The Homewood Suites In Covington Will Be Converted To An Apartment Complex
The former Hilton Homewood Suites located in Covington will be turned into an apartment complex called the Fairlane and the rent at the Fairlane will start around $900 a month. This is according to Zachary Kupperman who along with his partners purchased the property and plans to turn it into an 86-unit apartment complex.
Zachary Kupperman is no stranger to a project like this. He is responsible for developments such as The Hotel St. Vincent and the Drifter Motel in New Orleans. Covington is a perfect area for a project like this because so many works remotely and can rent or purchase farther away from New Orleans. “In bedroom communities like Covington something like (the Fairlane project) can solve all three problems at once,” said Kupperman.
The closing of the hotel was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of travelers during the stay-at-home orders. This has been seen all around the country and not just locally. Renovating closed-down hotels due to COVID has become a trend. This coupled with the strong growing need for affordable housing has piqued many developers’ interest in such ventures.
The Homewood suites is a type of lodging that is becoming rare to find these days with not only a place to sleep but a kitchen and living area as well. This kind of accommodation came around for the business traveler who might need a place to stay for weeks at a time. Although in the past Hilton has offered this type of room, they are now moving away from this sector and refocusing on a more boutique hotel.
The former Covington Homewood Suites is located at 101 Holiday Square close to Interstate 12 junction with Frontage Road. It is a perfect spot because it sits between a Honda dealership and The Collins (an apartment community that rents from $ 1,300 plus). As mentioned earlier, The Fairlane will start one-bedrooms out at $900 a month which is very affordable in this area.
“There is no heavy construction and the conversion is fairly light touch, with some painting, carpeting, adding some appliances,” he said. “So spending has been much less.”
The total acquisition and renovation will cost around $9 million which is less than half of what a comparable complex would cost to build from ground up. Many of the rooms in the hotel were already being used as long-stay accomodations. The apartment complex will be able to use the existing pool, hot tub and gym area for the amenities. The unties will be designed by Covington-based Crown Designs and New Orleans-based Key Real Estate will be managing the complex.
