A $10M renovation brings retail, short-term rentals to 1016 Canal Street

More than two years after 1016 Canal Street was decimated by a six-alarm fire, construction has begun at the building’s smoke-blackened hull. A $10 million renovation by Sonder, a short-term rental company, and Quarter Holdings, a local real estate and development company, will bring shops and restaurants to the building’s ground floors. Forty-seven apartments on the second, third, and fourth floors of the 110-year-old building will become commercial short-term rentals.

“I have been working tirelessly to entice retail partners to open storefronts and consider Canal Street as a viable option for their businesses, but often the vacancy of these upper floors have [sic] been a deterrent,” council president Jason Williams stated in a press release.

City council members approved a nine-month freeze on new and renewed temporary short-term rental licenses in May. They continue to deliberate ways to regulate the controversial short-term rental market. Sonder’s master lease at 1016 Canal Street seems to open the door for whole-home commercial rentals.

Sonder launched in 2012 as a hybrid between a short-term rental platform and a luxury hotel. It offers “the consistency and service of a great hotel that doesn’t come in a typical hotel format,” according to its website. Sonder operates thousands of units in 13 cities worldwide.

Sonder currently operates short-term rentals in Bywater, Treme, Mid-City, the Garden District, the Lower Garden District, and Uptown. Sonder will also develop 623 Canal Street, 444 Canal Street, and other blighted New Orleans buildings.

Construction will be completed in 18 months.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with correct information. A previous version incorrectly stated that Sonder offers short-term rentals in the French Quarter. Curbed regrets the error.