Dude, chill out for a second: In the latest attempt in his effort to take over the entire city (we think), magically maned Sidney Torres IV bought property on St. Claude Avenue to invest in the street where he says "everything is transforming." He scooped up the furniture store at 2438 and 2440 St. Claude Ave. for $330,000 in the city's recent online auction of adjudicated properties, according to NOLA.com.
To refresh your memory, recently Torres:
· Started a French Quarter crime prevention group
· Announced a huge development along the Lafitte Greenway in Bayou St. John
· Said he wants to buy the French Quarter gay club Oz
Because he's a development machine, he bought the St. Claude furniture store in the inaugural online property auction, which reportedly went over like gangbusters.
Torres says he will continue renting to the building's main tenant who — this is sad — didn't know the property was up for auction until the city posted a notice on the store window. He tried to bid on the property himself, but had to drop out when the bids got too high.
While he rents to the furniture store on the ground floor, Torres will renovate the second floor into four apartments (it currently has five). Eventually, he would like to renovate the ground floor into a "grocery store, a café or a wine bar."
Sidney Torres IV: Can't stop, won't stop.
· Sidney Torres IV latest to invest in changing St. Claude Avenue [NOLA.com]
· See the 40 most expensive properties sold in NOLA auction; Bayou St. John lot goes for $143k [NOLA.com]
· All Sidney Torres IV coverage [Curbed NOLA]