$24M Magnolia Marketplace Fills Retail Gap in Central City

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Mayor Mitch Landrieu cuts ribbon for Magnolia Marketplace

Magnolia Marketplace has celebrated its grand opening, filling a significant retail void in Central City. The $24.4 million shopping center is the product of a partnership between boutique urban real estate development firm JCH Development and Covington, La.-based Stirling Properties, a big player on the local retail development scene.

The project, which broke ground in January 2014 fully pre-leased, features tenants such as T.J.Maxx, PetSmart, Ross Dress For Less, ULTA Beauty, Shoe Carnival, Michaels and Raising Cane’s. Magnolia’s initial, 6,000-square-foot phase is home to T-Mobile, Capital One Bank and Subway. Phase one opened in 2014.

Located on 6.5 acres bounded by Clara and Toledano streets and Washington and Claiborne avenues, the 106,000-square-foot Magnolia Marketplace sits in a special economic development district. The district levies a special 1 percent sales tax anticipated to finance as much as $2.3 million in select extraordinary flood elevation, public infrastructure and financing costs. Magnolia is part of a push to increase retail options in New Orleans. A 2012 report by the New Orleans Business Alliance found that every year $1.9 billion in retail sales were being diverted from Orleans Parish to neighboring areas due to a dearth of retail options within the city.

Magnolia Marketplace

Magnolia Marketplace’s location places it in one of the busiest corridors of New Orleans, with traffic counts surpassing 70,000 cars per day. The project will also benefit from and serve the 460-unit Harmony Oaks mixed-income development, located directly north of Magnolia Marketplace.

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Image credits: Mayor Mitch Landrieu via Facebook