Posted Aug 9, 2014, 1:06 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/bl...ng-conversion/
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Home / News / Construction and Real Estate / Apartments planned for California Building conversion
Apartments planned for California Building conversion
Another 155 apartments will be added to the downtown rental housing stock when the conversion of the 10-story office building at 1111 Tulane Ave. is complete, possibly by late next year.
Craig Boes and Malin Metrejean are the developers behind the renovation of what was once known as the California Building, built in 1948 as a general purpose office structure. The name comes from its former tenant, the California Union Insurance Co.
The 190,000-square-foot building is bounded by South Rampart Street, Elk Place and the 17-story building at 144 Elk Place that developer Mike Wampold just spent $20 million to turn into apartments.
Boes, whose family owns Boes Iron Works, acquired the building in April 2013 for $4 million from a California real estate investment company and Neal Hixon, the developer who 0put the nearby Joy Theater back in business.
Boes teamed with Metrejean, owner of Malin Construction Co. Inc. in Metairie, to handle the conversion after his iron works business worked as a subcontractor for Malin on previous projects.
“I knew she would be willing to invest not just the resources but the time needed to make this project happen,” Boes said.
The building’s ground floor, which once housed an A&G Cafeteria, opens to a mezzanine level. Plans call for retail tenants at street level and studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments on the remaining floors, including penthouse townhomes that will span the ninth and 10th floors.
Those upper-level units are the only part of the project that will call for noticeable changes to the exterior of the building. Mechanical housings on the roof will have to be reworked to allow for additional living space. Penthouse residents will also have access to a terrace space.
Storage space for tenants will be provided in the center of each floor of the building, eliminating the need for residents to rent off-site storage space, Metrejean said. Placing apartments in the middle of the building would have required an extensive overhaul to provide the natural lighting required for dwelling units.
The building was originally shaped like a horseshoe that was closed in the early 1980s after Hibernia National Bank acquired the property and added more office space.
The current renovation has received the approval of the Historic District Landmarks Commission and a preliminary OK from the State Fire Marshall. Boes said they are only waiting for the city to formally clear plans before moving ahead on construction, for which a $15 million building permit was filed last month. The project is being financed in part with historic tax credits.
Architect Roland Bodden of Metro Studios said the exterior of the building will be returned to its original design, which includes cleaning and restoring the original masonry, windows and the stainless steel coping that envelops the main entrance.
On the interior, a reception desk will be added while floor-to-ceiling marble on the walls will be retained along with the stainless steel elevator doors reflecting Art Deco influences on the building’s design.
“It was built right on the fringe of the Art Deco and Modern eras, so it has elements of both,” Bodden said....
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