A long vacant and gutted historic building downtown is back on the market with a new listing agent and a new price.
Elifin Realty is the latest broker trying to sell architect Trey Trahan’s 15,000-square-foot building at 232 Lafayette St, which is across from the Hilton Capitol Center.
Trahan acquired the structure, built in 1850, from attorney Danny McGlynn for $800,000 more than a decade ago and planned to redevelop it into a mixed use building that would also serve as his office.
But Trahan moved his practice to New Orleans and the two-story building has sat vacant and become something of an eyesore in the heart of downtown ever since. Previous efforts to sell the building have been unsuccessful.
What’s the problem?
For one thing, perhaps, the price. At one point, the property was listed for more than $2 million. More recently, Trahan has lowered his asking price to $1.5 million.
For another, a lack of parking. The building doesn’t have a garage or designated parking lot attached to it.
Elifin’s Matthew Laborde says one possibility is to redevelop the building in concert with the adjacent State National Bank building, which has also been on the market for several years and has a large, surface lot connected to it.
“There could be a play with the State National Bank Building because it has a ton of parking, or you could do the building by itself and make it the headquarters for a business,” Laborde says. “There are a lot of possibilities. It’s just going to take someone with vision.”
Because the building is in an Opportunity Zone it could be eligible for federal grants, which would help offset the cost of redevelopment. Potentially, it could also qualify for state and federal historic building tax credits, though it would have to first be designated as a historic structure.
Downtown Development District Executive Director Davis Rhorer says he is hopeful something will happen soon. He stops short of calling the building an eyesore but says: “I would certainly like to see it redeveloped because it is in such a prime location along the Lafayette Street corridor. It is a prime location for redevelopment.”
