The Rebirth of the Blackbird Hotel

Breathing New Life & Love Into the City

My client Matt Rosendahl is a real estate developer with over 25 years of experience and countless successful projects. What’s his secret? I’d say it’s a combination of real estate savvy, knowledge, drive, great mentorship, and knowing how to move quickly and definitively.

I’ve worked with Matt on many deals over the years, but the most recent one is currently revealing the fruits of his labor -- in the form of three gorgeous, new boutique hotels in the lower Garden District.

The Hotel Development Process

After successfully developing The Marsh in 2022, a charming, 24-room boutique hotel (and a favorite among visiting Tipitina’s musicians), Matt fell in love with the hotel development process and was ready for his next venture. That’s where I came in.

I showed Matt and his partner Reid Gray hotel properties throughout the Tremé, Marigny, and Bywater that could be transformed into boutique hotels. But when they saw the Prytania Park hotel collection in the Garden District, it was the winner. Purchasing it in September 2023, they knew that the group of small, dated hotels spread across four different buildings would be the perfect canvas for a total renovation and redesign.

A Creative Vision for Three Boutique Hotels

With creative vision, Matt and Reid combined two of the four buildings to fashion the new Blackbird Hotel, a 12-room oasis in the 1600 block of Prytania. With a heated winter & chilled summer pool, an in-house café, and live jazz on Thursday nights in the courtyard, it opened in late 2024 to rave reviews. In fact, it was completely booked by a Saints player for  Super Bowl 2025 weekend.

Across the street from the Blackbird, Matt and Reid are developing another new boutique hotel – a small 10-room gem that will open in Fall 2025. And finally, their new Garden District Hotel is a 48-room masterpiece featuring a resort-style experience with garden bar, spa, heated saltwater pool & swim-up bar with cabanas, event space, pickleball courts and more. It opened the Friday before Super Bowl 2025 and was completely sold out to Philadelphia Eagles Super Fans.

It's amazing that Matt and his partner Reid have been able to transform these properties in less than two years into such beautiful destinations! And I’m thrilled to work with someone so dedicated to breathing new life and love into the city, one property at a time.