200 short-term rentals planned for Canal Street's upper floors
Sonder, a company that develops and manages short-term rental property through long-term leases, has unveiled an ambitious plan to convert the upper floors of three Canal Street buildings into 200 new short-term rental units.
It could mark the most notable progress along a thoroughfare that for decades has struggled to attract substantial investment beyond hotels.
Redevelopment along Canal Street's upper floors has been floated piecemeal in the past, but a variety of obstacles have deterred investors: financing, infrastructure and zoning among them.
Sonder's New Orleans general manager, Peter Bowen, told the City Council on Thursday (Oct. 4) that the company's willingness to sign a 10-year lease on the properties will provide the stability their owners need to secure financing for rehabilitation. Councilman Jason Williams said he hopes that redevelopment would help the city attract more retail to Canal Street, which has been on the decline since suburban growth and malls lured longtime shops and department stores from the corridor.
"It was once a popular destination for shopping, entertaining and just being for this entire region," Williams said. "Over time, it lost its primacy and much of it has fallen into disrepair. We have properties that are blighted and often hazardous. The upper floors of these properties have remained vacant for years -- vacant without fire sprinklers, without activity."
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