Shreveport/Bossier City Development

[Metlife]

Shreveport Times article commenting on the Villagio project, the future of the Louisiana Boardwalk, and more...

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...02/1092/BOSSIER

Edited May 2, 2007 by Metlife

[dimebag1980]

Shreveport Times article commenting on the Villagio project, the future of the Louisiana boardwalk, and more...

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...02/1092/BOSSIER

I remember this article but I never paid attention to where it said one of the things the Boardwalk could hold in its future is an aquarium.

I hope so.

[fridayinla]

I remember this article but I never paid attention to where it said one of the things the Boardwalk could hold in its future is an aquarium.

I hope so.

We think alike, Brian. After reading that article I came back here to post this quote:

"The Boardwalk's future may hold live performing arts theaters, jazz clubs, a hotel, sporting lodge and an aquarium."

The aquarium would be awesome!! Jazz clubs are exciting also. I like that he's continuing to build on the project. I think he owns Cane's Landing (land adjacent to the Boardwalk to the north), which makes the possibilities for expanding the Boardwalk endless.

Edited May 1, 2007 by fridayinla

[Metlife]

Some more renderings for the proposed shopping center on Fern and E. 70th.

http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/MPC/C-32-07.htm

Edited May 2, 2007 by Metlife

[dimebag1980]

Some more renderings for the proposed shopping center on Fern and E. 70th.

http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/MPC/C-32-07.htm

From the given elevations, that looks like it will be a very nice center.

Now they need to go ahead and widen Fern along that stretch. They should have built it as 4 lanes, not 2. The median is a nice touch, but damn... they knew the need for extending the road but as usual they UNDERestimated the growth potential for E. 70th between Fern and Kings.

[Metlife]

From the given elevations, that looks like it will be a very nice center.

Now they need to go ahead and widen Fern along that stretch. They should have built it as 4 lanes, not 2. The median is a nice touch, but damn... they knew the need for extending the road but as usual they UNDERestimated the growth potential for E. 70th between Fern and Kings.

No kidding. That stretch is already starting to get busy...and with the new development coming along in that area, it'll get even crazier there.

[Mudbugger]

SBC,

My wife and i drove down Youree drive today and noticed that the Smokey Bones restaurant in front of the new Lowes has closed as of Friday May 4th.

When we checked out the company website they made mention that they are closing 54 locations due to business.

Funny because my wife remembered reading about the new restaurants in that area and there was some talk of a Red Lobster coming there soon. They pulled there app to build a new one over there recently.

Since the same company (Darden Restaurants) owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones and Rainforest Cafe doesn't it seem more likely that they are simply going to retrofit that store into either Red Lobster or Rainforest Cafe?

My money is on Red Lobster because they had one in this market before and when Mansfield road died they left town and kept the Bossier location.

Can you do some digging and see if this is the case?

At the worse case i thought you would like to know about this.

Mudbugger

PS

I checked the link for the Darden site and found this.

http://www.dardenrestaurants.com/rest_smok...ose_release.asp

It detals the demise of all the Smokey Bones resaurants and the rebranding of a few into Rocky River Grillhouse.

Edited May 6, 2007 by Mudbugger

[dimebag1980]

SBC,

My wife and i drove down Youree drive today and noticed that the Smokey Bones restaurant in front of the new Lowes has closed as of Friday May 4th.

When we checked out the company website they made mention that they are closing 54 locations due to business.

Funny because my wife remembered reading about the new restaurants in that area and there was some talk of a Red Lobster coming there soon. They pulled there app to build a new one over there recently.

Since the same company (Darden Restaurants) owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones and Rainforest Cafe doesn't it seem more likely that they are simply going to retrofit that store into either Red Lobster or Rainforest Cafe?

My money is on Red Lobster because they had one in this market before and when Mansfield road died they left town and kept the Bossier location.

Can you do some digging and see if this is the case?

At the worse case i thought you would like to know about this.

Mudbugger

PS

I checked the link for the Darden site and found this.

http://www.dardenrestaurants.com/rest_smok...ose_release.asp

It detals the demise of all the Smokey Bones resaurants and the rebranding of a few into Rocky River Grillhouse.

I don't have contacts anymore so I'm in the same boat as you... can only speculate. I knew about Smokey Bones' possible demise, but I thought that would be months, even a couple years, down the road. Wow.

I hope Red Lobster builds there. I prefer them anyway. Of course not that it matters to me really, since I live in Haughton and there's one just 10-15 minutes down the road in Bossier. But since the last one closed in Shreveport a few years back, that city needs one.

[dimebag1980]

In the monthly South Central Construction magazine there are reports for specific regions, such as Northwest Arkansas and Northwest Louisiana. In the May issue's Northwest Louisiana Report it says that Northwest Louisiana "is about to explode with construction related to film, biomedical, science, and technology industries." This quote came from Dr. Dave Norris, Jr., director of the Enterprise Center at Louisiana Tech University.

I haven't read the full article yet, but it seems like it will be an exciting read.

[jcasey]

Hey guys, today I noticed a sign on the Bossier Target announcing an opening date. The sign says that they will open July 29th! At the rate the other buildings are going up over there, there should be others following shortly. It looks as though the Chick-fil-A is almost done too. I will be very happy when I do not have to drive all the way to Shreveport to go to stores such as Target and Best Buy. I have recently moved to Haughton so I have added about 10 minutes onto my drives to SBC, as there is nothing in Haughton!

[dimebag1980]

Hey guys, today I noticed a sign on the Bossier Target announcing an opening date. The sign says that they will open July 29th! At the rate the other buildings are going up over there, there should be others following shortly. It looks as though the Chick-fil-A is almost done too. I will be very happy when I do not have to drive all the way to Shreveport to go to stores such as Target and Best Buy. I have recently moved to Haughton so I have added about 10 minutes onto my drives to SBC, as there is nothing in Haughton!

Welcome to the neighborhood! Or is it welcome BACK to the neighborhood?

It is nice to know we'll have some of my favorite stores and restaurants much closer to home.

[jcasey]

Welcome to the neighborhood! Or is it welcome BACK to the neighborhood?

It is nice to know we'll have some of my favorite stores and restaurants much closer to home.

Yeah, it's back. We had to get into town because I wanted my daughter in the Haughton school system. I keep looking at all this property down here across from the Pilot and thinking that a grocery store would be nice. I hate having to go all the way up to Brookshires. There is so much potential for development down here, especially with all the new houses being built. Haughton is definitely changing. I'm hoping in the next 5 years (or sooner) we see some development, other than residential, happening. Do you think that we will?

[dimebag1980]

Yeah, it's back. We had to get into town because I wanted my daughter in the Haughton school system. I keep looking at all this property down here across from the Pilot and thinking that a grocery store would be nice. I hate having to go all the way up to Brookshires. There is so much potential for development down here, especially with all the new houses being built. Haughton is definitely changing. I'm hoping in the next 5 years (or sooner) we see some development, other than residential, happening. Do you think that we will?

So do you live close to the Pilot? Are we neighbors now??

I think we will see more development along Highway 157. The traffic counts are just too high for someone not to build something. In the morning it's every man for himself trying to turn off my street onto the highway. Then I typically sit for quite a while as I make my way down toward I-20. Every morning it's that way, and every evening it's busy as well. It's just a busy area with all the new homes being built out that way.

Something has to eventually be built there, and it'd better not be more truck stops. This part of Haughton... REAL Haughton as I call it... is due more development. It's arrived at that point, but unfortunately we can't benefit from an eastward expansion of Bossier City right now like Benton has done to the north. There's just too much of a gap between Bossier City and "real Haughton." It's time for someone with the money and the business sense to step up and put something nice on that property. And if Highway 157 has to be widened in order to make it work, then so be it. Widen the stretch between McKinley and I-20 or between McKinley and Highway 80.

[jcasey]

So do you live close to the Pilot? Are we neighbors now??

I think we will see more development along Highway 157. The traffic counts are just too high for someone not to build something. In the morning it's every man for himself trying to turn off my street onto the highway. Then I typically sit for quite a while as I make my way down toward I-20. Every morning it's that way, and every evening it's busy as well. It's just a busy area with all the new homes being built out that way.

Something has to eventually be built there, and it'd better not be more truck stops. This part of Haughton... REAL Haughton as I call it... is due more development. It's arrived at that point, but unfortunately we can't benefit from an eastward expansion of Bossier City right now like Benton has done to the north. There's just too much of a gap between Bossier City and "real Haughton." It's time for someone with the money and the business sense to step up and put something nice on that property. And if Highway 157 has to be widened in order to make it work, then so be it. Widen the stretch between McKinley and I-20 or between McKinley and Highway 80.

Yes, I live really close to Pilot. I think it would be great to see 157 widened. To get it widened all the way to Hwy 80, they would have to build a new overpass, which will probably never happen. I also believe that they should make on and off ramps to I-20 from 614 (McKinley). If they did this, maybe then they could take out that bridge on 157, reroute the traffic, and build a wider bridge; everyone knows we could use it. I'm sure it sucks trying to turn onto 157 in that morning traffic without the aid of a traffic light. I grew up in Haughton and have seen the traffic increase over the years. In the morning, at lunch and in the afternoon traffic on 157 is nuts. I think that if something was done, we would definitely see development out here. You know that property from behind Haughton High across to 3227 is for sale and is offered at 1.4 million. I think it is around 90 acres.

[fridayinla]

In the monthly South Central Construction magazine there are reports for specific regions, such as Northwest Arkansas and Northwest Louisiana. In the May issue's Northwest Louisiana Report it says that Northwest Louisiana "is about to explode with construction related to film, biomedical, science, and technology industries." This quote came from Dr. Dave Norris, Jr., director of the Enterprise Center at Louisiana Tech University.

I haven't read the full article yet, but it seems like it will be an exciting read.

Sorry I haven't been around guys... just got back from a long stay in Japan with no access to a computer. Here's that article Brian mentioned:

http://southcentral.construction.com/featu...5_feature_3.asp

[dimebag1980]

Yes, I live really close to Pilot. I think it would be great to see 157 widened. To get it widened all the way to Hwy 80, they would have to build a new overpass, which will probably never happen. I also believe that they should make on and off ramps to I-20 from 614 (McKinley). If they did this, maybe then they could take out that bridge on 157, reroute the traffic, and build a wider bridge; everyone knows we could use it. I'm sure it sucks trying to turn onto 157 in that morning traffic without the aid of a traffic light. I grew up in Haughton and have seen the traffic increase over the years. In the morning, at lunch and in the afternoon traffic on 157 is nuts. I think that if something was done, we would definitely see development out here. You know that property from behind Haughton High across to 3227 is for sale and is offered at 1.4 million. I think it is around 90 acres.

Yeah I know they'd never swing for a new overpass but damn I wish they would. I thought about that before, don't know why it didn't cross my mind this time.

$1.4 million for 90 acres... that's about $16,000/acre. I had no idea there was that much land there. That's big enough for a subdivision, but don't tell anyone that! Before we get any more subdivisions out there, we need more stores and restaurants to sustain all the new growth they already have right there.

You know the Haughton Police have to hate the traffic since it's so new to that area. I saw one cop sitting at the light in front of the Pilot on Friday... he wanted to turn but couldn't, and I saw his expression and could tell he sighed.

Sorry I haven't been around guys... just got back from a long stay in Japan with no access to a computer. Here's that article Brian mentioned:

http://southcentral.construction.com/featu...5_feature_3.asp

Cool! I didn't realize they had a website and didn't even think to look. I'm slacking.

Hope you had fun in Japan, Stephen...

[jcasey]

Sorry I haven't been around guys... just got back from a long stay in Japan with no access to a computer. Here's that article Brian mentioned:

http://southcentral.construction.com/featu...5_feature_3.asp

That article was pretty rosy! Two parts were funny, but none other that this part about the Convention Center....

Since the project kicked off the same month Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast region, the contractor anticipated problems obtaining labor and material shortages. However, Walton still managed to deliver the hotel on time and, in spite of close proximity to the Convention Center, not interrupt business there.

Did y'all know it was finished on time? I thought it was suppose to have opened in Nov '06.

[dimebag1980]

That article was pretty rosy! Two parts were funny, but none other that this part about the Convention Center....

Did y'all know it was finished on time? I thought it was suppose to have opened in Nov '06.

Hhah! Yeah you're right, that's extremely laughable. Neither the convention center, nor the hotel was completed on time. Come to think about it, neither was Indy Stadium's huge renovation, and I could keep going on and on... lol

[dimebag1980]

Has anyone else noticed the A&W commercials that have suddenly started coming on TV here in the SBC area?

I know OF a guy (I don't know him personally,) and a few months ago I mentioned that this would be a huge market for him as he owns only 2 rural locations now. I told him he could easily start with 2 stores and expand to 4+ within a very short period of time. If it were me, I'd start with south Youree and north Airline. Anyway he seemed receptive but didn't come across as if he was looking to expand his franschise anytime soon.

Anyway, maybe what I said sparked something in him... or maybe someone else is interested, but it certainly seems like they're feeling this market out. The nearest A&W to SBC currently is in Ruston, which is about 45 minutes from my house.

[Metlife]

Two more stores (women's clothing) opened today at the Shoppes at Bellemead.

http://www.vintagerealty.com/contents.php?...s&page=News

Edited May 18, 2007 by Metlife

[jcasey]

Has anyone else noticed the A&W commercials that have suddenly started coming on TV here in the SBC area?

I know OF a guy (I don't know him personally,) and a few months ago I mentioned that this would be a huge market for him as he owns only 2 rural locations now. I told him he could easily start with 2 stores and expand to 4+ within a very short period of time. If it were me, I'd start with south Youree and north Airline. Anyway he seemed receptive but didn't come across as if he was looking to expand his franschise anytime soon.

Anyway, maybe what I said sparked something in him... or maybe someone else is interested, but it certainly seems like they're feeling this market out. The nearest A&W to SBC currently is in Ruston, which is about 45 minutes from my house.

I have also seen these commercials. I used to go to the one in Ruston all the time when I lived over that way. I would love to see one or several here. Their root beer from the tap is awesome, as is their hamburgers.

Wow! Here is a story from the S'port Times saying that Eldorado Casino is thinking about building a second 300 room tower downtown! How cool would this be? They say they need more room. This supports what a lot of people believe about our hotel industry, that we need more rooms here! Maybe ole Keith isn't so crazy!

Eldorado Resort Casino ponders another tower

[fridayinla]

Wow! Here is a story from the S'port Times saying that Eldorado Casino is thinking about building a second 300 room tower downtown! How cool would this be? They say they need more room. This supports what a lot of people believe about our hotel industry, that we need more rooms here! Maybe ole Keith isn't so crazy!

Eldorado Resort Casino ponders another tower

Awesome news! Hmmm... where would they build it? Maybe on one of those atrocious surface lots along Clyde Fant. Exciting news that the casino industry may not be stagnant!

[dimebag1980]

Hmmm that's really strange. About 1:00 am, right before I went to bed, I posted a whole new topic for the proposed additional Eldorado Casino hotel. I knew it went through, because I viewed it afterward. Strange.

Anyway, it's a cool thought... but like Stephen I was also wondering where exactly it would go. Right between their existing hotel and the Sam's Town hotel possibly? If Expo Hall hadn't been turned into a highly successful movie studio, that property would be ideal.

[Metlife]

Downtown shopping center?

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...NGNEWS/70521026

[dimebag1980]

Downtown shopping center?

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...NGNEWS/70521026

Just read that story. It would have to be an urban shopping center... nothing suburban in nature at all. That's the ONLY way it would work in downtown Shreveport. Build it like South Youree or North Airline and it's got disaster written all over it. Those areas are hugely popular for SUBURBAN developments, but would NEVER work downtown. I'd love to see their vision.