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NEW ORLEANS-In a whirlwind week mixing celebration with commemoration, Louisiana leaders and a pair of developers will cut the ribbon tomorrow on the first residential product to deliver in the CBD since Hurricane Katrina. The $30-million adaptive reuse of the historic Shell Building is a harbinger of what lies ahead for the Gulf Coast reconstruction.

Up and down the coastline and CBDs in Katrina's path are being rebuilt primarily with mixed-use projects in line with a nationwide trend bolstered by Baby Boomers' demand for convenience-based lifestyles and waterfront views, if possible. The New Orleans landmark--925 Common--is putting 108 market-rate apartments and 11,500 sf of street-level retail into the Downtown inventory.

"We were just right in the midst of the project when the storm hit," says Marc Blumberg of Atlanta-based Palmetto Partners Inc., who's co-developing 925 Common with Manny Organek of Continental Realty Corp. of Boca Raton, FL. The long-time partners also are finalizing a mixed-use plan for Baton Rouge and are under contract to buy a one-acre parcel long Canal Street in New Orleans' Medical Center.