A brother and sister whose family has lived in Hollygrove for four generations are now rebuilding it, one long-vacant block at a time. Marcy Delatte and Paul Irons run New Orleans Restoration Properties, the company behind Grove Place, a 32-unit affordable housing development that opened on a Hollygrove block that had sat largely vacant since before Hurricane Katrina. Now they're pushing further with Grove Place II, a planned addition of 36 more affordable rental homes in the same neighborhood.
Delatte and Irons are described as fourth-generation New Orleans real estate developers, according to New Orleans CityBusiness, which reports the pair built their company out of the rebuilding work they did on properties after Hurricane Katrina. Their roots in the neighborhood run deep: the Irons family has called the Hollygrove area home for four generations, according to Enterprise Community Partners, which also describes New Orleans Restoration Properties as a fourth-generation Black-owned development company specializing in historic-property restoration.
From Post-Katrina Rebuilds to a Full Development Company
The first phase of Grove Place completed 32 units in January 2024, per New Orleans Restoration Properties, which notes on its website that the block had been largely vacant since before Katrina. That first phase combined 23 restored historic units with nine newly built ones, turning a stretch of blight into finished housing.
Grove Place II aims to build on that momentum. The project will create 36 new affordable rental homes by rehabilitating 22 existing units and constructing 14 new ones in Hollygrove, according to Finance New Orleans. The developer's own project page adds that Grove Place II has already received a competitive 9 percent housing tax credit award, a key piece of financing for affordable housing projects nationwide.
Conflicting Price Tags on the Same Project
Grove Place II has been estimated at different amounts. Enterprise Community Partners puts the project at $17 million, while the CityBusiness report characterizes it as a $19 million development in Hollygrove. The discrepancy remains unresolved, but both figures point to a substantial reinvestment in a neighborhood the developers know personally.
Whatever the final price, the ambitions for Grove Place II go beyond just adding roofs over heads. Finance New Orleans states that the project is intended to exemplify revitalization without displacement, energy-efficient living, and community-first planning. Both phases of Grove Place are also planned to pursue Enterprise Green Communities certification, a sustainability standard, according to Biz New Orleans's coverage of the project's ribbon-cutting.
Chasing Multiple Green Building Standards
Grove Place II isn't stopping at one certification. Finance New Orleans reports the project is designed to pursue Enterprise Green Communities, ENERGY STAR, and FORTIFIED Multifamily Gold certifications alongside historic-rehabilitation standards — a stack of credentials meant to signal energy efficiency and storm resilience in a city that knows both matter.
New Orleans Restoration Properties' portfolio extends beyond Hollygrove. The company partnered with HRI Communities to close financing on the $22 million St. Bernard Circle Apartments at 1431 St. Bernard Avenue, according to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority. That project will include 51 one- and two-bedroom apartments in a four-story, 56,000-square-foot building, with 40 of those units offering long-term affordable rents at or below 60 percent of area median income.
St. Bernard Circle also carves out space for local commerce: the redevelopment authority notes the building will include two ground-floor retail bays totaling 1,800 square feet, set aside for small, local and minority businesses. Together with Grove Place and Grove Place II, it rounds out a picture of a company built on restoring not just buildings, but the neighborhoods around them.
