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New upscale commercial project


Gauge

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Thanks for posting this Gauge :thumbsup:

The big-timer is at it again huh?? My best guess is it will be his proposed office building in United Plaza? Though I hadn't heard anything in awhile. It was described as a "companion" building to Shaw Plaza on the website. There is a tract of land between the La.Archives bldg. and United Plaza on Essen. That's my guess where it will go?

I am looking forward the Hotel he has planned for the concrete shell(Saigon Hilton) on Bluebonnet. It's going to be really nice! 4-star..WOW!!! What will all that include?? :shades: It's smart to keep the the height of the structure for the hotel. So it remains highly visibile for drivers from I-10 being about 1/2 mile awy.

The dynamics are about to really change downtown! :yahoo: This is all very exciting for sure!!!

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This is great. I don;t know what it is, but I thikn it might be something new. I guess we'll see tomorrow. :)

I'm starting to wonder what hotel it will be again. While BR Business Report had us to assume it was a Renaissance hotel, why would Wampold tell them and then not tell anyone else? But then again where would the Renaissance go. While probably not it could go in the Mall of Louisiana expansion or the Perkins Rowe since they're revised siteplan shows a second hotel.

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My guess is it will be the new project on Essen at United Plaza. The last thing we need on Essen is another office tower. I guess, if he is going to build it, I hope it has a food court. It would be nice to have place to go for lunch that I could walk to.

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"Mike Wampold announced Tuesday morning that a Marriott Renaissance hotel, the largest in Baton Rouge, will occupy the site of the unfinished Swaggart Ministry dorms he owns on Bluebonnet. Work will start on the 348-room resort in August-September, and it should be completed in a year. The $64 million hotel will include a restaurant operated by Dickie Brennan, along with a 20,000-square-foot conference center and a state-of-the-art fitness center. GO Zone financing is being used to build the hotel. According to previous filings with the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority, the hotel is expected to hire 240 people. Wampold bought the property in late 2004 for $2.1 million. Work had stopped on the dorm in 1989, when allegations of sex scandals caused funding for Swaggart's ministry to dry up."

:w00t::w00t::w00t:

69184836-M.jpgimage_.jpg

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Thanks alot Dan :thumbsup: for posting the before/after(rendering above) An eye-sore two decades NO MORE!!! And BR's 2nd largest ball room too! The hotel a perfect fit for the exploding Bluebonnet corridor!

Hopefully soon enough the RiverCenter will get a similar hotel??

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"Mike Wampold announced Tuesday morning that a Marriott Renaissance hotel, the largest in Baton Rouge, will occupy the site of the unfinished Swaggart Ministry dorms he owns on Bluebonnet. Work will start on the 348-room resort in August-September, and it should be completed in a year. The $64 million hotel will include a restaurant operated by Dickie Brennan, along with a 20,000-square-foot conference center and a state-of-the-art fitness center. GO Zone financing is being used to build the hotel. According to previous filings with the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority, the hotel is expected to hire 240 people. Wampold bought the property in late 2004 for $2.1 million. Work had stopped on the dorm in 1989, when allegations of sex scandals caused funding for Swaggart's ministry to dry up."

:w00t::w00t::w00t:

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No, that was before my time but my mom told me the story. Jimmy Swaggart was a powerful preist who wanted to locate his world headquarters on Bluebonnet. He was doing very well until he got caught creaping around with a hooker. Then all his followers ran away. My mom said he was on tv, crying and saying"I have sinned. :cry: " :lol:
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I second that. If he would have continued at that pace, Baton Rouge would only be associated with Swaggart on the national level. When people thought of Baton Rouge, they would think Swaggart. This would probably be a pretty big hinderance to all of the current development.

So, what is the general opinion of the Marriott Renaissance? Is this different from a regular Marriott? Is this a nice hotel worthy of the specualted four star rating?

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I did a little web searching a few months ago and I would say that this is probably nicer than a regualer Marriott. They don't seem to be overflowing with them,even in places like Florida(Regular Marrriott : 27, Renaissance : 9) and California(Regular Marrriott : 41, Renaissance : 8).

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The "old" Renaissance brand was actually part of the Ramada chain. After being sold to a group from Hong Kong, it later landed in Marriott's hands. They did nothing much with the brand for years until they decided to reinvigorate the brand a few years ago. These days, the Renaissance moniker is being brought out for properties which Marriott wants to set apart from their usual product. There is usually more attention to design and a slght "boutique" slant to the properties. As for the 4 star designation, this is a loose term, unless it is used in reference to the Mobil Travel Guide ratings- arguably the industry standard. Mobil only has ratings of up to 5 stars, so a 4 star rating is usually quite an achievement. As Byrde noted, the ratings take service into account, so the physical amenities will only go so far. On the other hand, the lack of certain attributes will clearly knock most hotels out of the running for these awards. In a word- no easy task even for a hotel with outrageous amenities. The plans for the hotel look great, so I think a Mobil 4 star designation could be in their future.

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  • 4 months later...

GLAD THIS IS STILL HAPPENING!

^_^ This has been the case for all of the "vertical" projects planned in Baton Rouge(and other parts of the country). From RiverPlace and Two City Plaza the cost skyrocketed since Katrina & Rita. Going vertical in the Gulf South is not as easy right now; I'm sure Trump Tower in NOLA could be in for $ticker $hock; reason for the hold-up?? The prices are $jacked up!

*Cost rises for 4-star hotel; Conversion of Swaggart dorm still set to begin in

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  • 4 months later...

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