Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville, Louisiana, is home to many historic homes, newly renovated homes, and even turned homes – homes that have been fixed up and are now being sold. In addition to the many beautiful French Acadian,
Colonial, and Creole Cottage floorplans, there are many different businesses, mostly restaurants and bars, located along this gorgeous lakefront property. While most residents were thrilled with the restoration and renovation of the Rest Awhile Hotel on the Old Mandeville lakefront, many are now having reservations as to the direction that the developer / builder wants to take with this commercial property.
Developer and owner Barrett McGuire has plans to turn not only the main structure of the Rest Awhile Retreat into a restaurant / tavern but also to relocate the two historic cottages on the property in proximity to the main building in order to connect all three buildings together with a large outdoor deck with seating areas. The two cottages associated with the renovation are called the Hadden Cottage and the Sophie B. Wright Cottage. These two commercial construction structures would be taverns (mainly wine and cheese bars). The square footage of the entire remodel including the outdoor seating areas will be 9,000 square feet. The main commercial kitchen will be located in the center structure which used to be the Frapart Hotel.
During a Mandeville Planning & Commission Meeting, developer McGuire tried to address all reasonable concerns of Old Mandeville residents, mainly fire safety and parking. To solve the parking dilemma which is always a dilemma on Lakeshore Drive, the new restaurant / tavern will have 30 onsite parking spaces, and the commercial renovation will be allowed 19 lakefront parking spaces as well – a total of 49, which is 4 more than is required by the zoning. The lot is zoned “B-3 mixed use,” which includes restaurants and bars, so the Planning Commission now just has discretionary decision making about the influence of the newly renovated property on the adjacent homeowners.
Homeowners are worried about flooding on Lakeshore Drive during a hurricane, such as the fires that destroyed commercial properties and residential homes. Fire fighters were not able to get down the streets to take care of the fires because of flooding. However, McGuire plans to install additional fire safety equipment, buffers around the remodel to shield the property from the houses surrounding as well as fire sprinklers throughout all three structures. The proposal was tabled with the Planning Commission until a future unknown date. The renovation will continue with reinforcing and rebuilding the existing structure until then.
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