How New Orleans office buildings are pivoting during the work-from-home era
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Elation Entertainment turned an office building and warehouse into a multimedia creator hub in Metairie. This space can be used for podcasts, photo shoots and social media interviews. Photo: Carlie Kollath Wells/Axios
Office owners in New Orleans metro are finding new uses for their buildings as more people continue to work from home.
Why it matters: U.S. office vacancy rates reached a record 20.1% in the second quarter — the highest since at least 1979, when Moody's began tracking.
Zoom in: Urban HUB recently opened its third coworking space in metro New Orleans.
- The Metairie-based company offers private offices and conference rooms, according a press release. Desk rates start at $30/day and include coffee and printing.
- Urban HUB opened its first location during the pandemic in the Lower Garden District. Another is in Central City, and the latest is on North Causeway Boulevard.
Meanwhile, the developers at Common House converted the old Louisiana Children's Museum in the Warehouse District into a trendy coworking space for members only. The property opened earlier this summer.
Yes, but: Creatives are looking for alternative spaces too and have different needs, says David Adams, owner of Elation Entertainment in Metairie.
- Last month, he unveiled a multimedia hub with studios for musicians, podcasters and audiobook narrators, along with photo areas for social media content creators.
- "You have to change with the market," he told Axios New Orleans.
- The space previously was a warehouse and studio for shooting commercials.
How it works: People pay for an hour, a day or a more long-term option, Adams said. Spaces start at $50/hour.
- He has a curved cyclorama wall and various photo studios to get different effects. There's also a dressing room.
- The backgrounds range from an office to a green screen to a TV wall that can be digitally animated.
- TikTok or YouTube creators could shoot a month's worth of content in one day, he said. Same for musicians.
He also owns the office building next door and converted it into a coworking space and a Dolby Atmos studio room.
- The purpose of the Dolby room is to make sure that mastered music sounds the same in headphones, in cars and in large venues.
- He's already working with musicians, game creators and others on projects.
What's next: U.S. office vacancy rates are likely to continue to climb for the next few years, peaking at the end of 2026, per Moody's projections. If the economy moves into a downturn, things could get even worse.
- And in New Orleans, downtown skyscrapers may have financial trouble on the horizon when their mortgages need to be refinanced at much higher current rates, writes Anthony McAuley at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
The bottom line: There's "just going to be pain over the next coming years," Moody's associate economist Nick Luettke says.
Go deeper: Office vacancy rate hits record high.