Couple Lets the Good Times Roll at The Standard in New Orleans
When you imagine the grand old houses of New Orleans, you immediately envision ornately decorated rooms stuffed with antiques and Victorian chandeliers. The 300-year-old city has a fervent devotion to history, expressed in not just heirloom-laden local décor, but in spirited cultural traditions like Mardi Gras, Jazz funerals and king cakes.
However, things are changing in The Big Easy. New Orleans is in the midst of a renaissance, with a new spirit of optimism giving rise to contemporary expressions of living. The Standard, a modern vision of 89 luxury condominiums now open in the bustling new South Market District and currently welcoming its very first residents for move-ins, is part of that evolution.
Co-marketed by ON Collaborative by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services and Latter & Blum and built by The Domain Companies with architecture by New Orleans native Morris Adjmi, The Standard manages to “stay close to New Orleans’ architectural roots, and maintain a close connection to the existing fabric of the Warehouse District,” while looking towards the future for design and function, says David Wolf, president of ON Collaborative by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services. That sense of historical reverence, combined with the 15-story building’s ambitious modernity has been met with marked enthusiasm by New Orleanians and repeat visitors alike. Among those repeat visitors: Stan and Laurie Miller are preparing to move into their two-bedroom view residence on the 13thfloor next month.
The Millers — who live full-time in Baltimore, where Stan’s dermatologic surgery practice is based, and own another residence in Florida — have been coming to New Orleans for over 20 years.
“We started out coming to New Orleans once a year, then it became twice a year, then it was like five or six times a year,” says Laurie. “The city is a memory builder.”
Indeed, the Millers have cast their net far and wide in New Orleans, despite not being full-time citizens. Both of their adult daughters have lived in the city; their daughter Parker attended Tulane University and their other daughter Hollis did an internship with Penguin Publishing. Laurie rode the Zulu float in 2006 during the first Mardi Gras parade after Katrina. The Millers were in the Superdome when the Ravens won Superbowl XLVII in 2013. They have seen Trombone Shorty playing in a private courtyard on Royal Street countless times. From Jazz Fest to French Quarter Fest, they have truly let the good times roll, or as New Orleanians would say, “Laissez les bons temps rouler!”
“Every time we come to New Orleans, we have these incredible moments, where we can look back and say to each other, ‘Do you remember that night? Do you remember that event?”
New Orleans has that effect on people. It is a city of possibility — wild and intoxicating, rebellious and free, inspiring people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. Like, say purchase a third vacation residence.