D
owntown New Orleans’ iconic K&B Plaza, a seven‑story International‑Style landmark on 1055 St. Charles Avenue, has entered the market for the first time in 50 years. Corporate Realty lists the property for $11.4 million. The building was once the headquarters of Katz & Besthoff, the regional drugstore chain that began in 1905, expanded to nearly 200 stores, and was sold to Rite Aid in 1997. In 1973, Sidney Besthoff III, a third‑generation owner, purchased the structure and renamed it K&B Plaza.
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the tower was originally built for Boston‑based John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company and opened in 1962. Its concrete exoskeleton served both as façade and structural support, a bold move at the time. The site had previously housed a Carnegie‑funded public library dating back to 1908; the library was demolished in 1959 when the new main branch opened on Loyola Avenue, and the John Hancock building was erected in its place.
The building sits on an 8‑foot‑high podium that conceals a parking garage. After the Besthoff family sold the drugstores, they retained K&B Plaza as office space and a repository for their extensive art collection. In 2003, many of the sculptures were relocated to the 12‑acre Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Corporate Realty reports the office is 83 % leased, with full‑ and partial‑floor tenants. The property’s National Register of Historic Places status makes it eligible for investment tax credits, and the developer sees potential for a hotel, multi‑family, or mixed‑use conversion.
“Besthoff built their business and began their art collection here, so it’s bittersweet,” said Corporate Realty President Mike Siegel. “They no longer need a 70,000‑sq‑ft downtown office; it’s time for a transition.”
The sale follows a recent $35 million upgrade of the nearby Tivoli Place apartments at 1040 St. Charles Avenue, and the Plaza Tower office building lies just a few blocks away. Siegel envisions the Howard Avenue corridor evolving from a pass‑through area into a vibrant destination.
