Watch this award winning renovation. 1940’s Commercial Store Front.
Every old building has a story, and this one has many. What started as a warehouse for a local construction company in the 1940s has appropriately returned to builder’s hands decades later. The building in McDonoghville in Old Gretna is now a JAT family project, and by family, we mean just that! JAT owner, Brent Theriot, his wife, Rachel, and their young son, Jacob, personally restored this old building to its historic splendor.
The building has had many commercial lives. If you grew up in Old Gretna, you may remember it as a glass store or a motorcycle repair shop. It is one of the few remaining historical commercial buildings in the City of Gretna’s Cultural District with an architectural design that Brent just couldn’t walk away from when it was listed for sale. The building has the original parapet wall, which is an extension of the wall at the edge of the roof. While that may not sound like much, to Brent, it is architectural gold!
The word parapet comes from the Italian word “parapetto” meaning to cover/defend the breast. While these types of walls were originally used to defend buildings from military attack, today they are primarily used as guardrails or to prevent the spread of fires. In this case, JAT was doing the defending – protecting the parapet and restoring it and all the other original details to its full glory. The building had been unfortunately neglected over the years – everything from extensive termite damage, missing siding, rotten window and door jambs due to improper weather stripping to overall decay. The Theriots took delicate care to return the old storefront to its historic roots, while turning the front part of the building into an upscale 2-bedroom, 1 ½ bathroom apartment since the building is now zoned residential.
This family project included Rachel and Jacob working on the demolition, light carpentry, and painting, while Brent tackled the bigger carpentry projects and coordinated all other General Contractor details. During the architectural design phase, Brent worked alongside Stephen Fowlkes, a local Historical Tax Credit Consultant, to design the front façade to its 1940’s glory. They assembled a forensic construction timeline of the building through research of old Sanborn maps and through thorough review of the building itself and construction materials used. Together with approval from Gretna’s Historic District Commission (HDC) and Brent’s knowledge of what old commercial storefronts should look like, a building plan was devised and approved by the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation.
For the Theriots, one exciting part of this renovation was the discovery of an exterior door that had been boarded up from both sides. It still had the original hardware on it too. This door became the baseline for all new exterior doors Brent would personally build, while Rachel was tasked with finding similar vintage hardware. Redoing the steel casement windows was another challenge the Theriots embraced. The family scoured local salvage yards for similar steel casement windows which were needed to replace the window openings that had been converted to plate glass during the 1980’s; they eventually hired a local welder to fabricate the additional steel casement windows to create exact replicas of the original windows that were needed.
During the renovation, The Theriots enjoyed being a part of the vibrant Old Gretna community as they restored this unique part of McDonoghville history. They were awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the City of Gretna for their renovation to this property in 2021. Gretna’s Historic District Commission collectively viewed before and after photos of all historic renovations completed in the year to determine which properties achieved both a level of exceptional historical renovation and improved the overall Gretna community. Our renovation project was one of three awarded with this highest achievement for historic preservation.
Watch the above video to see the family’s award-winning renovation!
Brent Theriot, Gretna Mayor Belinda Constant, Rachel Theriot
