RiverPlace moves downtown office

The downtown sales and marketing office for the RiverPlace development has closed and moved to Mid City. Richard Preis, who is developing the high-rise condominium tower on the Mississippi River, says he’s still working on the project. “We’re trying to save expenses,” Preis says. “We’re not going away.” By shutting down the sales and marketing office at the corner of Third and Laurel streets, Preis says he’s saving $5,000 a month in rent. The same number of sales and marketing employees are working out of the Kenwood Avenue office. Preis says RiverPlace has been hurt by Hurricane Katrina, which drove up construction costs, and the credit freeze, which has made it difficult to get financing for the $150 million project.—Timothy Boone