The Rendon

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Commissioned in 1904 and opened in 1906, this American Beaux Arts style brick elementary school was designed by premier New Orleans architecture firm Andry & Bendernagel. The school had double front entrances, separate for boys and girls, and was viewed as modern, unique, and elegant for its time. It was later renamed after Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. in 1995 in honor of the African American civic leader and human rights activist, famous for his education reform efforts in New Orleans. After being heavily damaged in 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the school was consequently shut down. The building remained vacant until its 2017 restoration. Rendon Partners LLC strategically utilized federal historic tax credits with the expertise of Gabrielle Begue of MHA New Orleans to make the adaptive reuse renovation project financially feasible.

Located within New Orleans’ beloved Esplanade Ridge Historic District, the former elementary school was converted into 26 apartments, with great care given to the retention and restoration of the building’s historically significant fabric. The apartments feature much of the property’s original details, including demising walls between classrooms, wide second and third floor corridors, mosaic-tile floors, and interior doors, transoms, and trim.