Developer Darren Aschaffenberg has revised plans to renovate the former Metairie Towers apartment complex on Metairie Road, which he purchased Thursday for $24.5 million.
Instead of converting the building into 219 apartments, Aschaffenburg now says he intends to keep the building as a condominium complex, but with fewer units and larger floor plans for 160 units. He also plans to add eight floors and 12 luxury penthouse units to the building, upgrade the exterior, gate the property and provide 24-hour security.
He estimates the renovations will take nearly two years to complete and cost between $45 million and $50 million.
“This is going to be a beacon of class and elegance in the heart of Old Metairie,” said Scott, who is based in Dallas but grew up in Old Metairie and splits his time there. Aschaffenberg said. “It has all the amenities of a Class A facility.”
A rendering of the completed Tower Residences, the former Metairie Towers complex. A $50 million renovation is scheduled to begin in January.
The City of Aschaffenburg’s plan change comes after the building’s owner chose the City of Aschaffenburg’s proposal over several other proposals to purchase and renovate a 1970s building that was severely damaged by Hurricane Ida. This took place more than half a year later. Aschaffenburg said in the months between the offer being accepted and Thursday’s closing, plans “evolved” and they decided to pivot to condos because it made more sense.
“We were going to use the historic building tax credit to build the apartments because this building is 50 years old and might qualify,” he said. “But they’re really tying their hands on historic tax credits, so I don’t like having my hands tied. I wanted to do it right the first time.”
Luxury amenities, silk stockings atmosphere
The property is located in a high-dollar neighborhood of Jefferson Parish within walking distance of churches, supermarkets, and retail, and interest in the property began about a year ago when it first went on the market. This is a factor that has increased the
Mr. Aschaffenburg, who is renaming the complex “The Tower Residences of Old Metairie,” said the area’s upscale amenities and silk-stocking ambiance are what makes his apartments in the price range from the 900-square-foot one-bedroom We hope this will appeal to condo buyers. Prices for the 2,500-square-foot three-bedroom units and penthouses range from about $600,000 to “several million dollars each,” he said.
Condominium owners at Metairie Towers are given the right of first refusal to buy new units in their buildings, and Aschaffenburg said some of those former residents may buy them. He said he expected to die.
“But we don’t expect the building to be filled with past owners,” he says. “It’s been three years since Ida, and many of them have moved on.”
Friday, September 23, 2022 at Metairie Towers on Metairie Road. The seven-story condominium development has been vacant since Hurricane Ida blew off its roof a year ago, displacing hundreds of mostly elderly residents. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
The deal is a positive development after a difficult few years for the building. In 2021, Aida’s Category 4 winds blew off the building’s roof and forced the mostly elderly residents of the seven-story building from their rooms. Later that year, a contractor hired by the insurance company to restore electricity and water caused a flood inside the building, flooding both the storm-damaged unit and the apartment that had safely escaped the hurricane. It became.
In the months that followed, the Metairie Towers Condominium Association engaged in a dispute with its insurance company over repair costs. Meanwhile, problems surfaced with peeling of asbestos in the building’s sheetrock and cast iron pipes.
In October 2022, the association secured a bank loan to begin asbestos remediation. At the time, residents were told it would be another year before they could move into their homes. In early 2023, the majority of owners decided it was time to sell, but the building was not put up for sale until last fall.
Several lawsuits are currently underway between former owners, condominium associations, and insurance companies.
“I feel terrible for the people who were forced to evacuate and for the neighborhoods that had to see this eyesore. Our plan is to get this started as soon as possible,” Aschaffenburg said. he said, adding that he hopes to start construction by January.
