Total damages cost about $4 million to repair, Kailas
said, but once the water was pumped out, renovations
began and continued until the building’s reopening in
2012. Currently Executive Plaza is occupied up to its
seventh floor.
Kailas credits much of the building’s progress in
increasing occupancy to his property manager, Roxanne
Moray, who has been working with him for the past
five years.
“A lot of the marketing is done by word of mouth
and a lot of it is with Gowri’s efforts and his vision,”
Moray said. “We have 21 different projects ongoing
right now. We’ve improved the parking lot and we’ve
made improvements to the windows, cleaning and
caulking them for the first time since Katrina. We’re
also upgrading our HVAC system (heating, ventilation,
air conditioning) because the old one has been here for
40 years,” Moray added.
Increased security has also been a priority for the Executive
Plaza management team, with upgrades to the camera monitoring
system and the establishment of a security checkpoint adjacent to
the ground floor elevators.
Most recently Executive Plaza has attracted RENEW Schools, relocating
from downtown New Orleans with 5,200 square feet of office
space. Also relocating there is the Women and Infant Children (WIC)
program operating on a City New Orleans contract. WIC moved into
about 3,000 square feet of office space in early October 2019.
“So now we’re beginning to attract larger business owners and
tenants, instead of just the smaller mom and pop types,” Moray said,
adding, “We love them all.”
However, the building’s showpiece, when it’s completed, will be its
11th story event room and the space it’s allotting for musical recording
and film studios. On a tour of the floor, Executive Plaza’s marketing
director, Damon Ketchens, showed a Breakthru representative through
the various rooms that will, when completed, house facilities for music
recording and film-related projects.
“The 11th floor is going to be an entertainment hub, with a fullfledged
green screen room,” Ketchens said. “With tax credits coming
back to the city we’ve been promoting the space to a lot of film companies
out in California and Atlanta, inviting them to come down and
use our space to work. We are totally committed to developing a
full-service entertainment center here,” he emphasized.
The NOLA Skyline Event Center, when it’s open for business
(projected for November 2019), will have an estimated capacity of
150-200 people. It plans to host parties, fundraisers and other special
events with catered service, day or night. Colorful oversized photographs
of distinctive New Orleans landmarks decorate the walls and
floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows offer sweeping views of the city
and surrounding areas.
But, of even wider scope than just promoting the desirability of the
building for offices and entertainment events, Kailas and his team
members view what they’re doing in the broader sense of what their
efforts are contributing toward the revitalization to New Orleans East
itself.
As Moray explained, “New Orleans East was probably the last
part of the city to be repopulated (after Katrina) and when it did,
the citizens here became totally invested in it and its recovery. The
demographics released by the city in 2018 shows that 60 percent of
the citizens here are homeowners. So they’re truly invested in this
community and Gowri is also invested in the revitalization of this
building and the surrounding areas.”
Ketchens added, “We’re trying to re-position ourselves and convince
commercial and corporate interests that this building can come back
into play. What we want to do is figure out the most effective way to
entice that community to come back and we figured with all of the
pieces of creating opportunity here for development in the commercial
and entertainment we can do that.”
Summing up, Kailas said, “My focus has always been to enhance
the growth of New Orleans East. “When I first bought the property we
improved its occupancy. Everything changed after Hurricane Katrina
but my commitment never wavered and now we’re starting to see positive
results. We’re focusing on community development, commercial
advancement and a positive image for our youth. I want to keep it that
way and make things even better than they are.”
For more information about leasing space in Executive Plaza or to schedule a special
event contact Roxanne Moray at (504) 240-0120 or by email at rmoray@kailasllc.com.
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