The newest addition to the downtown landscape is a three-story, mixed-use building at the corner of Laurel and Lafayette streets. The 9,000-square-foot building, which is located on the site of the former Louisiana Sheriff’s Association Building, was completed late last year.
So far, the building’s first floor is home to Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects, which moved into its 3,000-square-foot space earlier this month, and its third floor is a residential unit occupied by the building’s owner, developer Prescott Bailey. The 3,000-square-foot second floor remains vacant.
“We’re looking for engineers, architects, lawyers, any kind of traditional office-use tenant,” Bailey says.
Bailey acquired the building in mid-2015 and spent more than a year redeveloping the site. The former one-story, brick building is barely recognizable. It now stands as a three-story structure with a rooftop terrace and an exterior of steel panels and fiber cement panels. Bailey spent a total of $2 million on the building, which was designed by Chenevert Architects.
The market for class A downtown office space has grown over the past five years from some 80% in 2012 to more than 90% in 2016, though competition is fierce. New properties are doing well but often at the expense of older office towers, which have seen their occupancy rates fall.
Bailey says interest in his second-floor space has been strong, and he believes his building will do well.
“From what I’ve seen, there are some challenges downtown with certain older buildings because from a layout standpoint they aren’t as easy to work with,” he says. “But the new stuff tends to go quickly.”
Ransom Pipes of Maestri Murrell Commercial Real Estate is handling leasing for the property.
—Stephanie Riegel
