Baton Rouge Growth and Development

[yis2003yis]

^Pardon my ignorance on this subject...Has the new University Hospital NBR Clinic broke ground on Airline Hwy. down from the old EKL?? It's supposed to be 42,000sq.ft' two-floors and offer comprehensive preventive health care and early intervention in this new primary care facility, which will emphasize internal medicine and women's health.

Also the new $23million Greater Baton Rouge Surgical Hospital that's now opened off Harding Blvd. at Howell Place. More medical offices are in the works.

My question is do these two places combined in anyway take the place of the old EKL?? Is that still just not enough?

BR General at Mid City is also an option centrally(dividing-line) located between NBR and SBR.

BR has an emerging medical corridor along I-10 (or very near) from the world renowned Pennington Biomedical Research Center(west-side); along with the HUGE OLOL Hosp w/ numerous specialty offices; BR Clinic; Health South; General at Bluebonnet; Vista; NeuroMedical Center at Perkins Rowe; Surgery Specialty Clinic on east side.

I think seeing the GIANT Texas Medical Center with the conglomerate of hospitals in Houston; BR seems to be trying to emulate that to become a regional player and LSU's new teaching hospital wants to be part of that medical corridor. So many Doctors being nearby to collaborate was something else I had heard. Somwhere between OLOL(Essen Park) and Bluebonnet General(Swaggart's prop?)

As long as NBR is not too underserved with the two hospital/clinics mentioned above. What will happen to the old EKL property??

If we are talkin about the same one infront the bingo hall on airline....then thats a No....the sign has been sitting there for a while....but nothing has happened

[dan326]

I'm so disappointed. I can't believe Kornmeyer's is closing then and to be replaced by an office supply center!!

Well, I guess it's better than an empty shell.

Sidney Genius, president of Louisiana Office Supply, said he bought the site of the Kornmeyer

[twstdndmntd]

If we are talkin about the same one infront the bingo hall on airline....then thats a No....the sign has been sitting there for a while....but nothing has happened

The problem with The General-MidCity is the fact it's not a state/university hospital. It is considered a private hospital. I don't see how the University Clinic on the old K-mart site or the clinic in Howell Place can compensate a hospital. Even with Mid-City in the works that is still out the way for some people to reach. I am all in favor of a "medical corridor" but not at the expense of the uninsured NBR residents. I think it's a bad move. I think it's all political on the Lake's end, I think it's one more way for them to try and put the General out of business. Simply put they want the monopoly on healthcare in the city.

[byrde]

The Surgical Hospital in Howell Place can not provide a portion of what EKL does for N. BR. The Clinic at the Old K-Mart on Airline has not started construction.

[richyb83]

What a shame then. I wish there was some way to salvage the EKL.

Wow the General at Bluebonnet just expanded too; can the OLOL really do that??

[dan326]

I guess they'll have to build another tower.

[drew6974]

The Baton Rouge building boom will continue. Looks like about a half a billion dollars worth of go-zone financing approved for BR today. I see the Starmount insurance building on Goodwood is included in there. I didn't know they had applied for go zone funding.

The State Bond Commission approved GO Zone funding for nine Baton Rouge projects after an eight-hour meeting that ended at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. The vote came as a huge relief for Mike Wampold, who received $60 million for the II City Plaza office building. Work started on the downtown office building in late August after Wampold received preliminary approval for the project and had contracts with tenants such as Regions Bank and Phelps Dunbar. "I'm not sure what we would have done if we didn't get those bonds," Wampold says. Other projects to get funding included $250 million for the Perkins Rowe development, $60 million for a Stupp Brothers pipe mill in north Baton Rouge, $45 million for Baton Rouge Coca-Cola's new bottling plant, $35 million for the Celtic Group's film studio near Airline Highway, $20 million for Summa Associates new office building on Essen Lane, $10 million for Southern Ionics' chemical plant on Airline Highway, $7.5 million for improvements at the Price LeBlanc dealership and $4.5 million for a new office building for Starmount Life Insurance on Goodwood Boulevard.

[richyb83]

Yes indeed Drew, this is HUGE! Great news for the Capitol Region! This news was actually posted on Developbit but all these projects combined will transform BR! The 8-story Summa office bldg. will fit nicely with the other taller buildings along the Essen corridor.

II City Plaza was still going forward despite the delays. The Celtic Media Centre movie studio was still moving forward too.

Wonder what the new Starmount Insurance bldg. will look like??

Edited October 26, 2007 by richyb83

[jcasey]

Hello Baton Rouge! I don't know if this has been said, but California Pizza Kitchen is coming to Baton Rouge! I was talking to a manager in Dallas and she told me that they are opening a location there. If you guys don't know about CPK, it is awesome. I wish we were getting one in Shreveport. Congratulations!

[dan326]

Thanks for the info jcasey. I'm sure it's a great place.

[byrde]

Hello Baton Rouge! I don't know if this has been said, but California Pizza Kitchen is coming to Baton Rouge! I was talking to a manager in Dallas and she told me that they are opening a location there. If you guys don't know about CPK, it is awesome. I wish we were getting one in Shreveport. Congratulations!

I know all about CPK. I eat there whenever I'm in a city with one. It will be located in Perkins Rowe. We have info on it in the Baton Rouge Restaurants thread.

[twstdndmntd]

What a shame then. I wish there was some way to salvage the EKL.

Wow the General at Bluebonnet just expanded too; can the OLOL really do that??

I can tell you I think the General should partner with LSU on the new University hospital instead of letting the Lake do it. LOL I believe they could easily "retrofit" the Mid-City campus to be able to handle the influx of people. But again the problem with that is it is still out of reach for some. I am an advocate of more clinics, bringing healthcare to the people and not the other way around.

[richyb83]

Keeping an eye on this, maybe to know in roughly a month....a shortage of downtown office space could make this a good location....maybe keep one 11-story apt. tower instead of two; and then make a nice office tower, maybe 8 to 11 stories??

*Prince Murat redevelopment could get office component*

Office buildings could be built on the site of the former Prince Murat Inn on Nicholson Drive, says Karl Landreneau, the director of commercial sales and leasing for NAI/Latter & Blum. River House Partners had planned to build two 11-story apartment towers and two 20,000-square-foot retail buildings as part of a development called 1480 Nicholson. "We're back in the planning stages," Landreneau says. "The demand for office space in that area is really taking off, so we're running numbers to see what we can do." There's a shortage of office space in downtown Baton Rouge, and the location is close enough to te area to make it appealing to law firms and other professionals, especially if they can buy the space. A decision is expected within the next 3-4 weeks, Landreneau says. --Timothy Boone

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/rea...-weekly/latest/

[BRPJ]

Hello Baton Rouge! I don't know if this has been said, but California Pizza Kitchen is coming to Baton Rouge! I was talking to a manager in Dallas and she told me that they are opening a location there. If you guys don't know about CPK, it is awesome. I wish we were getting one in Shreveport. Congratulations!

OOH! that is awesome! BR is coming up for real! I love the Barbque pizza

[Rardy]

Hello Baton Rouge! I don't know if this has been said, but California Pizza Kitchen is coming to Baton Rouge! I was talking to a manager in Dallas and she told me that they are opening a location there. If you guys don't know about CPK, it is awesome. I wish we were getting one in Shreveport. Congratulations!

I'm oh so jealous. The best I can do is CPK frozen pizzas from Target!

[dan326]

Amphitheater

What it is: A 3,500-seat amphitheater in Capitol Park

Cost: $2 million

Architects: GD Architecture, LLC and Noland & Wong an Architectural Corporation, Joint Venture

Landscape architect: Joey Furr

Completion date: Mid-2008

[richyb83]

A new amphitheatre is a great idea! I made a thread for this; but it's been inactive for some time. This is a great way to finish off the Capitol Park Complex; the nicest in the U.S. said by many. Now each end of Lafayette Street will have a park.

[richyb83]

Not all these are mentioned, but I would have to say Perkins Road is growing as fast as any corridor from City Park, The Garden District, Perkins Road Overpass; Acadian Village, Southdowns shopping center; Rouzan's 120-acre TND, all the way down into SE BR! with Pennington Bio-medical Research Center expansion; Perkins Palms; X-treme Sports Park; BR Clinic expansion; Perkins Rowe, and Willow Grove TND!

Making an impact; Jarreau carves niche among BR developers

The distinction is important to Jarreau because of the attention garnered by one project in particular: the transformation of the old Perkins Road Hardware store into

[richyb83]

Anybody know what this might be?? Sounds large enough; This was on the Oct.17th City Planning metting agenda.....

N of Gracie Street @ 19th Street South of I-110; 900 Block of No.19th.

*Amend from Public Semi-Public to High Density Residential...& to re-zone Limited Residential to A5(High-Rise Apartment District)Section 71, etc.

Is this something that may reach 5 or 6 floors they call a "high-rise"??

[dan326]

"Kress building might include movie theater

A 75-seat movie theater that would play first-run movies and documentaries could be part of the Kress at Third & Main building. John Schneider, president of Cyntreniks of Baton Rouge, which is redeveloping the historic building, told the Downtown Development District Commission this morning that he's looking at the financial viability and feasibility of putting a theater in the building.

Schneider says he wants to include a place in the building to screen documentaries about the lunch counter sit-ins that happened in the old Kress Department store and the redevelopment of the site. "We could also use this space to show first-run movies that might not come to Baton Rouge," Schneider says. "And people who are shooting movies in the area could screen dailies in the theater." The Kress building, which will include office and residential space, is scheduled to open in September.

Also at the meeting, Executive Director Davis Rhorer says plans are in the works to hire a consultant to draw up rules and regulations for the proposed Third Street arts and entertainment district. The consultant would get $65,000 for the job, with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Metro Council, Baton Rouge Convention & Visitors bureau, Downtown Business Association and DDD picking up the tab. Rhorer says the consultant would establish such things as sales tax incentives to get businesses to move downtown and design guidelines for lighting and signs. The Metro Council is scheduled to vote on paying its share of the fees at its December meeting. --Timothy Boone"

:w00t:

[richyb83]

Nice mixed-use project! Great news! Badly needed! The 75-seat Theatre will be a great anchor further down Third Street opposite Shaw Center! That side of Third Street should have a nice vibe as it keeps filing up with these different developments. That will make roughly six blocks from the Shaw Arts block (One Eleven/Stroube's/Onyxx Bldg.) down to the Kress, YMCA, and new amphitheatre at Capitol Park!

As the residential lofts continue; it should give more of the 24/7 vibe. A grocery store at the Brownstones @Laurel and Fifth will be another key compnet for downtown living!

Edited November 13, 2007 by richyb83

[buckett5425]

I've got some great news!

So AIAS held a "firm crawl" where the school of arch could go around and have a meet and great with a lot of the area firms and get to know what they are all about. So i was able to get the down low on some local projects.

The Brownstones are on schedule, and in a best case senario will start construction in six months. They will also feature and interior courtyard and a lot of green space behind the deveolpment.

WHL has a new rendering for riverplace. It looks amazing and is really eye catching and they took a competly different direction from earlier designs. I counted the floors and it looks to be about 27 stories tall, and still sits on a parking garage, so im guessing it will be 30 stories? But they couldnt give me any info on when construction would start.

Also, i dont remember what firm is was, either chevernert or WHL, said they are working on another downtown high rise condo project, and are about ready to reveal the plans to the public, he didnt give me any other details, If i had to guess, i would say the old advocate block?

[richyb83]

Hey buckett, I replied in the RiverPlace thread on your news before I saw this! I was tired late last night and somehow missed all of this. Thanks for the head's-up on this GOOD news!!!! I would like to be able to hang-out with that crew "firm crawl" to see all the latest developments. Great to see downtown truly coming alive! It's been a long time coming.

You are right, the latest plan was still 30-stories with 4 levels of parking with 26 stories.

Edited November 15, 2007 by richyb83

[richyb83]

This has been mentioned several times in the past and probably deserves it's own thread. This is BIG for BR and the entire state!

Pennington Biomedical Research Center officials say they anticipate an early spring groundbreaking for a new clinical research building

[twstdndmntd]

GO PENNINGTON!!!!