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Baton Rouge City Profile


NCB

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By the way welcome to the Louisiana forum BRPJ. :D

Thanks! :w00t:

Yes, this will definately be a fantastic addition to Baton Rouge's skyline!

It will be great to see a tower nearly the same height as the capitol building, rather than the smaller skyscrapers in downtown.

It got approved a couple of months ago, and construction is slated to start in early January.

I haven't seen any official numbers as to when the building is expected to be completed, but my guess on construction time would be around two years, maybe less.

I know @ the smaller sky scrapers comment. I think this 36 story tower is a great start, im hoping more business develops in baton rouge, and corporations begin to invest in the rennesaince that is happening down there.

i do think there should be maybe a few more 20 somethings for density, and hopefully a couple of 40's and 50's to top things off, i have such big visions for BR :blush:

Edited by BRPJ
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i do think there should be maybe a few more 20 somethings for density, and hopefully a couple of 40's and 50's to top things off, i have such big visions for BR :blush:

I definately expect some new buildings popping up in the 20 and 30 storey range in the upcoming future.

Something interesting to look at as well is the new state government building's developments. They keep getting a bit taller everytime. 12 storeys-15 storeys-17 storeys, etc. But I really look forward to seeing more office towers pop ip in the city,(which will be necesarry with all of the new business there) and new hotels, and residential building's.

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I definately expect some new buildings popping up in the 20 and 30 storey range in the upcoming future.

Something interesting to look at as well is the new state government building's developments. They keep getting a bit taller everytime. 12 storeys-15 storeys-17 storeys, etc. But I really look forward to seeing more office towers pop ip in the city,(which will be necesarry with all of the new business there) and new hotels, and residential building's.

exactly, im thinking the riverplace tower might spark a trend for the "new" business in town. i hope so at least

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  • 2 weeks later...

That wouldn't suprise me at all. :D

Interesting to read ! I like the enthusiasm for BR ! A vibrant urban-core is more important than many realize . Downtown is experiencing a renaissance . It's GREAT to see happening !

The RiverPlace condo's will begin by mid-Spring 06'...18 % increase in construction cost due to the hurricanes is mostly to blame ! It is gonna top-out in height close to the height of State Capitol I would like to see some 40+ towers too,however I still think they still follow the old ordinance that says no building is to be taller than the 450' State Capitol ? Some agree with that. I really do not . What do yall think ?

Also CityPlaza II has revised it plans.To start as early as June 06';The 12-14 story office tower will be on top of the 5 level parking=17-19-stories.It's height should be close to the adjacent High-rise bank towers. Definitly good for filling-in the urban-core !

A New 9-story $50 mil. Courthouse across the street from CityPlaza I could get started later this year,if the $ is right. The rendering I saw looked impressive !

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^Thanks for the updates, and welcome to the forum, richyb83!

You may want to check out the Southeast Louisiana Development Thread, which contains many new Baton Rouge developments. :D

As for the city ordinance about no buildings taller than the State Capitol, I think that if some major companies came in and expressed intrest in Baton Rouge(which is already happening), and express interest in building high rise headquarters or major offices in a building taller than the Capitol downtown, then the ordinance would be changed, or removed completely. Somehthing similar to this happened to Philadelphia. It wasn't long ago that no building in philadelphia could be taller than around 220', because that was the height of the courthouse. But after businesses came in and developers proposed major towers, that ordinance was lifted, and Phily now has some of the tallest skyscrapers in the country.

Edited by NCB
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  • 3 weeks later...

Baton Rouge's TALLEST Buildings :

State Capitol 34 floors 460 feet

*River Place Condo's 30+ ???

One America Place 24 310'

Chase Bank Tower 21 277'

Riverside North Tower 20 ?

*City Plaza II 18-20 ? ?

*Laurel Tower/Regions Ctr. 19 approx.240'

Marriott Hotel 22 floors 224'

* to begin construction- 2006

Edited by richyb83
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  • 1 month later...

I think it would be great if you would. I would take the reins and do Shreveport for you in the exact same format, but I don't want to look like I'm stealing your idea. Great Baton Rouge profile, by the way!!

Seeing as this was originally posted in August, I think I will do a Lafayette profile. Of all the cities in Louisiana, it seems to get the least attention on this board, despite being one of Louisiana's fastest growing and most successful.

I also wonder why you call New Iberia the capital of Cajun Country? It is certainly a Cajun city, but the major festivals are all held in Lafayette. Festival International de Louisiane, Festivals Acadiens, people in New Iberia come to Lafayette to see the parades. I will try to highlight Lafayette's cultural aspects in my profile.

Edited by breaux
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Seeing as this was originally posted in August, I think I will do a Lafayette profile. Of all the cities in Louisiana, it seems to get the least attention on this board, despite being one of Louisiana's fastest growing and most successful.

I also wonder why you call New Iberia the capital of Cajun Country? It is certainly a Cajun city, but the major festivals are all held in Lafayette. Festival International de Louisiane, Festivals Acadiens, people in New Iberia come to Lafayette to see the parades. I will try to highlight Lafayette's cultural aspects in my profile.

Great... good to see you step up and take care of it.

NCB - I'll gladly step up to the plate like breaux and do a Shreveport profile in the near future.

This place is awesome.

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^Great! It would come out much nicer and more informational if you made it, as I'm not extremely familiar with the area and its history, just the basic stuff for the most part.

I'm glad your liking UrbanPlanet!

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Thank you guys for your enthusiasm for Baton Rouge growing a legit Skyline in the near future ! New Orleans close proximity(80 miles) getting major companies + BR ranked 24th worst "sprawl" are the main reasons our Capital City has lacked a nicer skyline . The 450'ft. Height Ordinance for our State Capitol may be another . Emporis *definition of high-rise is 12-stories and above. For BR's size , it has a decent amount of high-rises outside of the CBD. Here is the list of those:(not including CBD or LSU)

Led by the Marriott Hotel ,22-stories ; four miles outside CBD

Mid-City : 14-story Republic(Dean) Tower, Woodale St.Office Bldg.-12 ;

Essen Corridor : 13-Jacobs Plaza, 12- Shaw HQ's, United Plaza-10 ;

Bluebonnet Towers I & II both 12-stories , III on hold - to become hotel

BR also has a 9-story and many 8-story bldgs. scattered around town.

I think a city's tallest hotel belongs downtown on the riverfront , not 4 or 5 miles away. The 22-story Marriott(near the I-10/12 split) and a few of these others mentioned could have really helped as far as skylines go.

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I think a city's tallest hotel belongs downtown on the riverfront , not 4 or 5 miles away. The 22-story Marriott(near the I-10/12 split) and a few of these others mentioned could have really helped as far as skylines go.

I agree. The Marriot would be a nice addition to the skyline, had it been built in downtown.

Here is the 22 story Marriot near the I-10/I-12 split.

IMG_02481.jpg

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I agree. The Marriot would be a nice addition to the skyline, had it been built in downtown.

Here is the 22 story Marriot near the I-10/I-12 split.

IMG_02481.jpg

Everytime I've passed by that hotel, I've wondered why it was built where it was. I also didn't realize it was 22 stories... it doesn't seem that tall. It definitely does seem pretty tall, though... but dang... 22 stories?

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Thanks so much for those pics of BR . I wish I had more knowledge with computer programs/CAD ? . I could take your picture of the skyline and ADD-TO-IT by drawing to scale the locations of the new proposed high-rises to be built in 2006 . That would be great ! It could be called "BR 2009". Starting with the River Place condo tower along the riverfront , and adding the other 5 major projects that have been announced .

I got a room a couple years ago on the 22nd floor of the Marriott ; the view of the city was awesome ! From the State Capitol and Downtown to the Miss.River Bridge and Tiger Stadium .

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It was built in the mid-late 1970s as the Baton Rouge Hilton by a colorful Baton Rouge businessman named T. D. Bickham. The hotel never did terribly well, going in and out of bankruptcy a couple of times. Finally, it was sold and re-flagged as a Marriott. I don't know, but I think it is finally doing better financially. There was a nightclub/disco there called TD's, named, of course, for Mr. Bickham. We never stayed there, but did go to the restaurant on occasion. I don't remember anything too special about the restaurant. It would have been much better downtown, but downtown wasn't exact;ly flourishing when this was built.

Edited by tombarnes
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I wish I had more knowledge with computer programs/CAD ? . I could take your picture of the skyline and ADD-TO-IT by drawing to scale the locations of the new proposed high-rises to be built in 2006 . That would be great !

I've been using different CAD programs for 8 years now, starting back at AutoCAD 10. Even with the more advanced programs I've used over the years I've discovered that, in order to do quality, realistic renderings, you have to purchase plug-ins on top of the cost of your program. And then you'd have to take your renderings and export them as an image file and manipulate them in Photoshop... and then you could place them where they go. Most people who do renderings use the CAD program only to a certain point. Then they go into Photoshop or other, more advanced imaging tools to finish their renderings.

But I agree with you, it would be cool to do that. :)

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  • 1 month later...

CAPITOL COMPLEX NEARLY COMPLETE http://dnr.louisiana.gov/visitor-center-dnr-cap-park.ssi >Scroll down

This website page has been around for awhile now. It's been said that this is one of the nicest Capitol Complex's in the country. This development is another major step toward revitalization for Downtown Baton Rouge.

Edited by richyb83
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A big reason for Downtown's revitalization was/is Plan Baton Rouge. It's basically a blueprint for re-development. The non-profit organization BR Area Foundation held a series of meetings in 1998 to come-up with a plan . It was meant to be a 10-year masterplan,using smart growth; to bring Downtown back to life, making it a 24-hour destination to attract residents,students, and tourist. Downtown was in bad shape in 98'.

http://planbr.org

This is year 8 ; some things have gone according to plan; some of even been better; some have gone nowhere; some things have not yet happened.

Some big things this plan has been responsible for include: Capitol Park Complex(new State Bldgs.); Riverfront masterplan; locating Main Street Market and YMCA in the state's twin parking structures; Shaw Arts Center; Capitol House renovation; re-design of River Road making it more pedestrian friendly; proposed new Courthouse, just to name a few !

Edited by richyb83
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  • 2 months later...

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