NEW ORLEANS — On Dec. 8, developer Ted Kelso’s Stateside Hospitality and partners hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking at the construction site of a new 93-room Arrive New Orleans hotel at the corner of Chartres and Mazant in the Bywater neighborhood. The hotel will have three floors of guest rooms, an outdoor pool and greenery-filled courtyard, rooftop space, a coffeeshop operated by Mammoth Espresso, and a new restaurant from chef Eric Cook (Gris Gris and Saint John).
After years in development, the $25 million hotel is set to open late 2022. Construction officially began in March and contractors have poured a concrete slab and begun erecting steel structures. Trison Construction, headquartered in Metairie, is the builder. New Orleans-based studioWTA partnered with Palm Springs’ Elemental Architecture on the design.
Kelso raised funds from several private investors for the project, which was initially conceived as a hostel. After meeting neighborhood resistance to the idea as far back as 2016, Kelso decided to build a hotel that included a restaurant, bar and coffee shop that would be a draw to area residents as well as visitors. The property, the former site of a seafood processing plant, is zoned to allow for hostels and hotels up to 10,000 square feet.
Kelso partnered with Palm Springs-based Arrive, which is now owned by Los Angeles-based Palisociety, because the hotelier “designs its hotel collection to reflect each unique surrounding and fill each one with local styles, tastes, and – most importantly – people,” according to a press release.
Other Arrive locations include Austin, Palm Springs, Memphis and Wilmington, N.C. and Memphis.