Baton Rouge Growth and Development

[itsjustme3]

Burbank continues to develop. Hope all those trees along Burbank don't get removed when all the building is said and done. Driving thru there is a nice reminder that BR isn't a complete concrete jungle. Burbank also needs a connecting road to Nicholson in-between Lee drive and Gardere Lane.

[richyb83]

_{Steve3n8 waste no time!!}

_{Wonder if Kenilworth Parkway will ever be extended??}

[steve3n8]

_{Steve3n8 waste no time!!}

_{Wonder if Kenilworth Parkway will ever be extended??}

Sorry rich, ill let you catch up posting.....

The parkway could be extended one day if we ever get more development around that area....

[buckett5425]

Sorry rich, ill let you catch up posting.....

The parkway could be extended one day if we ever get more development around that area....

Be careful what you wish for. I know the land in between burbank and highland that could one day be the Kennilworth connector is currently under contract with a strong possibility of being developed within the next year. If that were to happen, then Kennilworth will most likely never be a straight shot if extended.

[itsjustme3]

There is a lot of different parcels in the way not including a homeowner and a business at Kenilworth and Highland. It will probably never get extended.

[richyb83]

Ha ha..that's OK Steve...your doing a fantastic job! I'm just pleased so many different posters are here in the BR Forum...in the past at times this place seemed to be hanging on by a thread...lol

Stumberg Lane extension has similar issues...but I think the small business gets bulldozed anyway.

This the Vision Map from FuturEBR...With the Kenilworth ext...

[richyb83]

Construction at the future 438 Main Street apartments

[Antrell Williams]

Kenilworth with a I-10 exit and extended to Burbank sounds better unless the land is being developed into a business offering good paying jobs and an economic boost.

[itsjustme3]

Kenilworth with a I-10 exit and extended to Burbank sounds better unless the land is being developed into a business offering good paying jobs and an economic boost.

Can't extend Kenilworth north because of a neighborhood and the LSU rural museum, which, I wish LSU would sell and let that land develop into a medical corridor.

[cajun]

Can't extend Kenilworth north because of a neighborhood and the LSU rural museum, which, I wish LSU would sell and let that land develop into a medical corridor.

There was a plan a while back that extended Kenilworth northward. It skirted alongside the Rural Life museum and looped back onto the street grid at OLOL. It did not involve a freeway exit.

Either way, I think the rural life museum should be left alone. Very cool place to visit if you have the time.

[Antrell Williams]

Can't extend Kenilworth north because of a neighborhood and the LSU rural museum, which, I wish LSU would sell and let that land develop into a medical corridor.

What neighborhood?

There was a plan a while back that extended Kenilworth northward. It skirted alongside the Rural Life museum and looped back onto the street grid at OLOL. It did not involve a freeway exit.

Either way, I think the rural life museum should be left alone. Very cool place to visit if you have the time.

It may be cool but it's in the wrong spot.

[Antrell Williams]

Downtown Baton Rouge has officially changed for the better. It will never be the same and will continue to improve.

[richyb83]

As it currently stands...the hideous 14-story Presbyterian Apts on the edge of Spanish Town along North Street; is the Tallest Residential building in BR/downtown...If I could snap my fingers & change one thing...there would be a newer/taller Riverfront condotel on one of the three prime blocks that are now vacant(old Advocate/Hartley & Vey/RiverPlace)

Edited January 6, 2012 by richyb83

[dan326]

Downtown Baton Rouge has officially changed for the better. It will never be the same and will continue to improve.

edit: I definitely agree, but what has brought you to this realization?

Edited January 6, 2012 by dan326

[Antrell Williams]

I definitely agree, but why has brought you to this realization?

Walking around downtown a couple days and the new businesses that open up. The improvements will keep the pace up and hopefully pick up as the projects are completed.

[dan326]

Former Blockbuster on College sold, slated for redevelopment

A Panda Express restaurant and Verizon Wireless store will replace the former Blockbuster at 3131 College Drive, says Austin Earhart, a local commercial real estate agent who worked on the deal. Dallas-based developer Walter Salek purchased the building in late December for approximately $1.2 million, Earhart says. Renovations are already under way on the building, which is roughly 5,500 square feet. Earhart says Salek is currently looking for a third tenant to fill out the space. "I don’t know when the start dates for any of the tenants are, but I’m sure they’re in a hurry," he says. "Verizon has been wanting to get in that area for a long time, and Panda Express has also been anxious to add a few locations in Baton Rouge." Salek could not be reached for further comment.

businessreport.com

[buckett5425]

Former Blockbuster on College sold, slated for redevelopment

A Panda Express restaurant and Verizon Wireless store will replace the former Blockbuster at 3131 College Drive, says Austin Earhart, a local commercial real estate agent who worked on the deal. Dallas-based developer Walter Salek purchased the building in late December for approximately $1.2 million, Earhart says. Renovations are already under way on the building, which is roughly 5,500 square feet. Earhart says Salek is currently looking for a third tenant to fill out the space. "I don’t know when the start dates for any of the tenants are, but I’m sure they’re in a hurry," he says. "Verizon has been wanting to get in that area for a long time, and Panda Express has also been anxious to add a few locations in Baton Rouge." Salek could not be reached for further comment.

businessreport.com

My firm is working on this project haha.

[dan326]

^Cool! Even though some may not consider it a very large project, it must be exciting to be a part of a non-the-less cityscape changing project.

[hagetaka]

wrong thread....moved to the restaurant one

Edited January 8, 2012 by hagetaka

[all2neat]

Panda Express.... sweet. We've it it bigtime with that one.

[richyb83]

^That's cool Buckett

Expansions lift construction

New commercial construction in East Baton Rouge Parish dropped sharply in 2011, but expansions and renovations picked up the slack and total commercial construction ended the year up just under 1 percent.

Permits filed with the Department of Public works show that new commercial fell 22 percent in 2011 to $300.2 million from 2010, but commercial additions shot up 60 percent to $235.4 million. That additional $88 million helped total commercial work finish 2011 up slightly at $535.7 million.

“The encouraging thing to us is we’re seeing more activity in the private sector than we’ve seen in several years,” he said.

While it’s nothing like the swell after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, Firesheets said, “we are starting to see some $8- to $10-million projects that we haven’t seen in the last several years.” Stuart said that if the trend continues, it will help the residential market, which finished 2011 with 581 new homes built in the parish, down 27 percent from 797.

“Residential follows commercial and industrial,” he said. “You’ve got to have the jobs and as those jobs are created up and down the (Interstate) 10/12 corridor, that brings people in from out of state.” Firesheets said the recent uptick in industrial expansions bodes well for commercial sector because there is always a spillover effect

Scott said the main question will be whether credit markets will loosen sufficiently to fund the work.

“My gut feeling is financing is still tight and they’re not financing like they should,” Stuart said. “When that money starts to loosen up and they start lending to developers, you’ll see (more work). Until that happens, you’re going to see stagnant growth.”

Firesheets agreed credit markets remain tight, but there is pent-up demand and firms that do have the access to capital, but have been sitting on the sidelines in recent years, are getting off the fence. “The people who are really strong and able to get financing are finally starting to make a move,” he said. “There’s a little more confidence that is driving that. People have to meet their space needs.”

Firesheets and Stuart pointed out that much of the last decade has been one anomaly after another.

“Really, from 2000 until recently was very abnormal,” Firesheets said. “The dot-com boom that put a lot of money into real estate, then Katrina and then everything hit the fan in ’07 and ’08 …. I think we’re back to what we saw in the ’90s, just steady growth year over year. And I think most everybody would settle for that these days.” “We haven’t had normal since the turn of the century,” agreed Stuart.

The largest projects permitted in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2011 were: Pinnacle’s casino complex on River Road, $85.1 million; The Woodlands of Baton Rouge on Ben Hur Road, $39.4 million; H&E Equipment’s headquarters on Airline Highway, $16.5 milllion; the Sam’s Club on Cortana Place, $11.4 million; Woman’s Hospital’s medical office building on Airline Highway, $10.5 million; the downtown Hampton Inn & Suites, $9.2 million; St. Joseph’s Academy Arts Center on Broussard Street, $6.0 million; Phase 1 of the North Boulevard Town Square downtown, $5.7 million; and the Toys R Us/Babies R Us on North Mall Drive, $5 million.

The permit figures do not include Zachary, Central and Baker, state and federal projects (including LSU and Southern University) and industrial construction.

http://theadvocate.com/news/1551486-123/expansions-lift-construction.html

[steve3n8]

THRIVE charter school begins work toward August opening

Since receiving approval from the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Thursday to open a new residential charter school, THRIVE founder and executive director Sarah Broome says she's turned her attention to finding a leader and students for the new school and—perhaps even most crucial—securing funding. "Now the real work begins, and it's kicking it into high gear," Broome says. "I wish (getting approval from the school board) would have been the hardest part." Broome is aiming to have the school—which will also serve as its students' home for five days a week—open in August with an inaugural class of 20 sixth-graders. A deal is in the works for a physical location and building to house the school, Broome says, but has yet to be finalized. Meanwhile, a national search for an academy leader, who will also serve as one of two teachers at the school for at least the first year, should begin later this month. Partnerships with various local organizations are now being finalized, Broome says, and grant applications continue to be written and submitted. "For our first year we need about $550,000," Broome says, adding much funding will come from local, state and federal reimbursement programs and grants. "We have submitted enough grants to more than cover that, and we're still working on more." When up and running, THRIVE will be one of just a handful of schools in the nation at which students live during the week, then depart for home on weekends. Learn more about THRIVE at its website here.

Businessreport.com

[steve3n8]

USPS wants to move N.O. mail-sorting services to B.R.

The U.S. Postal Service announced today plans to close its mail-sorting center in New Orleans and consolidate the services in Baton Rouge. The plan also calls for a vastly reduced role for another sorting center in Lafayette. Under the proposal, both incoming and outgoing mail currently processed in New Orleans would be shifted to Baton Rouge, while outgoing mail currently handled in Lafayette would be handled locally. The Lafayette center would continue to handle incoming mail. USPS did not make it clear how many employees might be affected by the consolidation. Postal Service spokesman McKinney Boyd says about 400 people currently work at the Baton Rouge center. The sorting center in New Orleans currently employs about 800, while about 200 workers could be affected in Lafayette. Boyd says the number of employees who will be affected will depend on how many seek transfers, retirement or other positions. The consolidation is a part of a much larger USPS proposal to Congress to close 254 mail-sorting centers and 3,700 post offices as the agency deals with a $23 million-a-day loss that is threatening it with insolvency. Until Congress finishes studying the proposals, the USPS cannot act on the closure plans until at least May 15. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says he will fight "this ill-advised decision, which fails to consider all the factors that will impact future mail delivery costs and the needs of southern Louisiana."

Businessreport.com

[richyb83]

^That should be interesting...

Construction at 438 Main Street Apartments a few blocks east of the Hampton Inn construction

*pardon the pic from the car....

[steve3n8]

Progress is looking good so far! 3 more stories to go!