The Water Campus

[dan326]

On 2/10/2022 at 9:54 AM, cajun said:

Maybe the Water Campus needs more cool factor with more restaurants or something?   Perhaps they can improve this by expanding Brickyard Ln to South Blvd near Pastime Lounge?

Even if they construct another spec office building.....would you honestly open up a regional office (for a tech company, consulting firm, engineering company, or a big 4 accounting firm) in The Water Campus knowing that the office would need to be nice and "cool" enough to impressive potential new hires out of LSU, Tulane, etc.?  

I don't think it has that kind of momentum right now.     It still has that undeveloped feel to it, and what is there has a very corporate/ institutional look.  

I agree. I'm glad they built something but could have come up with a more interesting/mixed use design. 

Edited February 11, 2022 by dan326

[cajun]

I think The Water Campus should look seriously at another residential building somewhere.   That's what the market is demanding right now, although River House is going to likely beat them to that with their new 6 story building.       

Eventually after we get out of this downtown, I want to see an office building sort of like this at the Water Campus: 

This is the  20 story West Star building in El Paso.   

Would be a really cool building to see from I-10, and the views from the top would be awesome - LSU, Port of Baton Rouge, and Downtown.  

West Star is actually only about 260,000 square feet - averaging about 20,000 square feet of leasable space per floor (6-7 floors are actually parking deck).   

By comparison, there is almost 100,000 square foot of leasable space in the 4 story 1200 Brickyard office building - which sadly has no signature tenant even though it's about 90% full (they only have a handful of sub-5,000 square foot spaces available).    1200 Brickyard really does have a large footprint.   It's pretty short considering how much space is in there.   

Something else I noticed - of all the buildings on the Water Campus's interactive map, the only unfinished office building that has a rendering is the 14 story, 585,000 square foot tower planned for Brickyard Lane right up against I-10 (which indicates that it might be the next one to be built).    That's a HUGE building.   I know they are trying to gear for about 30,000 square feet per floor - but maybe they could narrow it a bit to make it closer to the scale of West Star Tower in El Paso?  Or tuck a 4-5 level parking deck underneath it.    

Judging from their plans, there will eventually be at least 2 parking decks to be built at The Water Campus.    That makes total sense given that 1200 Brickyard is entirely reliant on surface parking that's located where newer buildings are planned.   

Anyways -this is what's planned.   I think much of the 585,000 square feet is actually parking deck.    Looks like it's an 8 story building over a 4 level parking deck.  

Edited June 15, 2022 by cajun

[richyb83]

Your speaking my language Cajun!  One of the BEST post on here in recent memory!  THANKS for the visuals!  Dig those ideas! Really like the West Star Tower!   BR desperately needs some modern high-rise tower!   Some eye candy !

The proposed tower on the bottom would be nice too!  Looks to be the size of the IBM tower; expect on top the 4 floor podium for parking. That would look cool at the foot of the Bridge

Even though Andres Duany suggestions for Plan BR in late 90's  was to keep everything 12 stories or under .....BR still tried to move forward with the 30+ (one proposal l as much as 36 at on time) River Place. But it fell thru unfortunately . As did the 17 floor Laurel Plaza in 2006.  And still no word (pipe dream?) on the 18 story Summit at Southgate Towers either.

And contrary to popular belief there is no Height Ordinance for BR in reference to the 450'ft tall State Capitol.....they can actually build Taller.

[richyb83]

JOIN US NEXT WEEK AT THE WATER CAMPUS!

JANUARY DDD COMMISSION MEETING

Don't miss out on the insights and updates at the Downtown Development District's January Commission Meeting, hosted at the Estuary Conference and Event Venue in the Water Campus this Tuesday, January 9th at 8 a.m. Topics include as Board Action, Governmental Issues, and a recap of the previous board meeting. Stay informed about ongoing initiatives, including the 2023 Downtown Development Yearbook, exciting developments with new businesses, and upcoming events! DDD COMMISSION MEETING, AGENDA The ESTUARY, 1110 River Road 1. Call to Order 2. Declare Quorum 3. Approve Agenda 4. Approve December 12, 2023 Minutes 5. Board Action Nominating Committee 6. Governmental Issues 2024 City Parish Budget 7. Update from the Previous Board Meeting Placer ai 617 North Boulevard Demolition 8. Initiatives 2023 Downtown Development Yearbook Retail Survey Results Third Street Lighting Upgrades Town Square Landscape Refurbishment Louisiana Ave./14th Street Improvements Water Institute President & CEO 9. New Businesses The Garden House 121 Convention Street 9. Events MPAC Louisiana Marathon Right to Life March Mardi Gras Parades Manship Theatre LSU MOA Capitol Park Museum Old State Capitol River Center LASM USS KIDD Baton Rouge Arts Market Red Stick Farmers Market 10. Commission Announcements and Updates 11. Public Comment 12. Adjournment

Edited January 8 by richyb83

[richyb83]

FIRST FREE SUNDAYS - LSU Center for River Studies River Model

https://downtownbatonrouge.org/discover-downtown/events/first-free-sundays-lsu-center-for-river-studies-river-model

Visitors are invited to explore the award-winning coastal-themed exhibit space and river model at the LSU Center for River Studies for FREE on the first Sunday of each month from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. The Center’s interactive exhibit space offers opportunities for guests of all ages to learn more about the history of the Mississippi River, Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands, and ongoing coastal restoration projects across the coast. CPRA staff will be on-hand throughout the day to lead discussions and answer questions. You’ll also have the chance to attend a unique educational presentation using world-class projector equipment on the river model.

https://coastal.la.gov/center-for-river-studies/

Edited February 1 by richyb83

[cajun]

On 6/15/2022 at 9:28 PM, richyb83 said:

Your speaking my language Cajun!  One of the BEST post on here in recent memory!  THANKS for the visuals!  Dig those ideas! Really like the West Star Tower!   BR desperately needs some modern high-rise tower!   Some eye candy !

The proposed tower on the bottom would be nice too!  Looks to be the size of the IBM tower; expect on top the 4 floor podium for parking. That would look cool at the foot of the Bridge

Even though Andres Duany suggestions for Plan BR in late 90's  was to keep everything 12 stories or under .....BR still tried to move forward with the 30+ (one proposal l as much as 36 at on time) River Place. But it fell thru unfortunately . As did the 17 floor Laurel Plaza in 2006.  And still no word (pipe dream?) on the 18 story Summit at Southgate Towers either.

And contrary to popular belief there is no Height Ordinance for BR in reference to the 450'ft tall State Capitol.....they can actually build Taller.

Unfortunately I just don't see there being demand for all of that office space now that this hybrid/post-pandemic work behavior seems to be in clearer focus across the country.   The 600,000-700,000 square feet of office space proposed in the Water Campus just isn't needed.   A building like that would draw tenants from other buildings and create a lot of voids elsewhere in the market and drive down occupancy and office lease prices lower.     They might be able to justify another 100,000-150,000 square foot building at best.   The rest would need to be hotels or some other use.  

There may be an opportunity to refocus part of the Water Campus with the new arena LSU is proposing.    That may be worth considering, as it would make the surrounding plots on the campus much more valuable for hotels, restaurants, etc.   That would also help make the area around it more attractive to the smaller office users around Baton Rouge too.