Streetscapes on Interstate 12 Interchanges in St. Tammany Parish

As Andrew Grant the famous author puts it, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”  This is a focal point when it comes to the streetscapes on Interstate 12 interchanges in St. Tammany Parish.

“The first impression of St. Tammany needs to be a positive one. We want them to like it and come back. This is our one good chance to make a good first impression”, says administration spokesman

Ronnie Simpson.

St. Tammany Parish has six economic districts that are focusing on improving.  Parish officials point out that improving these districts by giving each district their own unique design standards will enhance St. Tammany’s appearance making it more attractive for residents, visitors, and potential home buyers. Each district will be given its own name, custom sign, unique banners, landscaping, tree preservation, sidewalks and the use of swales and rain gardens to manage the storm water.

“The vision for each of these districts is to underscore the distinctive identities of each of these communities and to entice the visitor or the resident driving by to come into that community,” Parish

President Pat Brister. “This is a proven strategy for increasing economic development by enhancing the attractiveness of the community and the businesses within the community, and as a result, commerce and revenue are increased.”

Potential names and designs are already on the horizon for the six districts’ I-12 interchanges.  A list of names include, Coquille District at the interchange of Louisiana 1077, Arts District at the interchange of Louisiana 21, Little Creek District at the interchange of Louisiana 59, Fontainbleau District at the interchange of Louisiana 1088, Centerpoint District at the interchange of Louisiana 434 and Crossroads District at Airport Road.  Concept designs are already in place for some which include Coquille District’s logo of the lighthouse along Lake Pontchartrain in Madisonville and Little Creek District’s logo which shows a bicyclist along Tammany Trace.

A 3/4 cent sales tax, approved by the parish earlier this year, is anticipated to bring in approximately $4 million which will be allotted to economic development projects.
“Essentially what we’re talking about is each of these districts are the front door of our parish as people come in and out of our parish,” Simpson said.

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Builders Surveyed About Green Building Products or Practices

A list of the 21 green building products or practices used per the standards of the National Green Building Standard Certification include solar water heaters, passive solar design, energy management systems, reused or salvaged materials, smart appliances, prefabricated components, building materials driven from renewable resources, recycling construction waste, building materials with recycled content, alternatives to dimensional lumber, on-demand water heaters, materials from regional suppliers, water conserving faucets and fixtures, efficient construction techniques that minimize material usage, moisture control measures to enhance durability, improving the home’s thermal envelope, duct systems designed to minimize leakage, ENERGY STAR® appliances, programmable thermostats, high efficiency HVAC systems, and low-e windows.

According to a survey of 337 single-family builders, builders of this survey averaged using 10.2 green products or practices in the new homes that they built.  Topping the list at 95% of builders using this green product were low-e windows.  Other very popular items included high efficiency HVAC systems at 92% of builders, programmable thermostats at 88%, ENERGY STAR® appliances at 80%, and duct systems designed to minimize leakage at 78%.

Improving the home’s thermal envelope, which is a practice that Ron Lee Homes strongly endorses came in at 67%, as well as moisture control measures to enhance durability and efficient construction techniques that minimize material usage.

Interestingly, all builders surveyed said that they used at least one green building product. Builders have the voluntary option of actually getting a green certification of the new homes that they build.  Programs such as ENERGY STAR®, LEED, and programs run by state or local jurisdictions allow a builder to certify their home a green standard.  Of the surveyed builders, 22% said that they always or almost always get this certification. Ron Lee Homes is a Certified Green Builder through the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  Our new homes are tightly construction to minimize as many effects of the environment on the home as possible.  Contact Ron Lee Homes today to find out about designing and building using green products and practices.  Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

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Upgrading to a New Home – Home Selling Tips

Selling your home is one of the biggest challenges a homeowner will face throughout the life of owning a home.  Upgrading to a new home (2nd or 3rd time home buyer) is not only an investment of equity but also a thrilling adventure, but you have to get the first home sold first!  To do this, you need to be a savvy home seller with the determination to make selling your home your number-one priority or “job.”  There are several ways to avoid hardships and heartaches along the way.

First: You can’t always help what a home buyer is going to do, but there are things you can do to protect yourself as the seller.  Be wise and make sure that the person putting an offer on your home can actually afford to buy your home. Make sure they are pre-approved by a lender.  Pre-approved, not just pre-qualified.  Many people can get pre-qualified based on their answers to a loan application and credit check, but when it comes down to actually examining tax returns and verifying employment, there is a big difference.  Turn down any offers of buyers that are unwilling to take this next step.

Second: Examine and inspect your home before your home inspector does. Or, if you feel like you have already made all repairs and improvements to your home before you put it on the market, be efficient about getting the home inspection done as soon as possible. The home inspection is what can make or break a sale, so be proactive and fix what needs fixing and for a great home buyer offer, get the inspection done and be open to the results.

Third: Make sure you don’t “price yourself out of the market” with the sale of your home.  What you think it’s worth and what a home buyer thinks it’s worth can be very different.  Appraisals are pricey, but if you have a strong discrepancy of what you are asking and where buyers’ offers are coming in, you may want to get an appraisal to boost your chances of getting your asking price.  You can even include this information in your listing.

Fourth: Some buyers want to live a rural lifestyle with no rules or restrictions while other buyers prefer to live in a neighborhood with strict HOA rules and guidelines to protect their home investment from losing value. If you live in an HOA protected subdivision, be sure to have the HOA Guidelines available for your potential buyers.  You don’t want them to be blindsided halfway through the process when they find out they can’t keep their cabin cruiser boat sitting in the driveway of this home they just purchased. Information like this can avoid these types of deal-breaking dilemmas.

Fifth: If you purchased your home either as a previously owned home or a new home, you should have gotten title insurance. If you didn’t get title insurance, you are going to want to consider getting an abstract of title for your home to reassure your home buyer that your home has a clear title.  You will want to make sure that all old mortgages have been cancelled and the you personally have not acquired any liens during the time that you have owned your home.

Using the tips above will help you have a smooth home selling process and allow you to upgrade to your next home purchase.  If you are considering buying a new, custom home for your next purchase, Contact Ron Lee Homes today to set up a personal consultation.  Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

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New Wedding Venue in Mandeville

In 1990 both Mandeville City Hall and St. Tammany Parish governments agreed to split taxes that came out of the City of Mandeville. The catalyst for this tax sharing agreement was from annexation growth. As of November 2016, 6 1/3 acres of land that sits on the east side of Mandeville has been annexed into the city limits. The land will be the future home of The Greystone, an events hall and

gardens. The city and the parish will split all sales tax revenue that is generated by The Greystone.

Currently under construction, The Greystone is located at the intersection of Florida and Clausel Streets and is slated for completion March 2017. The main structure will be approximately 11,000 square feet which will include a 5,500 square foot grand ballroom and banquet area.  There will also be an outdoor ceremony area, a complete kitchen and a private bridal suite.  The remaining grounds will include gardens, gazebos, flowers, ponds and a rocky creek.

Owners Keith and Lynda Young, who also own Keith Young’s Steakhouse and The Crabby Shack in Madisonville, plan to use the site for corporate events, conferences, seminars, other large events and weddings. The Greystone will be able to hold 350 guest and Young hopes this will attract couples and organizations who want a larger venue to stay on the northshore and not venture to the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain.   “We’re very excited about how this is turning out,” Keith Young said. “It’s a great piece of property with a great layout for weddings or any large event.”



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Archdiocese of New Orleans Has Built a Unique Senior Living Community

When it comes to the bustling population of a community, senior citizens are often over looked but the 55 and over make up a good portion of the St. Tammany population.  With this in mind, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has built a unique senior living community in Covington called St. Anthony’s Gardens. The community is located on 24 acres and sits approximately 100 yards from Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church. The $40 million dollar community will rent the apartments on a monthly basis with no large cash buy-in required making it the only private pay senior living community on the Northshore.

St. Anthony Gardens can be compared to a resort with its many resort style features and amenities.

The Garden Center Commons area has it all.  As with any resort, there is an elegant dining room and private dining room. Residents can stay fit and healthy in one of the multiple exercise rooms, cardio and strength training rooms,walking paths and Wellness clinic with medical exam room.  They can stay busy at the theater, library with resident business center, beauty salon, barber shop, and arts and crafts studio.  For solitude and reflection there is also an On-site chapel and covered porch.

Archbishop Aymond said, “There is a great deal of growth that continues on the northshore, and we, as church, realized there was a demand for a senior living facility. It’s important for the church to reach out and create a home for its citizens.” There are three new home residential options.  According to Ken Swartzfager, asset manager for the project, “This is considered a Continuous Care Residential Community (CCRC), where you can easily transition from one stage of life to the next.”
The first option is “Independent Living” where residents can enjoy a healthy, active independent lifestyle along with the amenities and services provided by St. Anthony’s Gardens.  Residents will be provided with housekeeping, lawn service, 24-hour concierge service, complimentary transportation to scheduled events, basic cable, HDTV digital audio/video output, high-speed internet, free local/National long distance calling and home repairs.  The 120 independent living units (studio, one bedroom or two bedroom) feature 9 ft. ceilings with crown molding in living and dining areas, gourmet style kitchen with island and breakfast bar, full-sized kitchen appliances plus washer and dryer, generous walk-in closets and best of all they are pet-friendly.

The second option is “Assisted Living” which consists of 57 studio, one bedroom or two bedroom floorplans.  According to the community website, residents are “Home but Never Lonely.”  The assisted living residents will enjoy a kitchenette, 24-hour security and emergency call system, individual heating and cooling controls and plenty of storage space in each unit.  The residents will be provided with assistance with activities and daily living, medication management, weekly housekeeping and linen services, three meals daily in restaurant-style dining room or room service, transportation to (medical care, stores and community services), and social and recreational activities.
The third option is called “Memory Care” and is dedicated for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias.  The 36 spacious suites include 24-hour security and emergency call system, three meals a day served family style or room service, medication administration, weekly housekeeping and linen services, daily activity programming, physical and occupational therapy, and a full calendar of resident activities. This area not only has full time loving care staff, but also keeps their special residents in mind with dedicated secure walking areas, scheduled transportation and specialized activities in the craft room.

John Eckholdt, former chief executive officer of the archdiocese says, “It’s state of the art and very safe. There’s a nice neighborhood and a major hospital almost within walking distance. The church is there. And, the fact that the archdiocese’s name is attached to it is a sign to people that it’s going to be well-done and people will be cared for.”  Those that are looking to downsize from a larger home and live on the Northshore now have a new residential option. In fact, Covington’s new development already has its first resident.  Stanley and Frances Bridges have moved into an independent living home and feel blessed that they are able to stay in the community they have lived in.  Stanley Bridges grew up in Covington and retired as a pharmacist at Herbert Drugs. When asked about his new home, he said, “It’s fantastic – they treat you like royalty.” The development is not only a great place for Northshore senior citizens but will also be a hub for employment for Northshore residents. “When the community is fully occupied, St. Anthony’s Gardens should employ nearly 100 people”, Swartzfager said.



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New Mandeville Subdivision Near Archdiocese Land

Brentwood Land Development LLC of Mandeville plans to build a new subdivision off Sharp Road near Mandeville.  The new community is slated to bring 103 new homes to the area.  The 104-acres, just south of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, is under contract and is presently owned by the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

The land is currently zoned A-1 but a request has been approved by the St. Tammany Parish Zoning

Commission to change the zoning to A-2 with a Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlay in place.  A-2 zoning will allow one home per acre and the PUD overlay will sanction for smaller lots with 25% of the land used as green space.  The developers plan to keep 66% of the tract green space which honors the New Directions 2025 land use plan. The new project proposes one home per acre which is less than most subdivisions which are built along Sharp Rd. Brentwood Land did a study that revealed the density in 450-acres of subdivisions in the area is two homes per acre.

Traffic and drainage, two issues that have many residents concerned over, have been addressed by Brentwood Land. The drainage from the new community should be 25% less than what is currently draining from the site. Attorney Jeff Schoen, who represents the archdiocese and Brentwood Land, supports that the home builder’s drainage report is currently being completed and the traffic study which was completed this summer support that the subdivision would not have a huge impact on these two concerns.  “This subdivision should have a place along Sharp Road,” Schoen said.
This new community will have a great impact on the New Orleans area real estate market.  The builders plan to construct 36 new houses on estate-size lots that are priced from $400,000 to $450,000, 17 smaller new homes priced from $350,000 to $400,000 and 50 new construction garden homes priced from $325,000 to $350,000.


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Supply & Demand Drives Home Pricing

One of the key factors to success in any kind of business is supply and demand. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) agrees that this principle has boosted home pricing in the current housing market. NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun believes the housing market is still going strong because of the lack of inventory even though data shows a modest growth rate reduction.
Yun states,”…with homebuilding activity still failing to keep up with demand and not enough current homeowners putting their home up for sale, prices continued their strong ascent – and in many markets at a rate well above income growth.”
In the second quarter of last year the peak existing single-family home price was $229,400, this year however, the second quarter single-family home price has risen 4.9% with a median single-family home price of $240,700.

According to NAR findings, new construction cannot keep up with the demand for new homes.  In the second quarter this year 40% of the listings sold over their listing price. “Many listings in a majority of markets – and especially those in lower price ranges — had multiple offers and went under contract quickly because of severely inadequate supply,” Yun added.

This coupled with low mortgage rates have many potential home buyers wanting to purchase a new home now.  In the Northeast region there was a 7.6% increase in existing homes sales and the median home price increased to $273,600. The Midwest, though not as high of an increase, was 10.4% in total existing-home sales with a median price of $191,300. The West came in next with a 1.4% increase in total existing-home sales with a median home price of $345,500.  The South came in last with a 0.3% increase with a median home price of $214,900.

Whether you are in the market to sell a home or purchase a home, now is the right time.  The housing market is holding strong and is a great investment for your money.  Locally in St. Tammany Parish, Ron Lee Homes, a new home builder in Covington, Louisiana, is building new homes for sale as well as completely custom homes designed completely from your vision of how you would like your new home to be.  We have been keeping a steady pace of new construction for the past 2 years, and we are constantly meeting with new custom home buyers as well as buyers who are looking for homes to buy immediately.  If you are interested in building or buying a new home, Contact Us at 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.


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