The Tivoli Place apartment building at 1040 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
The Tivoli Place apartment building at 1040 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
The Tivoli Place apartment building at 1040 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
A California company that specializes in affordable housing has purchased the Tivoli Place apartment building on St. Charles Avenue, with plans to spend $35 million rehabilitating the historic building while continuing its mission of serving low-income residents.
Lincoln Avenue Communities bought the 107-year-old building, which provides subsidized units for seniors, in late 2023. According to Lincoln executive David Garcia, the upgrades won’t mean luxury apartments or short-term rentals. Instead, the firm is aiming to make the building more energy efficient and, therefore, less expensive to operate.
The renovation will also make the units more comfortable for residents, who have been temporarily displaced during the construction.
When completed in 2025, residents will be able to return to the building, which, according to the terms of various loan agreements financing the project, must continue to provide housing to low-income seniors, Garcia said.
“Our goal is to make sure the units stay affordable and to breathe new life into them,” he said.
The renovation represents a bright spot for the area around Harmony Circle, formerly Lee Circle, which has struggled with homelessness in recent years. Advocates for more affordable housing said it was a hopeful sign that a firm intent on providing subsidized units had purchased it at a time when many renovations are aimed at creating luxury apartments or short-term rentals.
‘You could have seen something really bad happening with this building but that is not what happened,” said Housing NOLA Executive Director Andreanecia Morris. “Not only do we need to be encouraging this, but we have to figure out how to require it. This is a good thing, and we need to see more of it.”
The Tivoli Place apartment building at 1040 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (Staff Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
Tivoli Place was originally built as a hotel in 1917 and was converted to 163 apartments in the 1970s. For the past two decades, its units have been set aside for low-income seniors and vulnerable residents, who make between 20% to 60% of the area’s annual median income.
In New Orleans, that means as little as $11,400 a year and no more than $34,400 a year.
The building also has eight units for special needs residents.
As part of the overhaul, Lincoln is installing new central heating and cooling, replacing old plumbing, upgrading finishes and raising ceiling heights in each unit. It’s also adding a media room, library, fitness center, dining room, bike storage, security upgrades and medical exam room.
The firm will aim to improve the property’s sustainability by installing new fixtures to reduce the building’s water and power consumption as well as rooftop solar panels and structural solar in the parking lots to offset electricity usage.
Those changes will make the building more affordable to operate and help the developers realize a return on their investment, Morris said.
While construction is underway, Tivoli Place residents have been moved to other apartments around the city. The project is expected to take about a year to complete, Garcia said.
In addition to the $35 million renovation, Lincoln expects to spend another $25 million in “soft costs,” which includes relocating the residents, Garcia said. It has already spent an additional $30 million purchasing the building from its previous owners.
The project is Lincoln’s first in New Orleans, though the firm has 135 properties in 25 other states around the country. Garcia said the firm is already looking for other opportunities in the area.
“We like New Orleans,” he said. “We know there are issues around homelessness and poverty. That just reiterates the need for more affordable housing.”
The firm is using a combination of funding sources to finance the project, including federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, which require that the building remain affordable; state and federal historic building tax credits, which requires that the renovation preserve its historic architecture; and tax-exempt bonds from the Louisiana Housing Corp.
Additionally, the developers will use a HUD loan for affordable housing complexes, solar tax credits, traditional bank debt and a PILOT tax incentive from Finance New Orleans, the city’s home mortgage financing authority.
Email Stephanie Riegel at [email protected].
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California firm buys historic St. Charles apartment building, plans major overhaul – NOLA.com
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