NEW ORLEANS-The Domain Companies will develop a mixed-use, transit-oriented project in the heart of downtown. The project, dubbed South Market District, has a price tag of $185 million and will be financed with a mix of New Market Tax Credits and traditional debt, according to Matthew Schwartz, principal of the firm.
It will combine 450 luxury apartments with 170,000 square feet of upscale retail, restaurants and entertainment venues. The company plans to break ground on the first phase of South Market in late 2011, with completion expected in the second half of 2013.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a long time,” Schwartz says. “We’ve built about $125 million worth of residential and retail in New Orleans post-Katrina and we’re closely tied to the development of the Medical Center and its impact on the city. The Center will generate as many as 7,000 new jobs and that knowledge-based workforce has a greater propensity to live in downtown mixed-use environments.”
Schwartz tells GlobeSt.com that Domain Companies has spent the last year assembling enough land to accommodate a critical mass of residential and retail that will transform the city. “We are creating a project that is going to be an economic development tool for the city,” he contends, pointing out that previous residential development in downtown New Orleans didn’t make financial sense because the rents could not support new development.
However, that dynamic has changed given the high-paying jobs created by the Medical District. “Our project will enable and support the city’s ability to attract employees by offering a quality of housing comparable to other markets,” Schwartz adds.
The South Market District encompasses a five-block area located across Loyola Avenue from the Superdome and New Orleans Arena and connecting the Central Business District, historic Warehouse/Arts District and Sports & Entertainment District. It is surrounded by more than $500 million of new development including: streetcar expansion that will link South Market District to the the Union Passenger Terminal and the Medical Center; the $270 million Hyatt Hotel redevelopment of 1,193 rooms and 200,000 square feet of meeting space
According to a study conducted by Economic Consultant Dr. Loren Scott, during the 2011-2012 construction phase, more than 1,100 new and temporary jobs will be created. Scott’s research also predicts that by 2028, The South Market District account for a total of $1.6 billion dollars in sales and pump $44.6 million dollars of tax revenue into Orleans Parish. Ninety percent of sales will be new sales, and the development will generate a $300.4 million dollar rise in household earnings.
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