Melissa Warren Named As Sales & Leasing Executive
Stirling Properties commercial real estate company is pleased to announce that Melissa Warren, CCIM, has joined its Commercial Brokerage Division as Sales and Leasing Executive. She will work from the company’s New Orleans office located in the Pan American Life Center at 601 Poydras Street.
Warren has provided clients with commercial real estate advisory services since 2001. Her focus is on industrial, office, and retail sales and leasing, as well as tenant and landlord representation.
On behalf of clients, Warren has been responsible for conducting investment, market, and financial analysis, as well as negotiating purchase and lease contracts. She coordinates transaction due diligence, site selection services, user decision analysis, and assists clients with planning and zoning matters. Additionally, she has served as the leasing agent for East Jefferson General Hospital and has represented Whitney/Hancock Bank in the disposition of distressed commercial assets and office leasing.
Prior to joining Stirling Properties, Warren was a senior real estate advisor for Grubb & Ellis/ Sawyer Commercial in Gulfport, Mississippi. In 2005 and 2006, she was awarded the Top Producer Ruby Award by the Gulf Coast Association of Realtors (GCAR) for completing the largest number of commercial transactions on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In 2010, she was inducted into GCAR’s Top Producer Round Table for lifetime achievement.
Warren graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. In 2006, she was designated a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). She is affiliated with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors (NOMAR) – Commercial Investment Division (CID), CCIM Institute, Louisiana Chapter of CCIM, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and Louisiana Commercial Database (LACDB).
Melissa Warren, CCIM, can be reached at (504) 620-8148 or mwarren@stirlingprop.com.
Ochsner Health System Announces Plans to Lease Former Louisiana Heart Hospital Property
Today, Ochsner Health System announced its plans to lease the former Louisiana Heart Hospital property in Lacombe, Louisiana. Stirling Properties acquired the 25-acre site earlier this month.
An official ceremony was held with Honorable Pat Brister, St. Tammany Parish President; Warner Thomas, President & CEO of Ochsner Health System; Patti Ellish, CEO of St. Tammany Parish Hospital; Bill Davis, CEO of Slidell Market SMH-Ochsner Partnership; Townsend Underhill, Sr. VP of Development for Stirling Properties; and St. Tammany Parish Council members and dignitaries.
Working together with each of its partners, St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Slidell Memorial Hospital, Ochsner plans to repurpose the building to open a Post-Acute Care Hospital to include long-term acute care, skilled nursing, and inpatient rehabilitation services in one convenient St. Tammany location. This effort will also result in job growth and expanded administrative services in the region by opening a dedicated North Shore Service Center.
“We are excited that this facility will once again be opened and provide much-needed medical services for our residents as well as jobs for our local healthcare workforce,” said President Brister. “We appreciate Ochsner’s commitment to St. Tammany Parish, and we look forward to another leading-edge healthcare facility, providing high-quality medical care.”
Townsend Underhill participated in the announcement to underscore Stirling Properties’ focus and commitment to St. Tammany Parish and the entire Gulf South region.
Stirling Properties has invested more than $350 million in St. Tammany and currently owns and operates 4 million square feet of commercial property, with assets throughout the parish—generating significant economic development opportunities, revenue, and job growth for the area and residents. Major projects in the parish include Northpark Corporate Center I & II in Covington, Premier Centre in Mandeville, Stirling Slidell in Slidell, River Chase in Covington, and Fremaux Town Center in Slidell, just to name a few.
In addition to growing its development and brokerage services, Stirling Properties is focused on acquisition and investment projects. The recently closed Louisiana Heart Hospital facility provided the company a chance to invest in a vital property and help to return it to commerce.
“This acquisition also provided us another opportunity to grow and diversify our portfolio as part of Stirling Properties’ overall growth strategy into new commercial real estate sectors within our existing footprint,” said Underhill. “Need and demand in the medical industry are growing, and so are our service lines to meet these local needs.”
Stirling Properties is thankful for its continued partnerships with Ochsner. The two companies have previously worked together on the recently announced $80 million medical clinic and micro hospital at The Grove in Baton Rouge as well as the recently completed and soon to open state-of-the-art Emergency Department and Imaging Center in LaPlace.
Stirling Properties looks forward to announcing future projects in the medical industry—and continuing to serve the commercial real estate needs of the Gulf South region.
New Orleans Tricentennial: The 300th Anniversary
Beginning in just a few months, New Orleans will enter its Tricentennial anniversary celebrating a 300 year history of one of the world’s most unique cities. During the Tricentennial year, we will be celebrating our history, culture, diversity, resilience, and people, as well as setting the course for a future on the rise. We invite you to join us. Please visit the site www.2018nola.com to learn more about the upcoming festivities.
The trajectory of New Orleans over the last 10 years has been one of the most remarkable comeback stories in our nation. Time Magazine recently ranked New Orleans in the top 5 cities for millennial migration with an 8.5% increase in 25-34 year olds from 2010-2015. New Orleans is one of the fastest growing cities for tech jobs, one of the best cities for women in tech and one of the top ten cities for creatives in America. The Crescent City consistently lands among the top in rankings such as “#1 Brain Magnet in America”, “Most Dynamic City in America”, “#1 Most Improved Metro in the US”, and “#2 Favorite City in America”.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Rendering
From new international flights to London, Frankfort, and Panama City, to workforce development and tourism growth, to public policy reform, our region has recently celebrated many accomplishments. We are building a new airport, redeveloping our storied riverfront, and creating a 21st-century medical corridor. Many infrastructure improvements are underway, and new businesses are flocking to the area, attracting talented young minds to join their ranks.
Mid-City Market, New Orleans, Louisiana
In the last 7 years alone, Stirling Properties’ investments in the City of New Orleans have exceeded $150 million. The first retail development post-Katrina in New Orleans was Mid-City Market, which transformed a formerly blighted New Orleans neighborhood into a contextual grocery-anchored urban infill shopping center.
Magnolia Marketplace, New Orleans, Louisiana
Another significant project in New Orleans, Magnolia Marketplace, encompassed the redevelopment of the former C.J. Peete Housing Project into a dynamic new retail development in an underserved market of Orleans Parish. This redevelopment brought much needed sales tax and the introduction of national retailers into the city of New Orleans.
Pan American Life Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
In 2010, Stirling Properties acquired the 674,000 sq. ft. Class A Pan American Life Center office building in the New Orleans Central Business District. This was our first office investment in the City of New Orleans. The building serves as headquarters to some of the region’s top banks, insurance, and law firms. Recently, the building was transformed into a mixed-use office and retail space, bringing in tenants such as Starbucks, Tsunami Sushi, and Smoothie King to the first floor. And last year, as part of our company’s long-term commitment to the City of New Orleans, we relocated our CBD office to the 27th floor of the Pan American Life Center.
Stirling Properties office, 27th Floor Pan American Life Center
As proud as I am of our company’s many accomplishments, I am equally as proud of the role we have played in contributing to and supporting the numerous nonprofits, community groups, and civic and industry organizations throughout the area, which have played such a significant role in the New New Orleans.
The City of New Orleans has been in the making for nearly 300 years. We’ve had ups and downs, successes and failures, and tragedies along the way—and we still have lots of work left to do. But New Orleans is resilient and our city today is triumphing. As we celebrate the 300th year of its founding, we welcome you to join us in commemorating the past and helping to create the future. Come see what’s happening here!
It is truly an exciting time to be in New Orleans. I invite you to learn more at www.2018nola.com and to join in celebrating our anniversary.
#2018nola
Announcing New Ochsner Medical Facility at The Grove
Last Thursday, June 8, Stirling Properties participated in the announcement of Ochsner Health System’s new medical facility at The Grove in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The project includes a new five-story, 155,000-square-foot medical office building, and a 30,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center. The new clinic will be located along the I-10 Bluebonnet/Siegen corridor on approximately 25 acres of property as part of the High Grove development planned near the Mall of Louisiana and fronting Interstate 10. Anticipated completion is scheduled for early 2019.
Stirling Properties will be responsible for over $15 million of infrastructure improvements, as well as the completion of the 11-mile BREC multi-use trail through the site. On behalf of Ochsner, Stirling has also handled pre-development efforts, including site selection, due diligence, economic feasibility, and state and local permitting coordination.
Scheduled infrastructure improvements include new roadways and a bridge across Wards Creek that will connect Grove Blvd. to the I-10 frontage road and ease traffic congestion. A new sewer lift station will be installed to serve the Ochsner facility, as well as replace an existing one that services several hundred homes in the neighboring Morning Glen and Audubon Terrace neighborhoods. A new underground drainage system will be built to accommodate water runoff from surrounding property in addition to the Ochsner site, which will result in improved drainage condition in future storm events.
During the construction phase, these new projects will bring nearly 1,630 construction jobs in addition to over 450 permanent jobs that will be relocated from the existing Summa clinic.
Additional project announcements are forthcoming.
