Old Covington Courthouse to Go Up For Auction

On a location which was always considered the town center of Covington, there have been 3 courthouse buildings which have stood since 1837 when the St. Tammany Parish Police Jury bought 4 lots for the purpose of “planting” the Covington courthouse.  The original courthouse was demolished in 1884, and in 1886, a new courthouse was built which stood until 1957.  Then, the courthouse that now stands at the location was completed in 1959.  This courthouse is being considered city surplus and will be auctioned to the highest bidder towards the beginning of 2019.

The current building houses the 911 center for St. Tammany Parish.  It has been rented out for this purpose for approximately 10 years. A new 911 facility is being construction north of Lacombe and will be a 16,000 square foot building once it is completed.

Public preference in Covington has been that the current courthouse stay in the purvue of the city and

be converted to a museum or public park space, however, with the budget shortfall coming up for the next fiscal year, an auction will be necessary.  To that end, the Covington City Council appointed a nine-member panel to do a study as to the uses for the building.

The building is 31,000 square feet and it also has a plaza in the front which is home to ancient oak trees, which are part of the charm of many public places on the Northshore. It is located at the corner of Boston and New Hampshire Streets and is currently owned by the St. Tammany Parish government.

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St. Tammany Parish Children’s Museum Opens at Koop Drive

A plan 15 years in the making came to fruition the weekend of January 20-21, 2018.  The Children’s Museum of St. Tammany opened its doors to great fanfare that weekend.  The Children’s Museum which is located near the St. Tammany Trace Trailhead at Koop Drive, will begin to have regular business hours on Tuesday, January 23rd.  The museum has exhibits which are focused on toddler-age children to elementry-age children.

The idea for the Children’s Museum originally began with the Junior League of Greater Covington in 2003.  A non-profit was formed in 2011 called The Children’s Museum of St. Tammany to begin on

fundraising activities to raise money for the new facility. Partners in the endeavor include the St. Tammany Parish government and the St. Tammany Parish school district.

In fact, the St. Tammany Parish school district held its 8th fundraising event on December 1, 2017, which was led by the students to raise money for the museum.  A check in the amount of $19,377 was then donated to the Children’s Museum by school superintendent Trey Folse during a school board meeting on January 11, 2018. A total of $160,000 has been raised using similar fundraising efforts during the last 8 years.

The facility at the Tammany Trace Trailhead at Koop Drive is only an interim location for the museum. The final facility will be built on St. Tammany Parish’ planned cultural arts district on land adjacent to the Colonial/Pinnacle property at Louisiana 21 / I-12 and the Tchefuncte River.

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Residential Real Estate Investing Tips & Tricks

They say that investing in real estate is one of the most secure investments you can make. However, many people who have heard this adage and are used to working within the investment system of stocks and bonds can be unsure as to how exactly to go about investing in real estate.  Below are some tips on how, when, and where to begin the real estate investing process.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that the timing of your investment is right.  For years, since the Recession, and slightly before the Recession, interest rates have been at record low and historically low rates. In fact, interest rates are still at low levels compared to the lifelong statistics of interest rates, so now may be a good time to invest in real estate.

The next thing, as an investor, you need to consider is the health of the market in which you are investing.  The way to tell about the health of the market is the stability of home prices, economic opportunity, and employment rates.  Many investors will start with what they know, in an area that they know.  This sometimes means checking out the opportunities around where they live.  Once an investor has taken the plunge on real estate investment, the same formula can be applied to other markets while doing research.

Simply said, areas in which there is strong economic growth, new commercial construction with chain box stores of new chain restaurants being built in an area, that is where residential real estate may soon move in.  The economic studies done by these big companies indicate the opportunity for growth of people and jobs, which will bring them the business and eventually the home buyers.
Another way to tell if growth is happening is the employment rate of an area. The more jobs offered and the more businesses cropping up, the higher the employment rate. Jobs bring people who need to rent or buy homes, which indicates a great place for real estate investment.

Once you have considered the economic and employment factors in residential real estate, the next thing to do is to find the actual real estate itself.  If you are skilled at construction and renovations, the more profit you can make out of a home that needs a little TLC because the cost of buying and “flipping” the home in a sale will be lower for you if you don’t have to higher a construction manager to do the work.  If you don’t have this skillset, you might want to consider a home that might be in foreclosure or a bank-owned home which doesn’t require a lot to get it sale ready.  Looking for deals where you can purchase a house for much lower than appraised value is the name of the game here.
So, wherever you live and whatever your skills, as long as you have good credit, money to invest, and even potential investment partners, there are opportunities to invest in residential real estate is the market conditions are right.

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New Restaurant in Old Mandeville Has New Orleans Roots

A sous chef with seven years’ experience working at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans will be opening a new restaurant in Old Mandeville, just 5 blocks off of Lake Pontchartrain.  The restaurant building which used to house Vianne’s Tea House and very briefly the Ugly Duckling Cafe will take on the new name of Hambone and will server breakfast, lunch, coffee and brunch on the weekends.

The fare will include traditional southern and Louisiana food like red beans and rice.  According to the new owner and chef, Luke Hidalgo, the menu will feature southern comfort food and include

specialty sandwiches and small plate meals.

“It’s that little bit of a turn that you put into your food on the front end that makes all the difference in the world,” Hidalgo said of his approach in designing his menu. “It takes a little bit of an extra effort, but it’s worth it.”

The endeavor is being taken up by Luke Hidalgo and his wife Marci, who he met at Commander’s Palace and who also has restaurant experience. The location of the new restaurant is 544 Girod Street.  In addition to working at Commander’s Palace, Hidalgo also has experience working as executive chef at Palmetto’s Restaurant in Slidell.  The new restaurant will have approximately 145 seats – 85 inside and 60 outside.

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Reduced Crime in Covington for the 4th Year in a Row

For the fourth consecutive year, the crime in Covington, Louisiana, is down compared to previous years.  Covington, Mandeville, and Madisonville, Louisiana, all have very low crime numbers in St. Tammany Parish.  St. Tammany Parish is considered a very safe place to live and to move to according to people who currently live in this area.

However, the good news about crime being even lower this year in Covington, is excellent news for homeowners.  This news means that their homes will continue to appreciate in value as St. Tammany Parish remains a sought after place to live and move.

Major crime in Covington went down by 22% in 2017, and these decreases were in the categories of

rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and assault and theft.  There were increases in just 2 categories – burglary and vehicle theft.  Just one murder was recorded in Covington in both 2017 and 2016, which kept that category number the same.

“While the importance of crime statistics cannot be understated, and we are ecstatic about the fourth consecutive year of reduced numbers of crimes reported, the real success of our agency lies in the relationships we have built with our citizens in the community,” Police Chief Tim Lentz said in the release. “We are truly blessed to live and work in a community that cares.”

Community communication and outreach programs can be credited for the low crime rate in this area.  Community members have a good relationship with law enforcement which helps to keep information flowing and reduces or stops crime before it happens.  Several outreach programs have been put in place to help with the drug abuse epidemic, which seems to be a nationwide problem as well.

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Hidden Home Features Valued by Homeowners

There are many different types of features that people look for in a previously-owned home, as well as a home that is built custom by a new home builder.  These features can include the type of flooring, the type of cabinetry, the type of countertops, and many other selections.  However, there are other “forgotten” features which can be hidden luxuries in a new home or a resale home which can also add aesthetic value and make a home more valuable.

Whether you are building a new home or buying an already-built home, storage inside a home can be very important.  Any home that has “out-of-the-way” storage is also a great benefit.  Built-in storage

shelving in closets, bathrooms, and planned built-ins around the fireplace or in private office nooks offer surprising and unexpected “hidden” spaces which allow for a homeowner to be able to put things away and not waste space.

Although not very common, another hidden luxury are heated floors.  Heated floors can mostly be found in bathroom areas and other wet areas. Heated floors can be especially wonderful for new homes built custom for older homeowners who appreciate warm floors on older bones.

Many already built homes have this next feature – surround sound.  Many people prefer to install custom systems once they own a home and have placed all of their music and entertainment equipment in specific places throughout the home.  Properly installed, working sound systems can add great value to a home for sale because people can envision how they can use the installed system to fit their needs.  If you are building a new, custom home, you can also have the system installed where it doesn’t affect the walls and flooring because it can be implemented with the electrical system before the walls are erected and finished.

A very popular home luxury which can be found in many newly built homes for sale in West St. Tammany Parish is under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen.  This lighting can be both underneath the lower cabinets and also installed in top cabinets that double as display cases with glass fronts.  This lighting can add an amazing aesthetic value to the kitchen and also is helpful for navigating spaces at night or when you are just getting home from work.

These new home and already built home luxuries are not common, but they are very appreciated by home buyers when they are searching for a home to buy.

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St. Tammany Project Christmas Gives Back to the Community

You could call them St. Tammany “elves,” those are the volunteers who dedicate their time and skills at this time every year to make sure that families in need in St. Tammany Parish have both food and gifts to give their kids for Christmas.  The organization is called St. Tammany Project Christmas, and its purpose it to provide toys and a Christmas feast to 1,650 children, 30 senior citizens, and 650 families on the North Shore.

A vetting process is in place to make sure that the families that are being provided for are qualified to receive the gifts. The volunteers are employed to put together gift baskets filled with non-perishable

food and vouchers for the Christmas meat selected by each family.  They also help with assembling gifts, including bicycles, to be given as gifts for the kids. Sometimes, there will be as many as 300 bikes to make sure they are in working order.

The centers and distribution sites where this project is conducted is located in Mandeville, Madisonville, and Slidell, Louisiana.

“The absolute worst thing that could happen would be for a child to be forgotten,” said Penny Weaver, who has been volunteering for the past six years.

The gifts and gift baskets are distributed all at once on what is known as Distribution Day, which is Saturday, December 16th. Volunteers of Project Christmas have been donating their time and efforts for years – one volunteer has been doing it for 11 years.  This year’s officers include Mike Callaway, vice president; C.J. Giffin, treasurer; Suzanne Switzer, secretary; and Rene Arsenault, Jewell Bayhi, Margaret Diaz, Elizabeth Lamulle, Wendy Norlin and Rick VanArsdale.

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