$8M Investment Revives Historic Covington Hotel

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

The newly renovated Southern Hotel

The historic 42-key Southern Hotel in Covington has wrapped up an almost two-year renovation process and is open for business, reported The Times-Picayune. Purchased in 2011 by developers and owner-operators Lisa Condrey Ward, Joseph Ward, Ricky Condrey and Gayle Condrey for $1.79 million, the 1907-built hotel was approved for redevelopment by the Covington Historic District Commission in October 2012. It was also declared eligible for historic tax credits. According to an earlier report by The Times-Picayune, the hotel represents an $8 million investment.

As previously reported, the Mission-style hotel now features 42 guest rooms and amenities that include a 2,400-square-foot ballroom, meeting space, fitness rooms, spa, plunge pool, lush courtyard, water features and the Upscale Cypress Bar, complete with patio and fireplace.  A 2,480-square-foot, newly built restaurant is expected to open in mid-July. Named Ox Lot 9, the upscale eatery got its name from the previous use of the vacant site on which it was developed.  New Orleans-based Trapolin-Peer Architects was brought in to oversee the renovation of the property into a modern hotel without losing its historic character and features. The full-service hotel has created 27 new full- and part-time jobs.

Southern Hotel prior to renovation

Located 45 minutes from downtown New Orleans, the Southern Hotel initially opened in 1907 as a hotel, but the property had a multitude of uses throughout the years: sanitarium, retail, St. Tammany Parish offices and courtroom. It even served as the headquarters of various federal agencies and the Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It sat mostly vacant for the past several years.

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Image courtesy of Southern Hotel via Facebook.