Dixie RV SuperStores New Corporate Headquarters

Friends Coastal Restaurant in Madisonville has been an abandoned building for close to two years.  Part of the problem for the seafood restaurant was the parking, noise and litter which hindered the nearby residents.  The community was not a suitable fit for the large restaurant.  Fortunately, the building along the Tchefuncte River was purchased by Greg Lala and Steven Guidry of Dixie RV SuperStores.

The proposal for the 27,0000-square-foot building to be renovated into a multi-use complex was approved at Madisonville’s planning and zoning commission meeting on December 4, 2018. The new

structure will include corporate office space and different types of eateries. Mayor Jean Pelloat is in agreement with Lala and Guidry.

“This type of mixed-use development with offices appears to be our best chance to get this building back into commerce,” Pelloat said.

The two business men plan to move their corporate headquarters to the building. The third floor will house the Dixie RV SuperStores Headquarters while the remaining space will be for the eateries.  The second level will be an upscale restaurant and the lower level will be an open-air venue with casual eating served from Airstream concession trailers.

Unlike Friends, who hosted bands that play loud music late into the night, the new establishment will work under the town’s noise ordinance closing all food service no later than 10pm.  The first level open-air venue would stop serving food at 8pm and the music would not be amplified.

“This is not going to be a fly-by-night restaurateur,” said Lala, a St. Tammany Parish resident. “We don’t want to be Friends (restaurant). We want to be good neighbors.”

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Determined Home Buyers Willing to Wait for the Perfect Home

The results are in, and according to the National Association of Home Builder’s (NAHB) Housing Trends Report, 13% of adults in the United States are going to purchase a home or new home in the next 12 months. The poll was taken during the 3rd Quarter of 2018, so that is the time period covered by the survey. These new home buyers and home buyers are unique in the fact that they are taking their time in making a decision about their home purchase. Some buyers reported already taking more than 3 months to look for a home to buy, and they have not found it yet.

What is interesting about this is that these home buyers state that they will not stop looking for a home if it takes longer than expected – less than 20% to be exact. The reasons why they are having

trouble finding the exact home they want to buy is that 49% of buyers said that affordability is a factor followed by 40% looking for specific features. 38% of home buyers said that they cannot find the home at the right price with the right features in a neighborhood where they want to live.

During the last quarter of 2017 and the first 2 quarters of 2018, over 50% of home buyers said that they have been looking for the right home for over 3 months. The highest percentage was during the 4th quarter of 2017. One reason also that might be affecting the ability of home buyers and new home buyers to find a home they would like to purchase is that supply has been steadily falling in the housing market of the United States. At this time, it has truly been a seller’s market with demand substantially outpacing supply. Because of this, buyers are reporting that they are getting outbid by eager competitors with bigger resources – approximately 21% of buyers reported experiencing this frustration.

So, what will these home buyers do if they cannot find the right home? 61% of home buyers said that they will continue to look in the same location. 27% said that they will look in a bigger are and 23% said they will accept a smaller or older home if the price, location, and features are right. Just 16% said they may consider a higher price range of home to buy to get what they want. Only 18% said they would give up completely.

If you are experiencing the frustration of finding the perfect home to buy with your exact features in West St. Tammany Parish, the good news is that Ron Lee Homes will be able to help you with your purchase. We can even assist you in finding land on which to build, and we can definitely accommodate most requests for features within your specified budget. If the features you are wanting are not within your price range, we have the experience to recommend work-arounds or other options you may not have considered yet. So, to assist with all of your home buying needs, Contact Ron Lee Homes today at 985-626-7619 or email Info@RonLeeHomes.com.



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St. Tammany Parish Hospital – A Great Success

St. Tammany Parish is no surprise a great place to live. The parish houses many great restaurants, shops, communities, top schools and places for residents or visitors to enjoy.  U.S. News & World Report’s listed St. Tammany Parish Hospital as one of the top in the nation in 2014.

St. Tammany Parish Hospital opened its doors in 1954 with only 15 hospital beds and today the hospital holds 232 beds. On November 27, 2018, the public hospital hosted a ground breaking on a $53.4 million expansion. The expansion will add close to 159,000 square feet and will include a four-story build-out. The number of beds will go from 232 to 247 with all private rooms.  Once the project is completed, the semi-private rooms throughout the hospital will be converted to private rooms.

According to Joan Coffman, St. Tammany Parish Hospital President and CEO, the first floor will be where the administrative offices and conference areas are located, the second and third floor will house critical care and medical/surgical beds and the fourth floor will be as she described “shell space” for future growth.

The expansion is going to be designed so that a fifth floor could be supported according to the architect, fl+WB Architects of Covington and the contractor, Milton Womack Inc. of Baton Rouge.  There is a three-year plan, Expansion 2020 Project, that includes the recently added new parking lot, and renovation of existing patient rooms. The expense will be covered by bonds issued by the hospital.

Coffman reports that 85% of the beds at the hospital are always in use. She states, “This is because of the (population) growth of the parish, especially western St. Tammany.’’ Admissions to the hospital rose 9% from 15,656 in 2016 to 17,038 in 2017, surgeries rose 14.5% to 11,000 in 2017 and emergency room visits hit a high of more than 47,000 in 2017 making a 12% increase. The parish has also started to attract more retirees which will put a huge demand on health care in the area.

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New Homes Are On The Rise

The housing market is booming and new home construction is benefiting.  NAHB reports that private residential construction spending has increased.  This increase is across the board from single family

to multi-family homes.

Mulit-family accounts for $64.2 billion which attributes to the majority of the increase. Single family was shown to also hold a steady growth with a 0.9 percent increase in the third quarter of 2018.

The Census Construction Spending data details this strong growth which is from 2010 to April 2017. The rise in construction spending comes from the high spending on multi-family. The annual nonresidential spending increase  was based on class of power which totaled $8 billion, office comes next at $7.6 billion and last is lodging totaling $4.2 billion.

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A Fair Pay Raise for St. Tammany Parish Employees

The economy is on the mend but still has a way to go.  Many people are seeing a pay raise but there are those who still have yet to see one since the up rise in the economy.  St. Tammany Public Works employees are hoping for a pay raise for 2019.

This hope stems from a proposal given by Councilman Richard Tanner during a recent public hearing. Tanner proposed a 2 percent raise to employees that work in the Public Works department. It

would cost the department approximately $273,000 for the 2 percent pay increase minus the department director. He sees the raise is justified because the department has its own funding source.  This source stems from a dedicated sales and property taxes. Many others agreed during the public hearing on the proposed 2019 operating and capital budgets that the employees should be given a raise.

“Public Works does a fabulous job and it would be my pleasure to vote for this,’’ said Councilman Jerry Binder.

Pat Brister, St. Tammany Parish President, feels that giving raises to one department and not the others “is incorrect and wrong.”

“Everybody in this parish works just as hard as Public Works,’’ Brister told the council.
Brister voiced there is very little wiggle room in the Parish Budget.  The proposed sale tax increase was a no go with voters last election. The two sales taxes that were denied would have brought in $22 million dollars annually. The current budget that Brister will be presenting totals to $99 million and will be adopted by December 31, 2018.

An Economic Balancing Act

After the fall of the economy in 2007, policymakers want to keep a healthy balance in today’s economy. The Federal Reserve does not want to repeat what some economist consider to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

According to a statement released by the Federal Reserve, the labor market is continuing to strengthen and the “economic activity has been rising at a strong rate.”

This week Fed policymakers agreed to keep the rates the same for November 2018.  The reason for

this decision was based on the continued growth of the American economy.  The Federal Reserve wants to make sure the growth stays at a healthy rate, neither too fast nor too slow. The benchmark rate, the determining factor for the cost of borrowing on credit cards, mortgages and other loans, will stay between 2% to 2.25%

Markets have gone up this month and the Fed will more than likely raise rates at the final 2018 meeting. This also suggest the rates will raise several more times in 2019. Policymakers explain that this is a standard reaction to the strong economy.  This will give central bankers some cushion if a downturn were to occur.

Not all of the aspects of the economy are at full force. Business investments have risen very little and the investors are curious to see if the Fed officials will anticipate a lower growth in next year’s forecast.

The job market is strong. In October, employers added 250,000 jobs.  Wages have also gone up 3.1% year-over-year. While this is good news for Americans, officials fear that low unemployment and higher wages might speed up inflation which could force the central bank to raise rates aggressively.

A Local Developer’s Unique Twist At Adaptive Reuse

As a community starts to thrive and grow, more and more businesses and residents move into the area.  Along with new growth, comes new buildings and homes in the community. What about the existing buildings in the area that might have lost their tenants due to previous lack of growth?  An Adaptive reuse, the process of reusing an old site or building for a different or new business, is a great way to bring new life into an old building.

existing building is a perfect place for future business owners to begin a new business. 

One community that is booming with growth along the Northshore in the New Orleans area is Mandeville. Barrett and Jill McGuire, of McGuire Real Estate Group, are using adaptive reuse at two sites in Mandeville. Rest Awhile is currently underway and is now a restaurant complex and Band’s Food Store’s old building is currently under review to become a restaurant in Old Mandeville.

Currently under way, is the Rest Awhile restaurant complex.  Originally the Rest Awhile building was the Frapart Hotel in the 1800’s which later became a retreat house for those in need. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the building

was left abandoned and now the project is preserving the old building into a sit-down restaurant.  Two other buildings on the site include the Hadden Cottage, which plans to be a coffee and tapas bar and the Sophie B. Wright Cottage which plans to be a tavern.

The McGuire’s second project is close to Barrett’s heart. Band’s Food Store, in Old Mandeville, was built in the 1940’s and served Old Mandeville for decades.  As a young boy, McGuire remembers sweeping the parking lot of the grocery store, located at Lafitte and Monroe, to earn money to buy baseball cards.  The couple purchased the site for $275,000 and hope to turn the building into a restaurant.  McGuire says they are focusing on “a lunch counter concept at this point” and as for the name, “we haven’t gotten that far yet,” he said.

Adaptive reuse is not only a smart and green way to reuse current buildings, but is also a great way to preserve a community’s memories and history. As for the McGuire’s belief on conserving the old grocery store site, “It’s a great little place. It deserves to be put back into commerce,” he said.

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