Nicholson Drive Corridor

[timelordnerd]

With all of the development happening here, I believe it deserves it's own thread. 

 

PROJECTS:

 

Water Campus, Completion 2017:

 

 

RIVER DISTRICT, Completion 2020: 

 

 

 

NICHOLSON GATEWAY, Completion ?? 

 

Post anymore news related to these projects or other projects on the Nicholson Drive Corridor here.

[dan326]

I think the River District thread is devoted to this same topic. Lol

[Antrell Williams]

That's what I was thinking. We have many threads that can double for other topics.

[richyb83]

It's tricky...

 

Yeah...Dan started a new Water Campus thread last month...& I started the River District thread way back in 09'; it would be sad just to discard the thread after waiting all off this time for things to get rolling. & In between those two projects....a  River House thread was also made.

 

In a way this does deserve it's own thread....bec the Nicholson corridor is hot & future shows great promise! I do like the way the info is consolidated...that's cool! The Nicholson Gateway had been in LSU thread...but this too almost deserves it's own thread?

 

Thanks Timelordnerd for your enthusiasm & waking the forums up from the deep Winter freeze...

[timelordnerd]

It's tricky...

 

Yeah...Dan started a new Water Campus thread last month...& I started the River District thread way back in 09'; it would be sad just to discard the thread after waiting all off this time for things to get rolling. & In between those two projects....a  River House thread was also made.

 

In a way this does deserve it's own thread....bec the Nicholson corridor is hot & future shows great promise! I do like the way the info is consolidated...that's cool! The Nicholson Gateway had been in LSU thread...but this too almost deserves it's own thread?

 

Thanks Timelordnerd for your enthusiasm & waking the forums up from the deep Winter freeze...

Haha, your welcome. It's time for BR to recognize it's growing influence in the American South. It's not just small cities watching us now, but major cities too,

[itsjustme3]

What major city is watching BR?

Edited February 19, 2014 by itsjustme3

[Antrell Williams]

Maybe I will consolidate what I can when it's time. I'll consult you guys if I have to.

 

I agree timelordnerd, many here still think of BR as a small town. It's that mentality that can stunt growth at times.

[timelordnerd]

Maybe I will consolidate what I can when it's time. I'll consult you guys if I have to.

 

I agree timelordnerd, many here still think of BR as a small town. It's that mentality that can stunt growth at times.

It can, especially in such a conservative state (which certainly has large advantages). With the announcement of the new Creative Block, I think Downtown BR will definitely become a pop-culture/tech-culture hub for the state.   

[ehyfield]

There is an article out saying CATS wants to start BRT from Downtown to LSU. If it goes the way I'm understanding it, CATS is going to put a bus on its own right-of-way. Who thinks that when this happens they will realize that a bus is good enough and they don't need to pay to install rail in the same place. Thoughts?

[Antrell Williams]

http://www.businessreport.com/article/20140328/BUSINESSREPORT0112/140329815

 

If this is successful, eventually rail will follow with likely more passengers as it's a novelty.

[ehyfield]

How catastrophic would it be if Nicholson Drive was brought down to two auto lanes between LSU and Downtown?

[richyb83]

All of this has been moving painfully slow....The great recession really put a halt to things...hoping to turn the corner before the next one hits!

 

Groundbreaking signals progress along the Nicholson corridor

 

The redevelopment of Nicholson Drive officially got underway earlier this month, when officials from LSU, the state and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation broke ground on the first of several buildings that will be constructed on the Water Campus. Several other high-profile projects along the corridor that have been in the works for years, remain on hold, despite assurances from their developers that construction will start soon.

 

Take the River House. The planned mixed-use development on the site of the former Prince Murat Hotel was supposed to get underway early this year. But with February coming nearing its close, developer Marc Blumberg  predicts it will be April before he breaks ground. Blumberg and partner Emmanuel Organek have been working on the 10-acre project—which will include 224 market-rate apartment units with a 34,000-square-foot office building and 15,000 square feet of retail space—since 2008. The project was delayed, first, because of the recession then because of bureaucratic tie-ups with the federal loan program the partners were using. Late last year, they switched gears and secured conventional financing for the project.

 

Now, they’re reworking original budget projections, since construction costs have increased over the past few years. Blumberg says the project is still on track but that he is trying to “iron out some issues with the construction agreement and pricing.” He says he is confident construction will begin sometime this spring.

 

Meanwhile, developers remain tight-lipped about progress on the River District—Lafayette developer Dalis Waguespack’s proposed 40-acre, mixed-use project on Nicholson Drive near Magnolia Mound plantation. In January 2014, architects unveiled a concept plan for the first phase of the project, which then was approved by the Planning Commission. Nearly 14 months later, work has yet to begin.

 

The River District has been in the works since the mid-2000s and was also delayed by the recession. Architect Steve Oubre says the project remains on track and that an update is expected soon but he could not provide details.

 

Oubre and Blumberg say they are heartened the Water Campus, a 33-acre research park devoted to coastal and deltaic studies, has broken ground. Real estate experts familiar with the area say the campus could be the catalyst to help get the other mixed-use projects done—or started—though they’re not willing to hazard a guess as to when that might be.

—Stephanie Riegel

 

http://www.businessreport.com/article/groundbreaking-signals-progress-along-nicholson-corridor

[greg225]

Six local businesses relocating to newly renovated warehouse in heart of Nicholson corridor                                                                                                                                                                                                               An old warehouse on Nicholson Drive near the Mississippi River Bridge soon will be the new home to several tenants with design or artistically related businesses. The 18,000-square-foot building at 1010 Nicholson Drive will be called 1010 Nick and will represent something of a milestone in the redevelopment of the Nicholson corridor between downtown and LSU.

“Obviously, we are going to be one of the first to land there,” says architect Dwayne Carruth, who designed the $1.5 million renovation of the building and will be among its tenants. “We would love for that whole area to become sort of a design district. That whole area is wide open to do something super fantastic and we don’t have anything like that anywhere in Baton Rouge.”

Besides Carruth’s firm, The Front Door, other tenants in 1010 Nick will include Monochrome, a contemporary furniture store; Contemporain, a new art gallery; Denicola’s, a furniture refinishing and upholstery business; Noelie Harmon, an eco-friendly apparel boutique; Jeannie Frey Rhodes Photography; and a new men’s hair salon called Mercer Supply Company. The Front Door, Monochrome and Rhodes’ studio are all currently tenants in the Southdowns Shopping Center on Perkins Road. Southdowns landlord Donnie Jarreau says he has signed letters of intent with new retail tenants to fill the spaces, which will be vacated in June when the Nicholson Drive warehouse is complete.

For tenants relocating to 1010 Nick, the warehouse is attractive for a couple of reasons, says Rhodes, who has been located in Southdowns for several years. Having several creative- or artistic-type businesses under one roof will create a unique synergy. Also, being located on Nicholson Drive adjacent to the planned Water Campus and near other new developments like the IBM complex downtown will be exciting.

“I was ready to make a move and go downtown and be a part of all of this,” says Rhodes, whose space within the warehouse will be 1,400 square feet. “It’s going to be so good-looking and when you look out of the window you see the bridge. It’s beautiful.”

Plans for 1010 Nick have been underway for more than a year. The building, which previously was a warehouse for St. Vincent de Paul, was acquired in January 2014 by the owners of Monochrome, Carol Lacour and Mitchell Naquin, and local investors Shannon and Andrew Smith. Renovations have been under way since last spring.   https://www.businessreport.com/article/six-local-businesses-relocating-newly-renovated-warehouse-heart-nicholson-corridor

 

  

[richyb83]

Beat me to it Greg225!   A Design District would be pretty cool for BR.....Let the dominos fall along the Nicholson corridor!

[greg225]

DDD discusses consultant search for streetcar project                                                                                                                                                                   Officials with the Downtown Development District said they are looking for a consultant to plan the streetcar project in Baton Rouge before moving forward.

The streetcar project would link the downtown area to LSU via Nicholson Drive.

Planning for the project costs nearly $2 million, but city leaders say it will all be worth it.

"Some point this summer, I'm sure, the consultants are going to get going on the project and the serious planning work that needs to be done for this very unique type of streetcar that will link our river corridor," said Davis Rhorer with DDD.

An announcement on who wins the consulting bid from the city-parish could come as soon as the end of the month.         http://www.wafb.com/story/29043331/ddd-discusses-consultant-search-for-streetcar-project

[greg225]

This is the website for the federal program that will help Baton Rouge with the streetcar.                                                                          http://www.dot.gov/ladders/tep                                                       

[greg225]

LSU Lazy River my first time seeing this may be it been on her before.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[Mr. Burnham]

LSU Lazy River my first time seeing this may be it been on her before.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

This will be in the Athletic Center.

[greg225]

LSU Nicholson Gateway Project moving forward, developer to be selected this fall                                                                                                                                                              The master developer for LSU’s Nicholson Gateway Project—a mixed-use retail and residential project that will be developed on 28 acres along Nicholson Drive between Skip Bertman Drive and West Chimes Street—could be chosen by late fall, according to a timeline for the project being presented this morning to the LSU Board of Supervisors.

The Austin-based consultants for the project are updating the board on the process and approach they are recommending the LSU Property Foundation undertake to get the development off the ground.

That process will begin next month with the issuance of a Request for Qualifications for a master developer, whose role will be to manage construction of the retail and student housing components the project. Once RFQs have been submitted, the LSU Property Foundation will review them and invite a select list of qualified developers to submit Requests for Proposals, which will be due in September and October. The LSU Property Foundation will then select the developer, with construction beginning about 18 months later.

The LSU Property Foundation is the arm of the LSU Foundation that handles property-related matters is spearheading the development of the Nicholson Gateway on behalf of the university, according to LSU Foundation spokesperson Sara Crow.

Consultant Peter Isaac, whose firm Brailsford & Dunlavey has been advising the foundation on the project, says no final price tag has been determined, nor has the specific number of apartment units been nailed down.

“The project is still being refined and will be finalized as part of the negotiations with the developer,” Isaac says.

Target completion for the at least the first phase of the project is fall 2018. LSU has more details on the project.

As previously reported by Daily Report, the LSU board will also take up a proposal today to move the city-parish animal shelter to the Baton Rouge campus. Companion Animal Alliance would continue to operate the shelter under contract by the city-parish, and it would build a new shelter on the campus.

—Stephanie Riegel            https://www.businessreport.com/article/lsu-nicholson-gateway-project-moving-forward-developer-selected-fall

[richyb83]

It would be cool to see ALL FOUR projects(this; River District; River House & Water Campus) being built at the same time along the Nicholson corridor!

 

I like this how they describe this LSU/Nicholson "Gateway" project...

 

This project will turn what has traditionally been the back of the campus into an exciting new gateway district. It will become a place that feels like a part of campus, rather than a service oriented bypass. Vacant and underutilized sites will house new campus facilities and an improved landscape will create a sense of arrival. The change will be dramatic. Upon entering the campus, rather than merely passing by, a visitor will be struck with a powerful impression, a sense of entry, a feeling of ‘wow, I have arrived.’

[greg225]

Can't wait to see that area when everything is complete and how it change Downtown and LSU. I hope they put together a plan for Highland  between Downtown and LSU.

[greg225]

Metro Council early adjournment causes headaches, delays Marriott TIF and Nicholson streetcar grant match                                                                                                                 The Metro Council adjourned early on Wednesday, just 40 minutes after calling the meeting to order, because too few members were present to make up a quorum. As a result, several items up for approval were deferred until July 22, which is the next time the council meets. Other measures were not even introduced, which means the council will not be able to take them up for discussion until its August meeting.

One of the agenda items affected by the early adjournment was the proposed creation of a special taxing district to help finance construction of a new downtown Courtyard Marriott. Developer Bo Aughtry of South Carolina-based Windsor Aughtry has said the project cannot proceed without the creation of a tax increment financing district, which would remit 2% of the city-parish sales tax in the district for 20 years back to the developers.

Windsor Aughtry has not yet acquired the surface parking lot at Third and Florida streets on which the hotel will be built. The property has been under contract since last year, and the sale was supposed to close in July. Now that the TIF is delayed it is unclear how that time frame will be affected. Officials with Windsor Aughtry have not returned numerous phone calls for comment. When the hotel was first announced last October, developers said they hoped to begin construction in May.

Another item of city-parish that will be delayed is the appropriation of $1 million in traffic impact fees that will help fund the environmental and planning phase of the proposed Nicholson corridor streetcar. The city-parish received a $1.76 million federal TIGER grant earlier this year to begin planning for the streetcar along three miles of Nicholson Drive between the LSU campus and downtown, and it is required to put up $1 million in matching funds.

The measure was set to be introduced last night and voted on in July. Now, it appears that timeframe will be delayed by a month—unless the council calls an emergency meeting to address last night’s unfinished business.

Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel says the council’s inaction will delay the process but should not derail it altogether.

“It’s not optimum,” he says. “But it is what it is.”   https://www.businessreport.com/article/metro-council-early-adjournment-causes-headaches-delays-marriott-tif-nicholson-streetcar-grant-match

[oneman83]

Baton Rouge Business as Usual.  Not Surprising.

[Antrell Williams]

Why is it legal for members to not attend a meeting?

[greg225]

Why is it legal for members to not attend a meeting?

If knew they was voting on it that night I would have came. Our Metro Council suck I wish Baton Rouge had a city council. Seem like any improvement for the City or Parish the Metro Council blocks it. They did the same to the  Knock Knock Children Museum and Mayor had to come out of his own pockets. Hopefully the city gets the money maybe they can take it out of the CATS Tax, but the stupid CATS board probably never let that happen.

Edited June 27, 2015 by greg225