New Orleans’ Garden District Cottages

The wide swath of New Orleans’ Garden District houses some of the most opulent and unique architecture in town. But within the neighborhood, which stretches from St Charles Avenue to Magazine Street and Jackson Avenue to Toledano, you’ll also find a surprising number of smaller homes, including shotgun cottages, double gallery houses and Queen Anne and Eastlake styles.

A mix of old and new, the homes in the district range from the 1830s to the early 20th century, making for an eclectic architectural mix that’s hard to duplicate anywhere else in the city. Many of the older houses have been restored to their original glory, with ornate details like cypress woodwork, bronze door knobs and doors with keyhole locks (invented in 1848). Others have been updated to modern standards, with the original carved wood moldings replaced by painted plaster, and some even get a facelift with new carpeting and repainted walls.

Some houses are large enough to accommodate entire families, and the neighborhood’s close proximity to downtown and the University of New Orleans attracts professors, doctors, lawyers, celebrities and sports stars. The area’s on old high ground, which means it escaped the extensive flooding that affected much of the rest of the city during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

If you’re shopping for a house in the area, expect to pay in the upper $100,000s and up. But if you’re looking for an affordable home, there are a few spots to check out.

One of those is Magazine St, which lacks the enormous mansions that line St Charles but offers a plethora of boutiques catering to students and well-heeled locals. Another is Prytania St, which runs parallel to St Charles and is packed with quaint historic cottages.

A new construction project, eight years in the making, is now taking shape at the site of a former Blount School property. Called the Garden District Cottages, it’ll build 26 single-family homes that mirror the historic look of the district, offering a range of Old South and Creole styles.

The cottages start at $189,000, come with a one-year warranty and don’t have homeowner association fees. The first phase is almost sold out, but you can learn more by visiting the developer’s website.

The Garden District Cottages are being built by ParsCo, a locally owned developer. The company is known for building homes that are inspired by historic Southern and Antebellum architecture, with a mix of modern features. Its other projects include the Rosemary Place neighborhood, which combines historic homes with modern amenities like walkable streets and a pool. In addition, it’s developing the Historic Westside Garden District, a new neighborhood of historic cottages that’s within walking distance to Palafox Street.