Tag Archive for: Jefferson Parish

Land on the West Bank, Close to New Orleans

Sometimes, the southern region of the crescent in the Crescent City of New Orleans gets overlooked for its potential to offer benefits for those home buyers who are interested in being near New Orleans but not necessarily living in the city of New Orleans.  Land on the West Bank is still available in an established, master planned community just over the Intercoastal Waterway in Plaquemines Parish.  Plaquemines Parish is an odd-shaped piece of land that extends from the “base” of New Orleans all the way down to where the land seems to disappear into the marsh.  Because of this, the parish gets a reputation for being flood prone or “too far south” to be livable for those looking to commute to work everyday in the Central Business District (CBD).

At The Parks of Plaquemines in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, we offer the best of both worlds.  You can live in a parish that has significantly lower bills (taxes, city rents, utilities), in a gated community, in a safe environment (only one way in or out of the parish from our location with low crime), only 10.2 miles from downtown New Orleans.  Also, a 5-094HUGE perk of choosing to live just outside of the city limits is the fact that Plaquemines Parish has one of the best rated school districts in the state of Louisiana, so if you are moving with your family, there is a guaranteed quality school district to send your children.

The subdivision itself also has a lot to offer.  In addition to being able to buy your own lot and custom build your new home (if you wish); you can also enjoy walking and hiking trails carved out around the community.  Inside the community we have built a community swimming pool, tot lot / playground, and tennis courts as amenities for our new home buyers.  New Homes are available now at The Parks of Plaquemines, and we are slowly building out the community with both traditional housing as well as new construction garden homes in our Villas Neighborhood.

Our master planned neighborhood is located near everything the West Bank in Jefferson Parish has to offer with shopping, dining, and entertainment locations, the day-to-day office visits that are “life necessary” such as doctor’s 3-099and dentist’s visits, veterinarian appointments, and even home business visits such as accountants and lawyers.   There are two ways to access New Orleans – across the Crescent City Connection bridge or by ferry at Algiers Point.  New ferry boats are in the works because of a bill signed recently by the governor to get them operational as well.

Real estate in New Orleans is scarce, and prices are higher because of supply and demand.  If you are interested in living in an established neighborhood, you may want to consider living a little bit farther away in the comfort of a beautifully maintained and quality built subdivision such as The Parks of Plaquemines.  Contact Us at 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com for more information.

Algiers Fall Festival in Federal City on the West Bank

This year is the first year that Algiers will host a fall festival on September 26, 2015, from 11:00am – 7:00pm.  The Algiers Fall Festival in Federal City is celebrating the military and Algiers community on the West Bank.  This family event will have live music, local food trucks, local art vendors, children’s activities, beer and wine. Many local favorites will serve you with great food and drinks. These include Big Dog BBQ on DA Go, Bite-N-Go Express, The Holy Grill, Kenny’s Cajun & Creole, King Sham Boiling & Grill on Wheels, La Cocinita, Nola Girl Food, Pirate Pizza, Sweet “T” Old Fashioned Homemade Treats, Taylor Made Wings on the Geaux and Ye Olde Kettle Vendor. Ochsner Health System, a sponsor of the festival, will also have their ribbon cutting ceremony on their new facility in Federal City during the Algiers Fall Festival at 1:30pm. There will be free food provided and free group fitness classes!

New Orleans is known for its great music festivals, and the Algiers Fall Festival is sure to live up to the city’s hype. The music line-up will include the Marine Corps Band New Orleans which will headline at 11:00am, followed by The Young Pinstripe Brass Band at 12:30pm, Little Freddie King at 2:00pm, The Bucktown All-Stars at 3:30pm, and willAlgiers Fall Festival end with Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band at 5:30pm.

Here is a little background on each of the bands that will perform.  The Young Pinstripe Brass Band combines jazz, funk, soul, rock and hip-hop.  Originating out of New Orleans, this band exudes the energy and talent from the streets of New Orleans by using traditional brass sound in modern music. The Bucktown All-Stars, famous for their true Cresent City flavor, prides themselves in “bringing their A game” whenever they perform.  This band will bring high energy mix of rock, soul, funk, R&B and legendary New Orleans classics to the festival.

Local Leader and Legend of New Orleans, Little Freddie King has been performing for fifty-five years. Many love the sounds of his American root blues with a mix of country and urban blues.  Of course it would not be a Louisiana festival without a little zydeco.  Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band, pure zydeco music, has recorded five CD’s and traveled the world.

For more information on the Algiers Fall Festival go to www.algiersdevelopment.com or call 504-367-3331.  Presented by First NBC and sponsored by Ochsner Health System, Jones Walker, First Bank and Trust, Navy Federal Credit Union, Beurman Miller Fitzgerald, Pickering & Cotogno, Sean Bruno, CPA, Algiers Development Corporation, Algiers Development District, and Joint Development Committee.

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Westpark Office Building in Algiers Sold for Development

The Westpark office building in Algiers has been sold to local purchasers Thomas Guinan Jr. and Harold Callais II. The building which is the third largest on the West Bank is located off General DeGaulle Drive.  It is a six-story, 109,000-square-foot office building that is the center of Westpark Office Park. The purchase of the building included 7 acres of green space, 500 parking spaces and two helicopter landing pads. The building was built in 1983 and is approximately seven minutes from the Central Business District and has direct access to major shopping and residential areas such as the Parks of Plaquemines.

Until this year, the only tenant to occupy the whole building was FEMA.  The Federal Emergency ManagementWestpark Office Building Agency moved into the building after Hurricane Katrina.  The new owners plan to lease to multiple local and regional businesses for now but in the future they might convert the office building to condominiums.

The previous owner of the property was Hertz Investment Group which is based out of California.  They purchased the building for $7 million in 2005. They are a real estate investment company that focuses on acquiring, marketing and managing extraordinary properties around the United States. The successful company has revitalized many buildings that include the Wiltern Center and Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, Verizon Building in Pittsburg and Dominion Tower in New Orleans.

Hertz Investment Group is known as the “dominant landlord” of the Central Business District.  The company has acquired and still owns many New Orleans spots including First Bank & Trust Tower, the Poydras Center, the former Texaco building, 400 Poydras Tower, One Shell Square, the Dominion Tower and the Energy Centre.  These are all premier properties located on Poydras Street. Their latest acquisition is One Shell Square which is the largest office building in Louisiana.  This is said to be the largest acquisition in Hertz’s history which was for more than $417 million. This goes to show that New Orleans has a strong local office building market.  “This a great vote of confidence in the local office building market,” said real estate analyst Wade Ragas.

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Gretna Heritage Fest to Get New Organizer

Live Nation, the notorious national concert booking company, will be taking over Gretna Heritage Fest for the first time this year. Live Nation is in charge of hundreds of venues and festivals around the country and fosters over 21,000 concerts per year. As of last year, Live Nation opened an office in New Orleans and hired local Russell Doussan as the President for the regional office.  Doussan was responsible for the past Gretna Fest, as well as the Bold Sphere Music at Champion’s Square concert series.

Known for its laid-back, local vibe, the Gretna Heritage Fest is located in historic Gretna, Louisiana.  The festival includes carnival rides, food from local venders and live music. The festival has grown throughout the years and Gretna Heritage Festcurrently includes 25 city blocks with six stages!

The lineup for this year includes many big name headlines such as Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr. and Bret Michaels. Other entertainers that will also be preforming are Aaron Lewis of Staind, Wild Feathers, Uncle Kracker, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., Marc Broussard and more.

The 21st annual Gretna Heritage Festival will be taking place October 2 – 4, 2015. Single day tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the gate and a 3-day pass is $47.50. If you want to have the VIP experience, you can purchase a “Premium Pit Ticket” which will give you access to restricted up-close viewing and special concession areas for $90.00, or go all out and purchase the “Friends of the Festival” weekend pass which will give you VIP seating at the main stage, four free drinks, unlimited free food, water and soft drinks for $350.00.  A good side note for families who want to attend, children 12 and under can attend free of charge.

Free parking is provided at the Oakwood Shopping Center or at 3rd and Derbigny St.  If parking at the Oakwood Shopping Center, there will be a shuttle service to and from the shopping center to the festival. Tickets are on sale now by visiting ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

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West Bank to New Orleans Transportation Soon to Get Easier

A bill signed by Governor Jindal gives the green light to two projects which could transform transportation from the West Bank to New Orleans into a simple, easy ride for those residents commuting from places such as Gretna, Marrero, and Harvey to the Central Business District (CBD) to work everyday.  Currently, the ferry boats that dock at Canal Street and Algiers Point and Chalmette and Lower Algiers are so old that they are constantly breaking down and have the potential for permanently being put out of service because of their ages. One of these ferry boats was built in 1937.  The first project approved by the governor was to design and build these boats.  Construction will take approximately 12 months for the first boat and  6 months for the next boat built after that.

“It gives us the opportunity to use all the procurement options now available to speed up the process to get thoseWest Bank to New Orleans Ferry Transportation ferries built,” Transdev Vice President Justin Augustine said Tuesday. “We talked to boat builders…the feedback was clearly they could get the first built in 12 months and a second one within six months after that.”

Another transportation project that will alleviate stressful travel for those residents that live in Belle Chasse was the fastrack approval of a design / build process for a new bridge that will replace the Belle Chasse Tunnel underneath the Intercoastal Waterway.  Because state law prohibits a design and build process at the same time, in the hands of one contractor, special approval had to be given by the legislature for this caveat.  Similar measures were proposed and passed after Hurricane Katrina to move needed construction projects through to the approval stage at a faster pace.  Overall, through the construction of these two necessary modes of transportation, homeowners on the West Bank will soon have new ways of traveling the short commute to New Orleans while still enjoying the “away-from-the-city” life of living in Jefferson Parish.

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