Snow in December and ice in January is the cause of construction delays to downtown’s Lofts at 6C, developer John O. Hearin’s multifamily complex bounded by Florida, Sixth and Convention streets.
Consequently, Hearin, who had hoped to open in early summer, now says the 142-unit complex will be ready mid- to late-summer. “Having five days of snow in south Louisiana kinds of messes things up,” he says.
Hearin, who has released new renderings of the project, predicts the pace of construction will pick up quickly, and that passersby will soon see progress.
The Lofts at 6C, which broke ground in Dec. 2016, has been in the works since 2012. Units will range in size from 700 to 1,100 square feet, and the complex will have a 260-space parking garage and two, third-floor courtyards—one with a pool, the other with a garden. The building will also have two ground-floor retail spaces of 1,000 and 2,000 square feet.
Though the project has taken longer than originally planned, Hearin believes the demand for multifamily units downtown has only increased.
“Everything I’m hearing about all the new apartments that have come online is that they’re all leased up nicely,” he says. “You read reports about the market being oversaturated but I think downtown is its own niche.”
The Lofts at 6C isn’t the only major downtown construction project to be affected by weather. Developers of the Courtyard Marriott have also pushed back the hotel’s projected opening date from early to late summer.
“Weather cost us over 100 days last year,” says Bill Fayssoux, a principal at South Carolina-based Windsor Aughtry, which is developing the hotel. “No question it has taken them longer than we thought but from here on out they should be on track.”
