The Louisiana Realtors Association hopes to be in its new headquarters downtown at 821 Main St. by the end of the year. The renovation project is one of several currently underway in the heart of downtown, and association CEO Norman Morris says the agency is excited to be relocating to such a vibrant area.
“We can’t wait,” he says. “If everything goes well, we should be in by October, November or December.”
The association’s investment in the 93-year-old Cangelosi Home, as the 3,700-square-foot structure is known, is considerable and will total about $2 million, including the sale price of the building, once the renovation is complete.
The project is not as extensive as was originally planned, however. When first unveiled, plans called for adding a 5,000-square-foot education center onto the back of the house. Revised plans will include a much smaller addition that will house a storage room, elevator and lead out onto a partially covered patio.
“The more we looked at it the more we realized we didn’t need to do the big addition right now,” Morris says. “That will be a phase two, but with the smaller addition we’ll be able to build out from there whenever the time is right.”
The LRA acquired the house for $650,000 in early 2014 and originally planned to demolish it to make way for a new headquarters building. After preservationists objected, however, the group agreed to save the building and renovate it.
—Stephanie Riegel
