Exclusive: 1st look at what's replacing former Louisiana Children's Museum
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Common House has a rooftop pool and bar. Apartment residents in the building get free access to the pool. Photo: Carlie Kollath Wells/Axios
The apartment complex and member club under construction in the former Louisiana Children's Museum will open in June.
Why it matters: The redevelopment is breathing new life into a historic space that housed the museum for 30 years.
The big picture: Memoir Warehouse District is the residential side of the project from Nashville-based developer AJ Capital Partners.
- The 113-unit building opens June 1, AJ's chief strategy officer Ruben Navarro tells Axios.
- It has studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments available, with leases starting at $1,800.
- The property also has furnished apartments for people wanting an extended hotel-type stay.
Meanwhile, Common House, a social club, is in the adjoining building. It has a rooftop pool, restaurant, bar, co-working space and gym.
- It is scheduled to open at the end of June. Membership starts at $165 per month, plus an initiation fee, writes Axios' Chelsea Brasted.
- Residents at Memoir get a free membership to Common House, Navarro says.
What they did: The developers kept the museum's well-known blue shutters on the exterior, but the inside is a far cry from the bubble-soaked floor from generations of New Orleans children.
- They preserved the exposed brick and beams in the original structure and built a new five-story building and center courtyard, says Hailey Oliff, AJ Capital's senior manager of development and construction.
The vibe: The spaces feel like a swanky boutique hotel, from the lobby with the cypress murals on the bookshelves to the velvet furniture and vintage Mardi Gras photos in the rooms.
- One apartment I toured had a massive balcony with a full view of the Crescent City Connection.
- The rooftop bar is decorated in pinks and greens that feel a bit like a pool day at Brennan's.
Context: The Louisiana Children's Museum closed its doors at 420 Julia St. in 2019 after operating there for more than three decades. It reopened soon after in New Orleans City Park.
Zoom out: Navarro says his company sees a market for remote workers from bigger cities like New York and Los Angeles who want to move to a quieter, cultured "second city" like New Orleans.
- They are renters by choice, he says, and are interested in living in a creative, walkable neighborhood like the Warehouse District with the amenities of city living.
- Common House also is targeting remote workers.
- The two brands complement each other, Navarro says, "with community building in mind."
Go deeper: See renderings for Common House.