Big apartment rehabs don't always make the news when they start. They often show up first in the fine print of a board agenda. That's where Renaissance Place in Algiers turned up in October.
The Louisiana Housing Corporation's Oct. 14 board agenda included two resolutions for the New Orleans property. The board met at the Watermark Hotel in Baton Rouge for a retreat and regular meeting, under Board Chairwoman Wendy D. Gentry. The agenda also included a question-and-answer session on tax credits and a discussion on bonds led by Toby Cortez, a managing director with Stifel Public Finance.
What the agenda says
The two resolutions would authorize multifamily housing revenue bonds for Renaissance Place:
- The first: up to $27,643,000 in bonds, to finance the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and equipping of the development. It would also set the maximum qualified basis and low-income housing credits for the property, and authorize staff to prepare documents to allocate 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
- The second: up to $30,858,000 in bonds for the same purposes of acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and equipping.
Both name Stifel, Nicolaus & Company as the purchaser of the bonds, "or such other purchaser as may be designated by the Taxpayer." The agenda doesn't explain how the two resolutions relate to each other.
The LHC had not posted the outcome of the votes when we checked, so we can't say whether the board approved either resolution.
At the State Bond Commission
The project also showed up a day later on the Louisiana State Bond Commission's agenda for Oct. 15. That agenda listed the Louisiana Housing Corporation's Renaissance Place Project at up to $57.5 million in multifamily housing revenue bonds, at no more than 8% and no more than 40 years, for "acquiring, constructing, rehabilitating, and equipping of a 307-unit multifamily housing development in New Orleans."
The posted agenda marks that item "WITHDRAWN BEFORE MEETING." It doesn't say why, or when the item might come back.
Renaissance Place is a 307-unit property, according to the Bond Commission agenda. Its ZIP code, 70114, puts it on the West Bank in Algiers.
Neither agenda names the developer, the general contractor or the full scope of the rehab, and no total project cost has been confirmed. An earlier public notice described more details, but it is no longer online, and we could not verify it.
Projects like this usually combine a few pieces. Tax-exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds, issued by a state agency like the LHC, help finance the work. Those bonds can unlock 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, which investors buy, bringing equity into the deal. Bonds of this kind need approval from the issuing agency and from the State Bond Commission before they can be sold.
That's why both agendas matter. The LHC board resolutions set the bond amounts and the tax credit details, and the Bond Commission signs off at the state level. With the Bond Commission item withdrawn before its Oct. 15 meeting, Renaissance Place still has at least one step to go.
For a property of 307 units, a rehab financed this way can mean a lot of work: units, building systems and common areas. But until the scope is made public, it's not clear how much of the property will be touched or when work would start.
The two resolutions differ slightly in what they cover. Only the first one, for up to $27.6 million, also sets the maximum qualified basis and tax credits and authorizes staff to prepare tax credit documents. The second, for up to $30.9 million, covers the bonds alone.
Why it matters for Contractors
A bond-financed rehab of a 307-unit apartment property is the kind of job that can keep a general contractor and a long list of subs busy for a good while, from roofing and windows to MEP upgrades, kitchens, baths, flooring and paint. If residents stay in place during the work, careful phasing will matter, which favors contractors with experience working around tenants. But Renaissance Place isn't ready for bids yet. The Bond Commission item was withdrawn before its Oct. 15 meeting, the LHC vote results weren't posted when we checked, and no general contractor has been named. Contractors who do multifamily rehab in the New Orleans area should watch future LHC and State Bond Commission agendas for Renaissance Place, and look for the developer and builder to be named once financing comes together.