Magnolia Marketplace to Be Developed by Joint Venture

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Covington, La.-based Stirling Properties has formed a joint venture with JCH Development, a New Orleans-based boutique, to build the Magnolia Marketplace Shopping Center in New Orleans.

Expected to break ground in Central City at the intersection of South Claiborne and Toledano Streets in fall 2013, Magnolia Marketplace will be a 138,000-square-foot retail center upon its 2014 completion. As of now, the future shopping center has retail agreements in place for about 108,000 square feet of space with established national retailers and is in talks with further potential tenants for the remaining space. According to The Times-Picayune, the tenant roster includes names such as T.J. Maxx, Dress for Less, PetSmart, Shoe Carnival and Raising Cane’s, all paying premium rents for their respective leases.

Construction will start with a 6,000-square-foot structure located at the center of the future retail complex. Half of the building’s total surface will be taken up by a Capital One bank branch.

The project is expected to revitalize the neighborhood and attract further commercial development to the Claiborne Avenue Corridor.

“We are proud to bring a high-quality development to a severely underserved portion of the Claiborne corridor and return yet another vacant and blighted property in the city to commerce,” said development manager for Stirling Properties Jordi Goodman in a press release.

As previously reported on this page, Striling Properties has several high-profile retail developments in the pipeline for the Greater New Orleans area, such as the $38 million Mid-City Market along North Carollton Avenue and the 80-acre multiphase Summit Freamux project off I-10 in Slidell.

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