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Old Commerce Building


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What's not to get?  It's a great corner location with a parking lot.   

I don't think 3rd St is the ideal street for a full service grocer. I don't like relying on that parking lot for what will be the only grocer in downtown. That lot would be much better for a building and not a parking lot. It will only make it harder once that time comes. As of now, Mathernes will need parking but in the future we will have more downtown residents that will diminish the need for Mid-City and OSBR residents.

 

This place will probably close at 6pm. Downtown is a ghost town at 6:30.

As much as the idea is silly of a grocer downtown it's actually a very good spot. Not much parking though but there's SOME. Now how are they going to stop the bums from hanging out?

Have you spent a night downtown in the last few months?

What bums?

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I don't think 3rd St is the ideal street for a full service grocer. I don't like relying on that parking lot for what will be the only grocer in downtown. That lot would be much better for a building and not a parking lot. It will only make it harder once that time comes. As of now, Mather'ses will need parking but in the future we will have more downtown residents that will diminish the need for Mid-City and OSBR residents.

 

 

Check out the link I sent.  They are building it out towards Main (looks like it fronts on the 3rd/Main corner) with a rooftop pool above.  

 

I think the parking spaces are coming from the lot behind the Cap one building.     

Now how are they going to stop the bums from hanging out?

 

 

The same way Calandro's filters out their customers?

Edited by cajun
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*Taken last week * Construction finally ramping up at the mixed-use Commerce Bldg on Third Street at Laurel Street...Magpie Cafe will go on street level(others?) along with 92 residential-units

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From Fourth Street...where a new roof-top pool is taking shape above the 8th floor

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The pool was hoisted up on the roof top back in August...thought i posted that here?(Plan BR thread?)

http://www.wbrz.com/news/rooftop-pool-hoisted-onto-downtown-building/

http://thecommercebldg.com/

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A MESSAGE FROM THE DDD
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Now Pre-leasing
 
the commerce bldg., 333 laurel st.

Join the Commerce Bldg. for an open house on Thursday, February 11th from 12-1PM.

Pre-leasing has begun on the 93 residential apartments at the corner of Laurel and Third Streets. The Commerce Bldg. will feature a rooftop pool and restaurant, first floor retail (Gaudet Bros. Salon & Magpie Cafe') and on-site, interior parking. Visit the website for rates, availability, floor plans, and photos.

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img-spacer.gif Commerce BLDG >> img-spacer.gif
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On 2/20/2016 at 11:37 PM, richyb83 said:

Taken a couple weeks ago...Slate-looking color has replaced the black paint

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Looks significantly better.   Glad this building is getting a new lease on life.  

 

I really wish the vacant parking lot across the street develops soon.

Edited by cajun
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  • 7 months later...
 
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A MESSAGE FROM THE DDD
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Downtown Hip!
DDD welcomes Magpie cafe

The Downtown Development District is very excited to welcome Magpie Cafe' (corner of Third & Laurel) to Downtown Baton Rouge! Magpie Cafe' is a modern cafe' specializing in high quality coffee and offering a house made menu featuring fresh, local, and tasty ingredients. Its hip and bright decor is sure to pull you in as you walk by their new Third Street location!

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img-spacer.gif Magpie Cafe' >> img-spacer.gif
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img-spacer.gif reservations >> img-spacer.gif
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The New Residential Hot Spot in Baton Rouge : Living Downtown

https://www.businessreport.com/realestate/baton-rouge-downtown-living

Ask almost any resident, and they’ll say they love where they live—which explains the growing supply and demand for residential space. Apartment units in the Central Business District have multiplied six-fold since 2015, and occupancy rates hover above 90%, while new developments seem to go up overnight.

Urban, “big-city” living is within reach right here in Baton Rouge—pretty revolutionary for a city that loves its sprawling suburbs. Which, in part, explains why there were more than a few doubters when downtown revitalization began more than 20 years ago. One former mayoral candidate, during the 2000 campaign, quipped that spending money on downtown was “like putting lipstick on a pig.”

There were other concerns: Could downtown actually be safe and livable? How do people find all they need among the high rises and city streets?

Easy. They walk—to their workplaces, gyms, banks, hair and nail salons, and Prescriptions to Geaux pharmacy—all of which can be found downtown. Commerce has come back in a big way to the revitalized area. A game changer was the 2015 opening of Matherne’s Market, the first full-service supermarket downtown in 50 years. There are also nearby schools, churches, a farmers market, green spaces and bike paths.

Today more than 9,000 residents live downtown, according to the DDD, an area that expands beyond the CBD to include Spanish Town, Beauregard Town and Downtown East. The population grew by 5% in 2016 alone, driven by a wave of new apartments, such as 525 Lafayette, 440 on Third and the Commerce Building. In the CBD, upscale apartments jumped from 53 units in 2014 to 348 in 2017—a nearly 600% increase over three years. The largest complex yet—the Lofts @ 6C—will add another 142 units when it opens next year.

Since the boom began, people have flocked to the new apartments. Today, few units are available. When BRAC polled upscale complexes in late August, the average vacancy rate was only 6%, which speaks to the success of the area’s residential rebirth.

But downtown is not without its challenges. Despite a number of high-end apartments, the CBD lacks affordable options. The average rent per square foot is $1.84, compared to Baton Rouge’s average $1.08-per-square-foot rent. At least one complex—438 Main Street—has both market rate and subsidized units. Helena Cunningham, CEO of National Housing Consultant Services, developed the 22-unit complex in 2013, which has fared well, but she says more is needed

 

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Downtown Commerce Building sold to investors for $24.7 million

  • https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_3dadc7e2-f0c2-11ec-a2a0-9b210e2fbd19.html
  • The Commerce Building, a mixed use property in downtown Baton Rouge, has been sold to the family of late auto dealer Price LeBlanc for nearly $24.7 million.

    Commerce on Laurel LLC bought the property at 333 Laurel St. in a sale that was filed last week with the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court’s Office. The seller was Commerce Owner LLC, which was set up by by T.J. Iarocci of New Orleans-based Key Real Estate.

    Key Real Estate redeveloped the Commerce Building into a 93-unit apartment complex that also features The Vintage BR, a coffee shop/wine bar and a Salad Station restaurant.

  • Plans are to continue operating the Commerce Building as is,

    But one change could involve vacant space on the rooftop of the building. When the Commerce Building opened in spring 2016, plans were to put a restaurant on the top. But that space has remained vacant for the past 6 years.

    It’s “very much up in the air” if the space will continue to be marketed for a restaurant or turned into additional apartment units, LeBlanc said.

    The Commerce Building, which opened in 1950, once housed a McCrory’s department store and offices. The department store closed in the mid-1990s and local developer Bob Dean bought the building in 1999.

    While Dean talked for years about redeveloping the property as an entertainment venue, nothing was done until Iarocci bought the building in 2012 for $1.3 million.

    According to the Commerce Building website, there are 13 apartments available for lease.

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Edited by richyb83
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