Partnership to Redevelop Hibernia Bank Building as Mixed-Use

By Amalia Otet, Associate Editor

HRI Properties and Woodward Interest have secured financing for the conversion of the Hibernia Bank Building downtown into a mixed-used complex.

The $57.3 million redevelopment project will include 175 luxury apartments and two floors of Class A office space, with an adjacent parking garage. After restoration is complete, HRI will also move its corporate headquarters into the building, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The apartment units will boast exquisite features, including granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and wood floors. The 15th floor will feature an amenity deck complete with pool and fitness center, according to New Orleans City Business.

The joint venture had acquired the 23-story building from Capital One earlier this year for an undisclosed price. The Hibernia Tower, built in 1921, was once the tallest building in Louisiana, reaching 355 feet. It is still one of the iconic structures of the New Orleans skyline. During holidays, the white tower is lit red and green for Christmas and purple, green and gold for Mardi Gras.

In other news, the Times-Picayune reports that Slidell’s Summit Fremaux retail complex is back on track. The development had been announced in 2008, when Bayer Properties unveiled plans for a $900 million complex, to be spread across 400 acres between Fremaux Avenue and Old Spanish Trail, a piece of property owned by local businessman Robert Levis. Initial plans that called for a 2010 opening have been somewhat altered; the developers plan to deliver, as phase one of the project, a smaller-scale Summit – shops and restaurants on a tract closest to I-10 and Fremaux – in the spring or fall of 2013. T.J. Maxx, Michaels and Best Buy have been confirmed as new tenants of the retail center. Best Buy will occupy 30,000 square feet of space, T.J. Maxx will open a 26,000-square-foot retail store and Michael’s has signed on for 21,000 square feet, according to the Slidell Independent.

Image courtesy of Infrogmation of New Orleans