The firehouse redevelopment team updated the Delachaise Neighborhood Association at the group’s November meeting about the plans for the blighted firehouse on Louisiana Avenue. The historic firehouse will be renovated to include seven units of permanently affordable housing upstairs, with an early childhood education center on the ground floor. The early childhood education center will also occupy the property’s outdoor space and an “accessory structure” behind the main building.
The city owns the property and is leasing it to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) for a 99-year term; NORA is currently managing the property but will sublease it to the development partner, who will put the building and surrounding space back into use.
The developers for the project are Alembic Community Development, Home by Hand, Studio Kiro (the architecture firm overseeing the restoration of the Dew Drop Inn on LaSalle Street) and CDW Services as the general contractors.
Members of the Alembic development team as well as NORA representative Seth Knudsen gave the updates on the project. Alembic team member Jonathan Leit was optimistic about the physical state of the building. “There’s always work to be done but, compared to other buildings we’ve worked on, it’s in pretty good shape,” Leit said.
The overall cost of the renovations is expected to be around $4 million, and Leit said that they hope to have funding secured by the end of next year, with construction beginning in 2024 and the apartments and childhood education center ready to open in 2025.