Tipitina’s owner Roland von Kurnatowski and his business partner Eric George who are currently in negotiations to develop and construct a new water park and outdoor music venue on a 4.5-acre plot of land in New Orleans East.  New Orleans may soon have multiple locations to “hit the beach” right on our own shores without having to travel to the Gulf Coast.

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