Developer Mike Wampold has acquired the historic Whitney Bank Building on St. Charles Street near Canal Street in the heart of downtown New Orleans.
In a deal that closed Monday, Wampold, through a recently created LLC, Watermark Orleans, acquired the building and six other nearby structures from Hancock Whitney Bank for a sale price that was recorded as $10 and “other valuable considerations,” according to documents filed with the Orleans Parish Clerk of Court.
Wampold could not be reached for comment.
According to public records, the size of the transaction will add some 500,000 square feet to Wampold’s robust portfolio, which includes hotels, condos, multifamily developments and office buildings throughout multiple states.
But the centerpiece of the deal is the roughly 300,000-square-foot, 14-story building at 228 St. Charles St. that served as the headquarters and main branch of Whitney Bank for more than a century.
Even after Gulfport-based Hancock Bank acquired Whitney in 2011, the 109-year-old building, with its iconic Whitney Bank clock, continued to serve as regional headquarters for Hancock Whitney. It has been vacant since 2018, however, when the bank relocated to the nearby 51-story One Shell Square building on Poydras Street, which has since been renamed the Hancock Whitney Center.
Though the name of Wampold’s LLC that acquired the buildings—Watermark Orleans—might suggest the developer plans to redevelop at least some of the property into hotel space, it is unclear what he has planned at this time.
In recent years, however, older buildings in that part of New Orleans’ traditional Central Business District have increasingly been redeveloped into hotels and high-end condos, while newer office towers have continued to attract top-dollar tenants to their office space.
In a statement, Hancock Whitney CEO John Hairston says, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Wampold Companies to acquire our historic facilities in the New Orleans CBD. It will be a pleasure, from just one block away, to see the grand old bank buildings renovated into a property the city and entire region can be proud of.”
