Cullan Maumus
Development Director, New Orleans Redevelopment Fund
New Orleans Redevelopment Fund is a private company focused on redeveloping New Orleans neighborhoods.
Upcoming project: $4 million mixed-use development of former Times Picayune warehouse in Mid-City expected to be completed in early 2018.
Most excited about…
Personally, we have a number of projects that will be coming online in the next year that I believe will “move the needle” in Mid-City. In addition to a few adaptive re-use projects, where we are converting historic buildings into apartments and office space, we hope our mixed-use/ condo project priced to target teachers, nurses and first responders will be transformative for the immediate area.
We are constantly looking for opportunities to help address the city’s issues with blight and affordability, and believe we are honing in on scalable models that can successfully address both. I believe the Banks Street corridor between S. Jefferson Davis Parkway and Broad Street will be a dramatically different place for the better in the next year or two and I am extremely excited to be a part of the transformation.
Biggest anticipated challenge…
There are hundreds (if not thousands) of residential units scheduled to be placed in service over the next year in various multi-family developments. I’m curious to see how efficiently the market absorbs these units. For our company, the biggest challenge will be to accurately identify trends and data while maintaining our ability to respond to market changes.
With local elections on the horizon, I believe the biggest challenge for the city’s real estate market will be the timing of any potential housing or development regulations advanced by the new council or mayor. We are beginning to see a leveling in the market, with many new units starting to correct the imbalance of supply and demand. Certain regulations — while well intentioned — could severely impact the market in the city if not enacted without considering the downward pressure already being experienced.