NEW ORLEANS — It took 14 years for an opportunity to meet inspiration at the old Lake Forest Towers in New Orleans East, but this year the long-abandoned building is back.
Empty since Hurricane Katrina, the Lake Forest Towers is now Lake Forest Manor, an affordable housing development for senior citizens.
Developer Michael Tubre with TKTMJ, Inc. says the idea came to him when block grants for an affordable housing project were made available in 2019.
Tubre drove by the blighted building every day and knew it would be a perfect fit for the grant.
“After 14 years of complete blight and water intrusion and the like, it took quite a bit of vision to see that it could come together as a beautiful kind of beacon shining out of New Orleans East,” he said.
Lake Forest Manor is just one of the many major buildings across New Orleans that has been empty since Hurricane Katrina, but it’s one of just a handful to come back into commerce.
Tubre says the biggest issue holding back redevelopment for projects of this size is funding. It’s something we heard from every developer we spoke with about blight in New Orleans.
In this case, TKTMJ, Inc. used six funding sources to get the $34 million they needed to get the Lake Forest Manor done.
“There are a lot of banks and investors that are willing to invest,” Tubre said. “The flip side is insurance has skyrocketed the past couple of years and that’s going to continue to be a problem. Expenses are going up.”
Standing 14 stories tall, Lake Forest Manor is bigger than current zoning laws allow. Tubre says that made it a challenge to get the project through Safety and Permits, but it also made it a rare opportunity to develop an eye-catching building.
“I think these are beacons,” Tangee Wall said.
Wall is a long-time New Orleans East Resident and President of New Orleans East Matters, a neighborhood advocacy group. She says the major developments in New Orleans East this year are just the start for a neighborhood that’s been neglected since Hurricane Katrina.
“Sometimes you say if they build it, they will come. Someone has to jump-start it,” she said. “Why not the East? There’s a lot of reimagining that can be done with a lot of these buildings.”
She hopes the redevelopment of Lake Forest Manor will bring change to another long-empty property: The old Lake Forest Plaza.
The plaza was the largest shopping center in Louisiana when it opened in 1973. The mall was already on its last legs by the time it flooded during Hurricane Katrina. It would never reopen and was demolished a few years later.
Wall sees it as the perfect opportunity for a big box store to come to New Orleans.
“We’re looking for that big box,” she said. “We’re looking for the retail. The anchor that can make an amazing difference.”
Tubre says the time is right to invest in New Orleans East.
“New Orleans East being the largest landmass in the entire city,” he said. “It has the most potential for large-scale development.”
New Orleans leaders are eager to make it happen. Following the success of Lake Forest Manor and The High Rise, Councilmember Oliver Thomas believes that if the city can set up developers for success, then New Orleans East can succeed too.
“The first thing we need to do is start looking at blight as an opportunity. Don’t just see the bad, see a future business, see a future home,” he said. “Let’s build on our assets and we’ll build on our city.”
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