Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), IDP Properties and Bates Management, LLC are proud to announce the grand opening of Chef Tower Apartments this week in New Orleans, LA. Chef Tower is a historic adaptive reuse development that turned a blighted, vandalized, and vacant office building into a vibrant, affordable, multifamily housing community. This development is the direct result of varying public and private entities working together to provide a creative solution for a historic property in New Orleans.
Originally known as the New Orleans Federal Savings and Loan Building, this structure gained notoriety from its Wrightian style architecture, designed by Leonard Spangenberg. This historically significant building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Before redevelopment began in 2019, it was far from the once grand office building. Chef Tower was in extreme disrepair due to damage from Hurricane Katrina and fifteen years of abandonment leading to vandalism and unsafe conditions.
Chef Tower was carefully redeveloped to ensure as much of the historic exterior could be kept intact as possible. Some of the most notable features that were preserved were the precast aggregate panels, original windows, original signage and copper fascia. The interior of the building was completely gutted and renovated with all new finishes including new mechanical, electrical, HVAC systems, new washer/dryer in units, new flooring and more. Louis Russell, Director of Housing Development at LHC stated, “Upon seeing the development as well as some of the units themselves, I was impressed with both the design and amenities available to perspective tenants.”
The apartment community, designed by Terrell – Fabacher Architects, LLC and built by The McDonnel Group, LLC, will serve the affordable population of New Orleans. Chef Tower has a total of 42 units and offers one and two-bedrooms options. Community amenities include a fitness center, community garden, computer lab and activities center. Additionally, there will be onsite management to serve the residents.
The property is financed using Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits through Louisiana Housing Corporation, State and Federal Historic Tax Credits, CBDG funding through the City of New Orleans Office of Community Development, a payment in lieu of taxes administered through Finance New Orleans, and project-based vouchers through the Housing Authority of New Orleans. The financing partners are RBC Capital Markets, Enhanced Capital and Churchill Stateside Group.
The purpose of the LHC is to substantially increase the availability of affordable, accessible, and safe residential housing in Louisiana. The LHC was created in 2011 when the Louisiana Legislature merged the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency with housing programs from other state agencies to streamline how the state would address its housing needs, avoid duplication of efforts, and improve service to the general public. The LHC administers federal and state funds through programs designed to advance the development of energy efficient and affordable housing for low and moderate income families, drives housing policy for Louisiana, and oversees the state’s Disaster Housing Task Force.
For additional information contact LHC's Office of Public Affairs at publicaffairs@lhc.la.gov.
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