Tag Archive for: St. Tammany Parish

St. Tammany Parish Introduces New Trail System

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A great advantage to living in southern Louisiana is the mild climate.  The outdoors can be enjoyed basically year round.  Residents have many recreation trails and waterways to explore.  St. Tammany Parish is capitalizing on this great advantage introducing a new trail system called Tammany Trails.

Parish government spokesman Ronnie Simpson says, “We’ve had the Tammany Trace for 20 years. It’s a known entity. The Tammany Trace now has a sister, Tammany Trails.”

The focus of the plan is to educate residents about all the outdoor amenities that are right in their backyard.  A website has been launched, tammanytrails.org, that connects people to all of the ways they can enjoy nature’s beauty.Groundbreaking for New Tammany Trails Photographs and maps of the green and blue trails will be on the site showcasing areas such as the Folsom hills, trails in the Honey Island Swamp, Tammany Trace , Big Branch Wildlife Refuge, Camp Salmen Nature Park, Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve, Lake Ramsey Wildlife Management Area, Fairview Riverside State Park, and Foutainebleau State Park.  Waterways include Bayou Lacombe, Cane Bayou, Abita River, Bogue Falaya River, Tchefuncte River, Lake Pontchartrain and Pearl River.

St. Tammany Parish government is not the only entity that recognizes the value of parks and walking, hiking, and biking trails.  Bedico Creek Preserve in Madisonville, Louisiana has a complete Parks & Trails system within our Master Planned Conservation Community.  By buying a new or custom home in our subdivision, you will enjoy planned concrete paths through out a wildlife refuge and natural habitat.  You can even go “off road” on “make your own nature trails” in over 500 acres of natural wooded areas, greenspaces, and waterways.

St. Tammany already has proven to be one of the best places to live in the Greater New Orleans area, and the parish New Tammany Trails Websiteand state want to make sure current residents and those who want to purchase a new home in the area also understand the value of its natural resources.  They have come together to brand Tammany Trails initiating a partnership between the federal, state and parish levels creating an emphasis on recreation, conservation, tourism and economic development of the area.

“Our natural resources are one of our most valuable assets, not just in St. Tammany, but throughout the entire state of Louisiana, so to work together to raise awareness about how they enhance our unparalleled quality of life, and to give our children and their children this gift to utilize, care for and conserve — this will impact our community on several levels for generations,” Parish President Pat Brister said.

The coming together of all of the agencies to promote Tammany Trails will also boost opportunities for grants who will involve volunteers.  So far the lieutenant governor’s office, Office of Louisiana State Parks, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. National Park Service, Northlake Nature Center, Land Trust for Louisiana, The Nature Conservancy, City of Slidell, The Tammany Trace Foundation, Camp Salmen Nature Park, Town of Abita Springs, City of Covington, City of Mandeville, St. Tammany Recreation District No. 1 / Pelican Park, Northshore Community Foundation, St. Tammany Parish Tourist and Convention Commission, and the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation have partnered with the parish to make Tammany Trails a success.

 

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A Strong Housing Market Affects Growth in St. Tammany Parish

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St. Tammany Parish is seeing the benefits and struggles of growth as it relates to the strong housing market.  It is projected that the parish population will increase from the current 250,000 to approximately 460,000 by the year 2030. Many fear the growth will lead to a look of “Anywhere U.S.A.” with separate commercial and residential developments.

Not only do experts fear it will lead to a non-aesthetically pleasing look, but it will also lead to horrible traffic problems. St. Tammany is more susceptible to this problem because everyone living in the parish has to drive 4-206 W. Longview Court Wall of Windowseverywhere they want to go. The national average of trips made by people alone in a vehicle is 70% but in St. Tammany, it is 82%.  With the growth and sprawling suburban expansion comes more roads being built, which will only increase the number and length of St. Tammany residents’ trips.

St. Tammany parish government and a company called Greater New Orleans Inc. are working towards a solution to struggles with a growing population.  They sponsored a panel of experts from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), housed in Washington D.C., to study the parish as it relates to future development, land-use strategies and hardiness to flooding and hurricanes.  According to panel Chairman Jim Heid, “the object was to provide objective and unbiased views on land use challenges.”

In a meeting held at the parish government complex north of Mandeville, the concept of a “village in the woods” was most favorable.  This concept brings the residential and commercial land use together through a pedestrian friendly development that focuses on using the natural environment. This will give residents the choices of walking, bicyclingGinger or carpooling to destinations.

The panel recommended the development could potentially be located in the area between Interstate 12 and Louisiana 36 north of Lacombe, including Louisiana 1088 and 454. Fortunately the parish already has several areas to look upon as role models for this “village in the woods” concept. TerraBella located off Bootlegger Road in Covington, the planned development Tamanend, off of Louisiana 434 and downtown Covington already project this concept with their mixed-use development including apartments, single family houses, shops and other businesses.

Stakeholders are supportive of this concept and according to Alan Razak, a member of the panel, “strong political will and some risk taking” will be the only way this vision will come to fruition.  Parish Planning Director Sidney Fontenot sees potential in other areas such as land north of Lacombe where the Northshore Technical Community College project is beginning and the Goodbee area located west of Covington.

To sum it up, the panel recommends that parish leaders update St. Tammany Parish’s comprehensive plan for the future by adding to the land with mixed-use developments. Fontenot states, “I think the next step is at what level do we go from allowing it, encouraging it to mandating it. That’s a major policy discussion for the elected officials in concert with input from the citizens.”

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Three Rivers Art Festival Huge Success in St. Tammany

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After narrowing down the field of prospective participating artists for the Three Rivers Art Festival from 400 to 200, 3 judges spent countless hours evaluating and viewing with unbiased eye the artwork of these 200 talented artists that were part of the festival on November 14th and 15th.  Judges were Cindy Pulling, executive director of the St. Tammany Art Association, STAA board member Jessica Danby, and STAA Advisory Council member Sarah Sparkman-Boyd.

“The goal is that all the artists feel heard and seen,” said Peggy Schoen Des Jardins, the festival’s coordinator for jurying and judging.

The first day of the Three Rivers Art Festival was spent visiting each artist to go over the presentation of their booth Three Rivers Art Festivalsetup and then to judge their artwork for its creativity, craftsmanship, and concept, and how the artist “tied it all together.”  The 2nd day of the festival, the judges were tied up themselves using a computer program to assign a score to each artist.  Artists were scored on a scale of 1 to 10 for multiple categories.

Winners included artists from all genres from jewelry making, to sculpting, to metalwork, to painting.  There were 5 main awards including the Best of Show and City of Covington Awards.  The Best of Show Award went to Susan Elnora of Minneapolis, MN, who presented her jewelry and metalsmith skills.  The City of Covington Award went to Katie Burckel, a sculptor who constructs sculptures using different items that have been discarded or donated to thrift stores.  Ethan Lillemoe of Norcross, Ga., won the Three Rivers Award for his unique sculpture. Jessica Stoddart Ladd of Cookeville, Tenn., garnered the St. Tammany Award for her colorful paintings in distinct stainless steel frames, and James Bird won the Bogue Falaya Award for his colorful photography.

In addition to the main awards, there were 15 Awards of Distinction given out during the Three Rivers Art Festival. Artwork from students from the Center of Performing Arts were also displayed – approximately 400 pieces, and the St. Tammany Art Association’s gallery exhibitions as well as local galleries were also available for visitors to peruse.  For more information on the Three Rivers Art Festival, visit www.threeriversartfestival.com.

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Single-Family Home Construction Available on the Northshore

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New Urbanism is alive and well in the Greater New Orleans area with Mixed-Use Developments being built where previously housing projects had stood.  Many developers are tapping into the multi-family construction industry, building apartment housing in popular neighborhoods.  Single-family home construction is taking a backseat to these types of developments as well as multi-family condo and townhome construction also in the city of New 1-1009 Deer Park Drive ExteriorOrleans.  Because of this, people relocating to the New Orleans area as well as young people graduating from college and moving out are finding it harder and harder to find the traditional “first time home buyer home.”

Surprisingly, Millenials, according to the National Association of Home Builders, tend to want to live in single-family homes in the suburbs.  According to the NAHB’s survey, 75% want traditional new homes, and 66% prefer to live in the suburbs with only 10% choosing urban living, such as living in downtown New Orleans or the outlying areas.  While nationally this is a trend, the migration of Millenials may very well benefit the Northshore of the lake because in St. Tammany Parish, there are plenty of new homes for sale as well as lots for sale.

Since the Recession, home pricing has been somewhat unreliable, but now housing prices seem to have stabilized, so it is less difficult to acquire housing finance for new home buyers looking to buy their first, second, or even third 3-1009 Deer Park Drive Family Room-2home.  Another factor that may drive new home buyers to the north shore is the fact that inventory in popular, safe neighborhoods in New Orleans such as the Garden District, Bywater, Uptown, etc., is very scarce, prompting bidding wars among home buyers.  Young home buyers may get priced out of the market with competitive pricing being higher than normal.

Regardless of where the Millenials in the Greater New Orleans area choose to buy their new, single-family home, Bedico Creek Preserve is “ready” for any type of home buyer with 10 Neighborhoods from which to choose new homes for sale and lots for sale.  Lot pricing at Bedico Creek starts in the $40’s, and new home prices start in the $240’s.  If you are ready to view a lot for sale or new home for sale, Contact Bedico Creek at 985-845-4200 or E-mail [email protected].

 

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Good News for the Single-Family Housing Market in New Orleans

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After the devastating blow of Hurricane Katrina, local residents were worried about the recovery and “return” of New Orleans.  Luckily there is good news to report about the recovery of the real estate market from the decade-old storm. The New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors reports home prices are up 46% since Hurricane Katrina, and the average price per-square-foot has jumped up 8.5% in the last six months in the community.  Many predicted that the price growth would slow down this year but that is just not the case.  The single-family housing market in New Orleans is seeing a significant increase in the price per square feet for new homes.

The single-family housing market in the New Orleans metro area has an average selling price of $121 per-square-foot which is an 18.6% increase since the storm. The average house sold for $339,743 in the city between January and June of this year. On the Northshore in St. Tammany Parish there has been a 10% increase since Katrina. The average home in the parish sold for $243,770 this year which calculates out to $113 per-square-foot.

The prediction for this year is to see about 2,800 homes for sale which is close to the 3,300 sales in 2005 before Katrina. Rick Haase, President of Latter & Blum Inc., had expressed concern that household members in New Orleans’ neighborhoods are still worried about affordability in the housing market.  Fortunately he believes this will not be an issue as the mortgage lending standards for credit 176 St. Calais Place Front Exteriorscores are beginning to slacken, making it easier for first time homebuyers to be able to purchase and finance a new or previously owned home.

“Rates are low, job creation is continuing to happen, consumer confidence is high and improving, and the Millennial marketplace, which represents a huge slice of the population in greater New Orleans, is now able to get financing even though they haven’t had a lot of time in life to build their credit scores,” Haase said.

In St. Tammany Parish, not only has the new, masterplanned community of Bedico Creek seen an increase in new home prices, but it has also seen a huge surge in home buying in the 10 available Neighborhoods for sale.  Many home buyers are also delving into the custom home market and are buying lots for sale and then hiring one of the qualified St. Tammany builders of Bedico Creek to build their new home.  If you are interested in acquiring a home in the Greater New Orleans area, Contac Bedico Creek at 985-845-4200 or E-mail [email protected].

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More Homes Are Being Built to Supplement the Housing Inventory Shortage

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A shortage in homes and a strong job market in the Greater New Orleans area definitely strengthened the housing market, especially in new home construction and the advent of new subdivisions. Solid hiring in the job market, low mortgage rates and easier credit conditions have driven the demand for new home buyers to purchase a new home8-217-st-calais-place-backyard-view for sale. The Greater New Orleans area alone represents 20% of the new jobs that have been created this year in the state of Louisiana which has led to the strong home sales on both the north shore and the south shore.

West St. Tammany Parish has seen a decrease in housing inventory making the average sales price increase.  The housing market in general is leaning more towards a seller’s market because of the lack of supply of homes for sale.  This lack of inventory in homes priced from $190,000 – $300,000 is causing a bidding war pulling the average sales price for metro New Orleans up by 7.8% from $197,300 to $212,610. New Orleans has seen an increase from 21,954 homes sold annually in 2010 to 30,322 in 2014. Homeowners are starting to realize that this is the time to sell, and for home builders now is the time to build new homes for sale in St. Tammany Parish on the northshore.

On the flip side, home buyers will not have long to wait because more homes are being built which means the inventory problem will start to correct itself. According to Richard Haase, president of NAI/Latter & Blum, who 1-1036-cypress-crossing-drive-exterior-2reported at the UNO/Latter & Blum Economic Outlook & Real Estate Forecast Seminar for the Northshore Region, which was held at the Clarion Inn & Suites Conference Center in Covington, ”There’s a lot of pent-up demand,” he said, because tight lending standards have kept potential buyers out of the homebuying market, even as the economy recovered. ”For the next one or two years, I’m extremely optimistic about housing prices and housing affordability,” Haase said. ”We’re in a very healthy supply-and-demand market.”

Bedico Creek Preserve in Madisonville, Louisiana, offers new homes for sale that could plug the dearth of homes priced from $190,000 – $300,000.  Two neighborhoods being built in this master planned community in St. Tammany Parish offer new homes for sale from the $230’s – $300’s.  These two neighborhoods are called Cypress Crossing and Deer Park.  Also, if you purchase one of our lots for sale in the Garden / Courtyard section of this St. Tammany Parish subdivision, you can build a home starting from the $290’s.  For more information about our homes for sale, Contact Bedico Creek at 985-845-4200 or E-mail [email protected].

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