Baton Rouge Growth and Development

[dan326]

^Just a stock image.

Hollywood Casino’s on land move includes 38,000-square-foot expansion

Hollywood Casino of Baton Rouge’s plan to move the gaming facility on land includes a 38,000-square-foot addition, which will expand the casino’s footprint on River Road to more than 100,000 square feet. 

The expansion will add an entertainment venue with 250 seats and a mezzanine overlooking the Mississippi River as well as a sports bar. The buffets currently on the second level of the casino will be converted into meeting rooms and event space.

With the additional offerings, the casino will have two entrances—one that brings you directly into the gaming floor and another for non-gaming guests. 

[dan326]

Certainly a new concept: 

An aquarium is coming to the Mall of Louisiana in spring 2021; here's what animals it will have

 

Blue Zoo, which operates aquariums in shopping malls across the U.S., will open a location in the Mall of Louisiana in the spring.

The aquarium will take up a 16,000-square-foot space on the first floor of the mall, near Dillard’s, that had been occupied by Hollister Co., Gameware and Nawlins Sports, said Gene Satern, senior general manager for the shopping center. Blue Zoo will open in April or May, he said.

The aquarium is set up for children and adults to touch and feed stingrays, birds and lizards and see aquatic creatures such as sharks, clownfish, seahorses, jellyfish, octopus and starfish. 

[richyb83]

That's an interesting development for sure Dan326

New 100-acre housing project at Woman's Hospital under construction; commercial front unknown

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_8d9f5206-07db-11eb-9ed2-db018afd93c8.html

Edited November 10, 2020 by richyb83

[dan326]

Nice, I saw they had built the school but didn't know the residential development was coming along so fast.

[richyb83]

Hollywood Casino to change name, build Shaq restaurant when it moves on land; see renderings

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_d9f69c52-3bdb-11eb-96b7-4b3fe6fa7ee5.html

[dan326]

^ Yeah, will see ...

Edited December 14, 2020 by dan326

[greg225]

Plans filed for potential Amazon distribution center at Cortana Mall                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Plans filed for potential Amazon distribution center at Cortana Mall | Business | theadvocate.com

[dan326]

^Hope so. Also hopefully the mayor will help facilitate the deal.

Edited January 11, 2021 by dan326

[cajun]

At nearly 3 million square feet, Cortana is going to be one of the largest Amazon distribution centers in the world and nearly 3 times the size of the mall it will replace (and taller with 5 levels of warehouse space).    That is a MASSIVE building, and likely one of the largest in Louisiana.  

This is a huge deal for Louisiana and Baton Rouge.     There's about 1250 parking spaces proposed, so that's the ballpark of what Amazon thinks will be staffing the facility at any given time.  

[dan326]

19 hours ago, cajun said:

At nearly 3 million square feet, Cortana is going to be one of the largest Amazon distribution centers in the world and nearly 3 times the size of the mall it will replace (and taller with 5 levels of warehouse space).    That is a MASSIVE building, and likely one of the largest in Louisiana.  

This is a huge deal for Louisiana and Baton Rouge.     There's about 1250 parking spaces proposed, so that's the ballpark of what Amazon thinks will be staffing the facility at any given time.  

Yup, I hope it actually gets built. I think we've all seen to many proposals that didn't go through to be completely confident.

[cajun]

On 1/12/2021 at 12:44 PM, dan326 said:

Yup, I hope it actually gets built. I think we've all seen to many proposals that didn't go through to be completely confident.

I understand. 

I would say that the Amazon facility at Cortana has a much better than average chance of getting built.  

[dan326]

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_0cc2605a-5a70-11eb-80bb-6faabc029c9f.html

Louisiana Farm Bureau gets permit for new offices

Louisiana Farm Bureau has obtained a building permit for its $21 million office that will be built off Corporate Boulevard.

The building at 7000 Commerce Circle will be three stories and have 84,355-square feet of space. It is set to open by mid-2022, just in time for Farm Bureau’s 100th anniversary.

Edited January 20, 2021 by dan326

[cajun]

On 1/20/2021 at 9:47 AM, dan326 said:

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_0cc2605a-5a70-11eb-80bb-6faabc029c9f.html

Louisiana Farm Bureau gets permit for new offices

Louisiana Farm Bureau has obtained a building permit for its $21 million office that will be built off Corporate Boulevard.

The building at 7000 Commerce Circle will be three stories and have 84,355-square feet of space. It is set to open by mid-2022, just in time for Farm Bureau’s 100th anniversary.

 

Looks cool! 

But what will happen to their old office building?  It's in a pretty good spot.    It actually looks decent for its age.  Would be a cool dig for Epic Piping's new HQ if they weren't already in that area.

I'd really like to see that old Lincoln dealer on I-12 redeveloped into something.  

Edited January 23, 2021 by cajun

[dan326]

Ikr, it is pretty cool. It's got a nice more century modern? look going on. But yeah the old building is bad either.

[richyb83]

Thanks Dan! Had been waiting to see what the rendering would look like!  Like the style for sure! 

Glad to see that large swath of open land will be now have something quality built on it along the Corporate Blvd. corridor!    Had been disappointed that the Original plan w  "Twin 5 story office buildings" never  came to fruition.

Just glad to see it will be something more modern; other than those faux-pas  Acadian -style run of the mill garden offices that seem to be everywhere

Always thought the glass/stone Republic Finance bldg. in the back of Commerce Circle looked cool too

Edited January 23, 2021 by richyb83

[dan326]

Permit granted for new shopping center near Towne Center

Kristopher Klar, who owns Stone and Cloth nearby on Lobdell Avenue, received the permit Monday, which estimates the center will cost $2.15 million to build. The 21,570-square-foot center will include two, two-story buildings—one more than 18,000 square feet with eight units, while the other will have one unit comprising nearly 3,000 square feet. 

 

https://www.businessreport.com/realestate/permit-granted-for-new-shopping-center-by-towne-center

[cajun]

On 1/22/2021 at 7:28 PM, cajun said:

 

 

I'd really like to see that old Lincoln dealer on I-12 redeveloped into something.  

Weird that I said this.   I think that a business bought the old Lincoln dealer on I-12/Airline last week.    Hopefully it's redeveloped into something.     Certainly a lot of space there.   

Edited February 8, 2021 by cajun

[dan326]

^Judging by everything else that's over there, probably offices?

[cajun]

On 2/9/2021 at 8:19 AM, dan326 said:

^Judging by everything else that's over there, probably offices?

Maybe.   

I read that Carvana is expanding into Baton Rouge.   That might be their site, although I also read that they aren't going to have a physical location.    

I can also see a hotel or an office there as you pointed out too.   

Edited February 10, 2021 by cajun

[richyb83]

On 2/10/2021 at 8:44 AM, cajun said:

Maybe.   

I read that Carvana is expanding into Baton Rouge.   That might be their site, although I also read that they aren't going to have a physical location.    

I can also see a hotel or an office there as you pointed out too.   

Those Carvana  glass towers look cool

Nice to see this vacant car dealership dealer being put to a good re-use down on Florida Blvd. East near Flannery Road.

EBR environmental services department planning operations facility

https://www.businessreport.com/realestate/ebr-environmental-services-department-planning-operations-facility

[dan326]

On 2/18/2021 at 1:00 AM, richyb83 said:

Those Carvana  glass towers look cool

Nice to see this vacant car dealership dealer being put to a good re-use down on Florida Blvd. East near Flannery Road.

EBR environmental services department planning operations facility

https://www.businessreport.com/realestate/ebr-environmental-services-department-planning-operations-facility

 

Cool, someone I know  said they were going to be moving into that building.

[richyb83]

That's cool Dan! Glad to hear that

New Pelican Credit Union HQ's on O'Neal Lane nearly a mile south of I-12

.......with a smaller footprint it's easy to envision a taller  5 - 6 story (annex building not shown behind)

[richyb83]

I always liked the size of the 6 story office buildings built in the 80's & 90's in the South Sherwood Forest Blvd. corridor; the 4 -story bldg. on American Way is a good size too....are those days over?

The Chase Towers  getting a new name??  BR's 3rd  & 4th Tallest buildings in the heart of the CBD

Chase will have new retail branch in I River Mark Centre

https://www.businessreport.com/realestate/chase-will-have-new-retail-branch-in-i-river-mark-centre

With its long-term lease up later this year, Chase Bank is downsizing its footprint in the former Chase South Tower downtown, which was recently rebranded I River Mark Centre.

But Chase will continue to lease one floor of the high-rise for its business banking department, says the building’s owner Mike Wampold, who is in the process of renovating the building into a mixed-use tower.

Chase will also keep a retail presence in the building in a new ground-floor branch that Wampold will build for the bank on the plaza.

The changes come as the 11 upper  floors previously occupied by another former, long-term tenant—Albemarle—are being demolished in preparation for their conversion into high-end residential units. Albemarle, which relocated its corporate headquarters to North Carolina several years ago, kept a presence in the building until late last year.

Wampold also has begun renovating five of the lower floors that will remain as office space. So far, he’s in talks with several potential tenants, though no deals have been finalized.

While the pandemic has disrupted the office market in the short term and potentially changed it forever by making employers realize their employees can successfully and efficiently work from home, Wampold believes there will still be demand for class A office space in downtown buildings.

“It’s true there’s not a whole lot of people looking for office space right now,” he says. “But there’s no new space coming online, nobody building new offices. There hasn’t been anything new in a few years. … I think downtown will always be the central business district. Big law firms will want to be there. Banks will want to be there.”

Wampold’s adjacent II River Mark Centre, formerly the Chase North Tower, is more than 70% occupied, and potential tenants continue to show interest in the space, he says.  

Wampold is investing some $75 million in renovating the building, not including the undisclosed price he paid for the building in 2018. He has so far been denied federal historic building tax credits, which would help offset 20% of the renovation cost, though he did secure state building credits, also worth 20%.

He expects to complete construction in 2022. 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by richyb83

[richyb83]

Woman’s Hospital, H&E, Materra seek annexation into Baton Rouge

Woman’s Hospital, H&E Equipment Services and Materra Development have filed a petition with the city-parish seeking annexation for their respective properties into the city of Baton Rouge.

The three properties, totaling more than 240 acres on both sides of Airline Highway in unincorporated southeast East Baton Rouge Parish, are located within the footprint of the prospective city of St. George.

The joint petition, filed earlier today with the Metro Council by attorney Charles Landry, seeks annexation for:

 

• Woman’s Hospital’s 225-acre campus at the corner of Airline and Stumberg Lane;

• H&E’s corporate headquarters, which includes a 43,000-square-foot office building on 16 acres directly across Airline Highway from the hospital;

• Materra, a 100-acre mixed-use community under development on the hospital campus by developer and H&E corporate Chair John Engquist.

https://www.businessreport.com/politics/womans-hospital-he-materra-seek-annexation-into-baton-rouge

[cajun]

21 hours ago, richyb83 said:

Woman’s Hospital, H&E, Materra seek annexation into Baton Rouge

Woman’s Hospital, H&E Equipment Services and Materra Development have filed a petition with the city-parish seeking annexation for their respective properties into the city of Baton Rouge.

The three properties, totaling more than 240 acres on both sides of Airline Highway in unincorporated southeast East Baton Rouge Parish, are located within the footprint of the prospective city of St. George.

The joint petition, filed earlier today with the Metro Council by attorney Charles Landry, seeks annexation for:

 

• Woman’s Hospital’s 225-acre campus at the corner of Airline and Stumberg Lane;

• H&E’s corporate headquarters, which includes a 43,000-square-foot office building on 16 acres directly across Airline Highway from the hospital;

• Materra, a 100-acre mixed-use community under development on the hospital campus by developer and H&E corporate Chair John Engquist.

https://www.businessreport.com/politics/womans-hospital-he-materra-seek-annexation-into-baton-rouge

This is symbolic in nature.  If they were serious about it, they'd have pushed for it last year.     A judge already ruled that the boundaries of St. George won't/can't change until incorporation, which has been delayed due to the Pandemic.     Baton Rouge is free to annex other unincorporated areas though.   

Also quoted in the article: 

“Any annexations are null and void at this point because when the incorporation is certified, it will be retroactive and so any annexations that are filed now will be null and void,” he says.

Edited March 10, 2021 by cajun