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“Step right into a venue the place historical past meets fashionable class” is the advertising and marketing tagline for the renovated New Orleans Board of Commerce, which operates as an upscale occasions venue for weddings, company events, and particular events. The venue hosted its first occasion in December 2024 after 15 months of building and complete renovations. Previous to the renovations, the Board of Commerce operated as an occasions venue for the final a number of many years.
Positioned at 316 Journal Avenue, the downtown constructing is an 1880’s iconic industrial landmark in New Orleans. It was initially often called the New Orleans Produce Change and was constructed to facilitate commerce, particularly espresso. Over the next decade, the New Orleans Produce Change merged and took in varied different commerce organizations. In 1889, the newly expanded group turned often called the New Orleans Board of Commerce.
“Given the extraordinary scale and grandeur of James Freret’s 1883 Produce Change, renamed the Board of Commerce in 1889, our main mission was to revive and protect the historical past and structure,” mentioned Tim Body, Senior VP of Design and Development at The Berger Firm. “Past that, our aim was to boost the prevailing ballroom and exterior courtyards and create new auxiliary and assist areas, providing the client a visually gorgeous backdrop that capabilities seamlessly for every type of occasions.”
Body added: “Restoring a historic industrial constructing whereas including fashionable conveniences and accessibility, and efficiently mixing new and outdated collectively, is a problem but in addition a possibility in a venture like this.”
The Berger Firm, a greater than 50-year-old New Orleans-based actual property growth and funding agency, is the proprietor of New Orleans Board of Commerce. The Berger Firm has redeveloped notable downtown landmarks, together with the Windsor Court docket Lodge, the Westin Lodge, the Omni Royal Orleans Lodge, the Loews New Orleans Lodge, Jax Brewery Millhouse and Market, Canal Place, and Hyatt Regency, to call a number of.
New Orleans-based Joel Catering, based by Louisiana native Joel Dondis in 1993, will function and handle catering companies on the New Orleans Board of Commerce. Joel Catering can also be behind Il Mercato, the Spanish-style occasion venue within the Decrease Backyard District. After buying and restoring the 1931-built landmark, the staff reopened its doorways in 2014, creating an area that gained a Louisiana Landmarks Society Award for “Excellence in Historic Preservation.”
“With over three many years of expertise, Joel Catering has set the usual for full-service occasion catering, dealing with the whole lot from intimate weddings and personal dinners to high-profile occasions for U.S. presidents and Fortune 500 firms,” mentioned Body.
Joel Catering CEO Sarah Corridor mentioned the corporate is worked up to “convey their signature culinary artistry and occasion planning experience to the Board of Commerce, guaranteeing the venue’s meals and beverage expertise is as outstanding as its setting.”
“Positioned within the coronary heart of downtown and close to the French Quarter, we offer a novel mix of comfort and historic attraction,” mentioned Corridor. “With a grand façade, lush courtyards, and considerate inside design together with many authentic architectural particulars, we provide a dramatic and timeless setting for any occasion.”
The venue is anchored by a 5,150-square-foot indoor ballroom and a 3,750-square-foot outer courtyard, positioned on Journal St. For a cocktail type reception, the occasion venue can maintain a most of 500 folks, whereas seated dinners can maintain a most of about 265 folks. Corridor mentioned pricing is “tailor-made to replicate the time of 12 months and particular wants of every occasion. We work carefully with purchasers, and potential purchasers, to create custom-made occasions that align with their imaginative and prescient and finances,” she mentioned.
The historic renovation was led by Metairie-based Ryan Gootee Normal Contractors, New Orleans-based Trapolin-Peer Architects, New Orleans-based Fransen Mills Panorama Architects, and Los Angeles-based J. Latter Design.
Matthew Purchaser, architect with Trapolin-Peer, mentioned the Board of Commerce constructing was initially designed to be a big buying and selling ground for commodities because the fluctuating market worth of products had been chalked up alongside giant blackboards round the primary commerce corridor and had been exchanged upon by merchants.
“Beginning within the early 1900’s, the board members discovered extra versatility on this constructing by internet hosting elaborate banquets and Mardi Gras balls,” mentioned Purchaser. “With this inherent flexibility, we wish to proceed the historic legacy that this constructing holds whereas modernizing its services to assist a greater diversity of occasions, comparable to weddings with in-house catering, branded company occasions, and fundraising galas.”
The renovation, which balanced historic restoration with fashionable necessities, included relocating the kitchen and restrooms to the south aspect of the constructing to remove a congested nook of the ballroom. The ballroom is now not impeded by fixed foot site visitors and caterers have an improve to their area with a state-of-the-art industrial kitchen. Crews additionally put in an elevator, improved sound high quality, added new lighting, renovated flooring, elevated occasion area, and refreshed the colour palette, amongst extra enhancements.
“I’m most pleased with the influence our work made to the prevailing area. It might appear as if a easy facelift to finishes, however reorganizing the back-of-house areas has made an enormous distinction within the usability of the area,” mentioned Katie Boyer, RGGC Undertaking Supervisor. “Constructing a 1,180-square-foot industrial kitchen and putting in a brand new elevator throughout the historic construction weren’t easy duties, however the staff’s dedication to high quality and security ensured these enhancements preserved the constructing’s character. The fashionable inside design suits seamlessly between historic home windows and historic plaster points, creating a fantastic area that’s inviting for photographing memorable moments.”
Boyer mentioned RGGC’s largest problem was additionally its largest motivation – the historic restoration. For instance, crews maintained the unique opening sizes of all of the home windows and doorways whereas adhering to fashionable code. “For instance, we would have liked to take care of an current doorway with historic trim within the ballroom whereas introducing a grand stair entrance from the second ground,” she mentioned. “It’s irregular for stairs to move by means of a door opening, so we labored carefully with the design staff and possession on handrail particulars that met everybody’s wants.”
Additionally, three totally different roofing techniques got here collectively at a historic masonry parapet wall, mentioned Boyer. “The small print of renovating this space required important consideration and involvement from producers, architects, and installers to satisfy HDLC (Historic District Landmarks Fee) necessities for aesthetics whereas sustaining the roofing techniques’ integrity.”
Boyer mentioned that in demolition, the RGGC staff discovered historic images of the Board of Commerce constructing, which turned inspirations for lots of the design parts and allowed crews to honor the constructing’s historic character whereas incorporating fashionable upgrades. Key historic parts comparable to many of the authentic window and door openings had been maintained, and a few items of historic trim had been handcrafted to mix with the aged appearances of adjoining surfaces.
“Upon eradicating the ballroom carpet, we found historic wooden flooring past restore. We changed it with new wooden that matches the outdated profile and coloring,” mentioned Boyer. “To accommodate the lack of sound absorption from the carpet, we put in acoustical plaster on the ballroom ceilings, together with the massive dome ceiling. This required a particular raise to achieve the highest of the dome, whereas being mild sufficient to keep away from damaging the framing of the ballroom.”
The 5,150-square-foot ballroom boasts 35-foot coffered ceilings, ornate moldings, and authentic murals, all enhanced by customized lighting and white oak flooring. The Orangerie is likely one of the new areas and is a petite room immediately adjoining to the ballroom. With a customized mural and venetian chandelier, the Orangerie connects the ballroom to the interior courtyard by means of a wall of arched home windows. The interior courtyard offers a retreat from the primary festivities and has a view of the ballroom by means of its surrounding home windows, together with seating and delicate lantern lighting. There are personal lounges on the second ground.
“The historic ballroom and huge outer courtyard are innately the first focal factors of the plan and would be the draw for many guests, nonetheless, we discovered alternatives to create smaller companion areas that supply a reprieve from the thrill of the primary occasions,” mentioned Purchaser. “These areas weren’t regarded as simply assist for the ballroom, however locations in their very own proper – a lush interior courtyard for an intimate specialty cocktail service, a rounded Orangerie to characteristic an elaborate marriage ceremony cake, two comfy personal lounges, and many others.”
Purchaser mentioned the aim of the venue internet hosting as much as 500 company required important modernization of the constructing techniques and infrastructure to make it a snug gathering area. For instance, HVAC ducts had been built-in inside customized millwork, acoustic plaster and cloth was designed to suit inside current trimmed paneling, and entry to utility areas had been constructed to be hid by hidden doorways.
“Given the historic nature of this constructing, care was taken to design these techniques to be unseen and never distract from the historic detailing,” mentioned Purchaser. “Additionally, there was restricted area to accommodate the overlapping program necessities of front-of-house and back-of-house areas, together with ADA entry all through a historic constructing with various ground ranges. A secondary mezzanine was tucked between the tales, and public/service circulation was designed to weave round one another.”
