Jim Malsch, owner of the Andress Artist and Entrepreneur Center.
It’s been a wonderfully weird and mostly fun year for Jim Malsch, the owner of 717 Crockett Street. His rehab of the former Andress Ford into the Andress Artist and Entrepreneur Center was smooth and seamless, made easier with the talented design and construction professionals he had hired to turn the former blighted building into something that can only be termed a showpiece. The bigger challenges have come after, in pivoting to deal with a changing business model created in part by Covid and in part by promises that didn’t come to pass.
Through it all, Jim has done what Jim does best – continue on, and his patience has paid off. His entrepreneurial center is 90% occupied, the office space promised to tenants who opted out early on has been filled by businesses and professionals who have created a vibrant and thriving dynamic. The downstairs gallery space is being eyed by a well-known artist who may call it ‘home’ the first of 2022. The journey, says Malsh, has been a good one.
Now that he has a chance to take a breath, Malsch enjoys watching the synergy that he helped create. He talks about the tenant who is a retired Delta Force military veteran, a Type A businessman who has connected with the more laid-back artists on the first floor and is learning to paint; of the woman who started a marketing and software company whose business is partnering on a daily basis with tenants who own a long-standing web design business; of a writer and photographers, also tenants, who collaborate on projects. “It reminds me of ECS (a successful computer services company Malsh founded) in the early days,” Malsch tells me. “Everyone is so positive, and all are becoming more successful.”
The mood of the building varies between electric and eclectic. Tenants have hosted yoga and wine events, gallery openings and art markets. The in-house artists— Kalandra Jones, Whitney Tates, Andre Weatherly, and herbalist Lee Ann Monet — are also planning an upcoming ‘Holidazed at the Andress’ on Saturday, Dec. 18 from noon- 4 pm. In the new year, Malsch is hoping to host more business-related seminars, perhaps even a business-type social club.
It doesn’t hurt that the building itself has a wonderful mojo. “Everyone who comes in and sees it just lights up,” Malsch says. He is rightfully proud of what he and his team have been able to accomplish there, and more is coming. A new $100 membership allows members access to the space during business hours. The open lobby area with comfortable seating and a variety of nooks and crannies is ‘ideal for people who need a quiet place to do work or visit with clients.’
Malsh knows that as the AAEC grows, change will happen, and he is ready for it. His investment has, in part, led to the sale of the building across the street and to renewed interest in spaces nearby. Malsch was simply smart enough (or ‘dumb enough’ he says, with a self-deprecating chuckle) to get the building when he did. Though the space still carries the name of the longest-running business there, Malsch should forever be remembered as the person who both saved and returned life to a building that needed both.
Story from June 2, 2021
If you’ve been wanting to tour the recently completed Andress Artist & Entrepreneur Center at 717 Crockett, here is your chance. Owner Jim Malsch will be throwing open the doors on Thursday, June 17 from 3-6 pm. (Please RSVP if you plan to attend). The old Ford dealership is now top shelf office, conference and co-working spaces on the second floor and art studio and gallery space on the first. Artist spaces are still available for lease. 
The lovingly- rehabbed former Andress Ford building was designed by Samuel Wiener and built in 1929 as Howard Motors. To read the story of how it became known as Andress, scroll below.
We hope to see you on June 17!
Story printed April 16, 2020. The history of the building is below.
April 16, 2020 Update: Construction crews at 717 Crockett are on the job, first tackling stabilizing the building which has been damaged by years of roof leaks and wet interiors. Owner Jim Malsch says that -thankfully- there are no surprises yet, and the construction is moving along quickly putting things ahead of schedule and on track for a November 2020 finish. Jim tells us the entire bottom floor is already leased out and a number of entrepreneur businesses are making plans for offices on the top floor.
Jim is working with a local business owner to manage the gallery/retail space on the ground floor and as soon as it is safe to do so, he plans to host an event at artspace to give additional information to local artists about the ‘creating spaces’ and studios that will be available for monthly lease. Keep up with the progress and learn more about the AAEC Here.
Jim is the latest owner of a building with a long history in downtown Shreveport and he is most definitely injecting life into a lonely space.
The once-remarkably ornate building that sits at 717 Crockett has for years been a sad and lifeless place. It was once an Art Deco showplace, a 1929 parking garage and Ford dealership designed by architect Sam Wiener. Blue and yellow Mayan-inspired molding covered the facade and the many windows had colored glass inserts.
Over the years the building was allowed to deteriorate and was finally purchased as part of a land deal with the nearby Fairmont Apartments in which it was tied to an affordable housing contract with the state. The owner feared if he sold the building, it would trigger a repayment of the credits…so for years, it sat.
Redden Thaddeus ‘Thad’ Andress
The 1929 building has a colorful history, mainly because of the man who originally owned it, Redden Thaddeus ‘Thad’ Andress. Thad was born in Alabama and graduated from West Point. He was a veteran of both World Wars- he was in the Army in WWI and the Naval Reserves in WWII. We are unsure what brought him to downtown Shreveport, but once here, he made a name for himself. He opened his downtown dealership in 1931. A prolific businessman, he also owned the Lee National Life Insurance Company and Louisiana Bank and Trust Co. Over time, the car dealership expanded, and finally moved to a larger location on Texas Avenue.
Jim Malsch
That could have been the end of the Art Deco building on Crockett Street, but luckily, there will be more chapters in this story. At the suggestion of the DDA, local businessman Jim Malsch began considering the building for the ‘next chapter’ in his life. His time with the Shreveport computing company he co-founded- Enterprise Computing Services, ECS- was coming to an end, but a life of leisure sounded decidedly unappealing. He had spent several years on the board of Cohab- a Shreveport coworking space whose goal is to give entrepreneurs the skills they need to be successful long-term. During this period, Malsch became what you might consider a ‘serial investor’ in start-ups with a smart business plan, drive and determination. He now has ownership stakes in Red River Brewing Co., Whisk, Fat Calf Brasserie and several other businesses. He saw the value Cohab brought to businesses and entrepreneurs and thought about how to create a ‘Cohab-type’ experience for creatives and artists. From there, the Andress Artist and Entrepreneur Center was born. The new company logo, designed by Cohab graduate Luke Lee of Fusiform, gives a nod to the colors present on the original facade of the 1929 Andress Building. The Andress Artist and Entrepreneur Center, will cater to talent and creativity of many types. Office space upstairs will house some of the businesses Malsch has mentored. The downstairs will have artist studio work 
spaces and a gallery/retail shop. The entire building will hum with ideas and interests and goals, both conceived and realized. It will be a place unlike any other, and that is just the way Malsch wants it. It is a prime new chapter for a onetime bassist for the reggae band Killer Bees whose computing career was never a childhood dream, but rather, through happy twists of fate and much hard work, occurred. Malsch is fond of easy and expressive words like ‘cool’ and ‘excited.’ He is both. He loves talking to people and telling them his vision over cups of hot Rhino Coffee, another business he has helped mentor. His eyes twinkle with excitement about the new logo, about his plans for the building, about being downtown, about all that can happen in this ‘cool’ space. We’re pretty excited, too.
