A lot of people have been wondering what Jim Bernhard is going to do now that The Shaw Group has been acquired by CB&I. Land development, perhaps?
Late Monday, in a move that has taken many by surprise, Bernhard paid $3.3 million for the downtown riverfront property that Richard Preis has been trying for years to turn into a residential development called RiverPlace. The catalyst for the transaction was architect Trey Trahan, who already owned an 18,500-square-foot tract adjacent to the RiverPlace property. Trahan says he long had his eye on Preis’ parcel and had conceptualized a 22-story condominium project for the site.
In early December, he pitched Bernhard on the idea of partnering with him to acquire Preis’ tract and begin working toward doing a much larger, mixed-use development.
“We hope it will include condos, offices and retail,” says Trahan, adding that there is no time frame for the development at this point. “Jim really wants to make a significant contribution to downtown, so as an architect that is exciting to me.”
As to what Bernhard’s interest might be in developing downtown and whether he might start a new company that would be located downtown, Trahan declined to comment. Bernhard could not be reached for comment.
For Preis, the all-cash deal, which closed just hours before the start of the new year, ends a nine-year-old dream of developing a residential project downtown on the banks of the Mississippi.
Those plans were first scuttled by Hurricane Katrina, then by the mortgage crisis of 2008. In August, investor Joe Traigle joined Preis as a partner in trying to develop the property, and the two were making progress on a deal. However, Preis says when he was approached in mid-December about selling, the all-cash deal on the table was too good to refuse.
“With the capital gains treatment changing and the fact the property could be sold to an individual where no bank was involved, all arrows pointed to taking the offer,” he says. “I was happy to sell to someone who shares my vision for downtown.”
