The IBM Block

[richyb83]

Construction continuing at the IBM Block today

 

View from River Road...glass going up at the 8-story office building

And here is the 11-story residential tower turning onto Main Street

[caballero]

Amazed by how much progress I see in downtown BR. 3rd Street is obvious with construction big and small. I was even more impressed with everything I see on Main Street.  I can easily see the stretch between 6th and 9th (ending at the creative block) being another entertainment / hip housing area in a few years.

 

Anyway thought I would add a panoramic photo I created today.  Sorry, I can't figure out how to embed the image...May try to get back out there and do the same shot each month until construction is done?

 

https://flic.kr/p/rcuuZ7

Edited February 17, 2015 by caballero

[caballero]

Here is another of just the IBM building.  Again pardon the link...

 

https://flic.kr/p/qXkM7H

[dan326]

^Welcome and neat pics! What brought you to Baton Rouge?

[richyb83]

Welcome to the BR Forum caballero

 

Cool panorama's! The IBM Office Building coming along quickly...really like the look with all of the glass! Even though it is 8-stories it looks nearly as tall as the 11-story residential tower.  It will be nice to see when hopefully those giant surface parking lots are filled up with new projects!

 

Yes indeed! Stoked to see how far Downtown BR has come since the late 90's!

[caballero]

Thanks! Oddly, I ran across this site a year or so ago when I was looking for info about Denver or some other city.  This is by far one of the most frequently updated forums on Urban Planet. Lots of interesting topics and discussion and I hope to maybe add to that when I can.

 

I was born and raised in BR. Moved away for about 12 years then moved back a few years ago for work.  I really have not spent that much time in downtown since moving back, but it's like night and day. I remember when my friends and I used to skateboard downtown (back in the early 90's), if you saw a person walking around at night that was an odd sight. There were only one or two bars on 3rd street and that was it.  

Edited February 18, 2015 by caballero

[dan326]

^Neat.

Yeah, like someone had once said,I do think Baton Rouge had some of the most... enthusiastic supporters.

Yup, I look forward to setting the effects IBM has on downtown.

[Antrell Williams]

Thanks! Oddly, I ran across this site a year or so ago when I was looking for info about Denver or some other city.  This is by far one of the most frequently updated forums on Urban Planet. Lots of interesting topics and discussion and I hope to maybe add to that when I can.

 

I was born and raised in BR. Moved away for about 12 years then moved back a few years ago for work.  I really have not spent that much time in downtown since moving back, but it's like night and day. I remember when my friends and I used to skateboard downtown (back in the early 90's), if you saw a person walking around at night that was an odd sight. There were only one or two bars on 3rd street and that was it.  

 

This is a pretty active forum, especially for a city this size!

 

I used to skate downtown too and the only people out were the homeless. We didn't have to look for parking, now it's getting to be a nightmare! Still hard to grasp. Welcome!

 

[richyb83]

^ That's cool you came back after 12 years....a lot has happened downtown in that time! A place like BR...An overgrown country town trying to become a city...is starving for legit urban development...some of the reason why the forum here on UP is so active.

 

Then you have other larger city forums like New Orleans...that are virtually dead. But they have already "been there & done that" when it comes to urbanization. However new developments are still happening there...

 

We used to have a Skyline Battle thread(one of my favorites) between major cities...& Denver was hard to beat. Very impressive & dense + great backdrop of the Rockies!  Really like what they are doing to NW of Downtown near Coors Field & Cherry Creek area called "Lo Do"....the Civic Center is also impressive along w the Denver Art Museum is out the box; like the Shaw Center here..where people tend to have a "love/hate" relationship with the design. Also what they did to the old Stapleton Airport too...

Edited February 19, 2015 by richyb83

[caballero]

^ That's cool you came back after 12 years....a lot has happened downtown in that time! A place like BR...An overgrown country town trying to become a city...is starving for legit urban development...some of the reason why the forum here on UP is so active.

 

Then you have other larger city forums like New Orleans...that are virtually dead. But they have already "been there & done that" when it comes to urbanization. However new developments are still happening there...

 

We used to have a Skyline Battle thread(one of my favorites) between major cities...& Denver was hard to beat. Very impressive & dense + great backdrop of the Rockies!  Really like what they are doing to NW of Downtown near Coors Field & Cherry Creek area called "Lo Do"....the Civic Center is also impressive along w the Denver Art Museum is out the box; like the Shaw Center here..where people tend to have a "love/hate" relationship with the design. Also what they did to the old Stapleton Airport too...

 

Yep, never thought I would end up back here. I like BR, but one of the places I've research a good bit is Denver.  It really does have far greater amenities than cities double its size (ie, every major professional sport including MLS).  It's funny to hear people in Denver complain about their public school, infrastructure, crime issues...they really have no idea how good they have it.

[greg225]

Five new luxury townhomes being built on Baton Rouge downtown riverfront

Construction is expected to begin in April on five downtown riverfront, luxury townhomes that are being built on Main and Lafayette streets in collaboration with the new IBM Services Center development.

 

The Metro Council approved a necessary zoning change on Wednesday, greenlighting a project tentatively expected to be complete in about a year.

The townhomes have previously been described as “very, very high-end,” by Charles Landry, an attorney representing the developer, John Enquist.

The prices for the units have not been determined yet. But the expected construction budget is being estimated at between $8 million and $9 million.

The five townhouses sit on a quarter-acre lot. Four will be four stories in height, and one will be three stories with a 1,010- square-foot retail component.

Enquist will own and live in one of the townhomes as his primary residence, according to a report detailing the project. He bought the land from the Wilber Marvin Foundation, which owns the IBM block, to develop the property.

Each townhome will range in size from 3,500 to 5,000 square feet.

The IBM Services Center is set to open April 15.

Also being constructed along the same block is 525 Lafayette, a high-rise with 95 units that is expected to be complete this fall.    The Advocate http://theadvocate.com/news/11637067-123/five-new-luxury-townhomes-being

[dan326]

Have we heard of these before? I kinda feel like a remember the condos but what is 525 Lafayette?

[richyb83]

^ Yes...525 Lafayette is the residential condo tower at the IBM Block...posted back on Sept 26th 2013

 

http://525lafayette.com/

 

 

And I posted(#150) a *rendering* of the luxury townhomes to go on the side of it.  ..did not realize there would be such a large living area!

 

Have we heard of these before? I kinda feel like a remember the condos but what is 525 Lafayette?

[dan326]

OK thanks. I was confused by the wording, I guess they are technically along the same block but since they're attached I'd think that supersedes "along the same block".

[richyb83]

Progress at the IBM Block on a cloudy day today...been nearly 3 months since taking updated pic

 

Looking south on Lafayette Street

 

From River Road...looking east on North Street

 

Looking north...the residential building...7 floors of condo's on top of the 4 floor parking garage

 

[greg225]

Almost finish can't wait I hear IBM open in May and the apartments that's attached open in September.

[greg225]

Fishman Haygood moving to IBM building downtown                                                                                                                                                                                                              Attorney Charles Landry and his new law firm, Fishman Haygood, will be among the first tenants in the new downtown IBM tower that is nearing completion.

The New Orleans-based firm, which announced earlier this year it was opening a Baton Rouge office headed by Landry, has signed a seven-year lease with Commercial Properties Realty Trust for space on the building’s eighth floor.

“We evaluated all of the options and realized that the IBM building is the best platform for our Baton Rouge office,” Landry says in a prepared statement.

Landry played a key role in orchestrating the deal between the state, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Commercial Properties Realty Trust, IBM and the Manship family that led to the development of the IBM building. At the time, Landry was an attorney with Jones Walker. He left the firm at the end of last year to join Fishman Haygood along with Louis Quinn Jr. and Scott Chenevert, both of whom were also formerly with Jones Walker.

The commercial portion of the IBM building is scheduled to be completed in May. IBM, which has been operating since 2013 out of temporary offices on Essen Lane, will occupy floors four through seven in the building. Fishman Haygood will share the eighth floor with several other tenants soon to be announced.

The residential portion of the building will be completed this fall.

—Stephanie Riegel  http://www.businessreport.com/article/fishman-haygood-moving-ibm-building-downtown

[greg225]

A look at the IBM Services Center downtown                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  One of the biggest economic development projects in the Capital Region in recent memory is oh-so-close to the finish line: the IBM Services Center and its accompanying urban development, right on the Mississippi River at the site of The Advocate’s former downtown offices. Here’s a bigger picture view of the center and its expected impact.

• The office space portion of the project, which broke ground in September 2013, isexpected to be completed in May.
• The IBM center isn’t the only thing coming to the area. Crews are also building an adjacent 11-floor residential building with 85 river-view apartments and nine townhomes. The residential building is scheduled for a fall opening.
• The construction of the entire project is expected to cost $55 million, according to the Governor’s Office. The office building that will house IBM will account for $30.5 million of that price tag.
• The project is expected to create 800 new direct jobs, and Louisiana Economic Development estimates another 542 new indirect jobs will pop up as a result.
• The state will provide $14 million over 10 years to spur a public-private partnership between the state and IBM to expand computer science programs at LSU and other state higher education institutions. LSU plans to double its computer science faculty and triple its number of computer science graduates in five years, and IBM will help LSU professors develop their computer science curricula.    https://www.businessreport.com/business/su-zoom

[richyb83]

Space available on the 9th floor?? Thought the new IBM building was 8-floors?

 

Raising Cane’s moving headquarters to IBM Building

 

Raising Cane’s will move its downtown Baton Rouge headquarters from II City Plaza to the IBM Building sometime this fall.

 

The chicken tender chain will take up about 6,500 square feet on the eighth floor of the IBM Building, which is set to open next month. About 25 to 30 employees, representing departments, including the executive offices, crew resources, marketing and Louisiana operations, will make the move, said Julie Perrault, a Cane’s spokeswoman.

 

Raising Cane’s has 5,300 square feet in II City Plaza. The chain has been operating out of the North Boulevard office building for about three years, subleasing space from the Kean Miller law firm. “We knew Kean Miller would need the space eventually,” Perrault said. Raising Cane’s signed a lease for space in the IBM Building on Monday.

   

Raising Cane’s is the second tenant to announce plans to move into the IBM Building. Earlier this week, the New Orleans-based law firm Fishman Haygood said its Baton Rouge office will take up 9,200 square feet on the eighth floor. Fishman Haygood plans to move into its office by mid-July.

 

While IBM will take up floors four through seven of the office building, space is available on the eighth and ninth floors. Officials with the Downtown Development District have said more tenants will be announced soon.

 

http://theadvocate.com/news/12137064-123/raising-canes-moving-headquarters-to

Edited April 30, 2015 by richyb83

[dan326]

Neat! I remember it was a blow when they left.

[richyb83]

[Mr. Burnham]

Seems like forever ago that this was even announced.

A warm welcome indeed IBM.

[richyb83]

Progress at the IBM Block

 

 

The residential tower

 

[richyb83]

Residential tower at the IBM Block under construction

*Taken from in front of LASM on River Road  about 5 blocks south*

[Antrell Williams]

Seemed to go up quick! Don't we wish all the projects began like this!