$3.6M Renovation Returns Historic St. Roch Market to Neighborhood

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Mayor Mitch Landrieu at St. Roch Market grand opening

While New Orleans still has a shortage of retail options, more and more shopping centers and grocery stores are opening or reopening as part of the city’s continued post-Katrina recovery. One such location is St. Roch Market, a much-anticipated 8,600-square-foot retail center on Claude Avenue that recently reopened with a grand ceremony attended by Mayor Mitch Landrieu, city and state officials and FEMA.

Originally built in 1875 as an open-air market and fully enclosed during a 1915 renovation, the historic St. Roch property served its neighborhood in one form or another until Hurricane Katrina damaged the property. Following the storm, the property sat empty and blighted until the summer of 2012, when the city of New Orleans kicked off a $3.6 million renovation process. The $3.6 million renovation was designed by Lee Ledbetter & Associates and APC and constructed by Lathan Construction, with public assistance funding from FEMA and Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery assistance. The refurbishment was completed in early 2014, when the property was delivered as a “white box” to increase its reuse options.

St. Roch Market

New Orleans-based commercial real estate company Corporate Realty Inc. was then hired by the New Orleans Building Corporation (NOBC), the city’s public benefit corporation, to locate a tenant that would not only lease the property at fair market value but also open a business at the location that was economically viable and would serve the neighborhood’s needs. The choice was Bayou Secret LLC, which envisioned turning St. Roch into a fresh-food retail hub that would satisfy the surrounding neighborhoods’ needs while also creating much-needed jobs. Serving the St. Roch, St. Claude, Marigny, Seventh Ward and Bywater neighborhoods, St. Roch Market will feature 13 individual vendors and offer a range of fresh and prepared foods, including specialty foods and ethnic cuisine such as Creole, Korean and Nigerian. Vendors include both gourmet and affordable options.

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Images courtesy of Mayor Mitch Landrieu – City of New Orleans via Facebook