BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
“ELEVATING THE URBAN
EXPERIENCE”
New Orleans-based HRI
Properties Spearheads
Restorations in Major U.S.
Cities
Written by: Margaret Tuskey
“We create vibrant places to live, work, play and stay.” So
states HRI Properties on the home page of its website, and their
mission statement is backed up by a solid, impressive track record
of accomplishments in the downtown districts of some of America’s
largest cities.
Founded in 1982, the New Orleans-based development and
property management company, headquartered on Gravier Street
downtown, has reimagined, restored, reconfigured, repurposed and
revitalized nearly 100 formerly vacant and underutilized properties
into luxury hotels, showplace living units and other types of mixed
use/retail space.
In addition to New Orleans, the company has overseen the redevelopment
and re-envisioning of downtown buildings and surface
parking lots in Dallas, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Nashville,
and Richmond, VA. Most recently, the company completed a dual
brand Hyatt Place / Hyatt House hotel in Indianapolis and started
construction on another in Tampa. These projects offer guests the
opportunity to enjoy the benefits of both brands under one roof.
HRI is also currently converting the historic 18-story Arrott Building
in Pittsburgh into a boutique hotel, adding another major urban
metropolis to their expanding national roster.
Here in New Orleans, HRIP’s work can be seen most prominently
in the redevelopment of the former Hibernia Bank Building
on Carondelet Street, the luxury apartments and Hyatt Centric hotel
in the former D.H. Holmes department store on Canal Street and
some of the most prestigious loft-style apartment buildings in the
city’s Warehouse Arts District.
HRI also has a strong commitment to community development
through the creation of high-quality mixed-income and affordable
housing that is much needed in most major cities. They also target
investments in underserved communities, seeking development
opportunities in walkable neighborhoods with public transit access.
The most recent example of their community development work
includes the seven-phase transformation of New Orleans’ 23-acre
Iberville Public Housing Development, built in 1942, into a vibrant,
mixed-use, mixed-income community. The Iberville redevelopment
is an example of a very successful public-private partnership, which
has been a form of collaboration that HRI has embraced for decades.
Additionally, HRI employs sustainable building practices to build
smarter, greener and more efficient buildings and offers job creation
and training programs to ensure low barrier, high advancement
employment opportunities are created as part of their developments.
In all, HRIP has invested more than $3 billion in total development
over the years. Their work is backed by some of the nation’s leading
private investment firms and commercial lending institutions.
“Since 1982, HRI has been at the forefront of the urban development
and revitalization movement. We use our creativity and unique
experience to transform both underutilized buildings and areas into
vibrant places where people want to live, work, play and stay,” said
A. Thomas Leonhard Jr., President and CEO of HRI Properties. “We
bring decades of knowledge about culture, architecture, hospitality,
service, finance, urban planning and the
environment — to every project we undertake. HRI is committed
to changing things for the better and breathing new life into urban
neighborhoods from coast to coast, creating extraordinary places and
experiences for our residents and guests.”To learn more about
HRIP and its projects, visit www.HRIProperties.com.
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