Louisiana State University

[dan326]

I was about to say the same thing Antrell. While I do appreciate how JustMe makes us think critically about our decisions, it does seem as though he is unable to post a positive comment.

[pm_arch]

No, I'm just not going to get all worked up over a remodeled union square, apple store and a parking garage.

Put a street car thru the campus and that'll be news.

New housing developments beats a parking garage.

A parking garage on LSU campus is a very big deal. This has been something in planning for a long time now... much longer ago than the 2003 Master Plan (which proposed at least 7 to be built: http://masterplan.lsu.edu/).

On the other hand, cheap student housing development springs up every year, all over the place.

[itsjustme3]

I was about to say the same thing Antrell. While I do appreciate how JustMe makes us think critically about our decisions, it does seem as though he is unable to post a positive comment.

Thats too bad you feel that way. You should probably put me on ignore so that my posts don't ruin your day.

Thanks!

A parking garage on LSU campus is a very big deal. This has been something in planning for a long time now... much longer ago than the 2003 Master Plan (which proposed at least 7 to be built: http://masterplan.lsu.edu/).

On the other hand, cheap student housing development springs up every year, all over the place.

You're right. I re-read the article and saw where there's also going to be a Starbucks!! WOOHOO!

[pm_arch]

Thats too bad you feel that way. You should probably put me on ignore so that my posts don't ruin your day.

Thanks!

You're right. I re-read the article and saw where there's also going to be a Starbucks!! WOOHOO!

Funny you mention that. The LSU Master Plan does call for a "Student Hangout - Dining/Cafe" at that location too....

[buckett5425]

Why would anyone be excited about more student housing further away from LSU? There isn't an increase in demand, they are instead simply stealing more of the existing market, which will leave older properties closer to LSU with lower rents and higher vacancies. Not to mention its going to increase traffic along Burbank. Unfortunately over the next decade Burbank will no longer be the expressway it once was and will look more like airline highway...

I say lets keep the shiny new stuff closer to LSU, ESPECIALLY because its more of a walkable urban community. A street car line sure would help with that.

[itsjustme3]

Add bucket to the list of parking garage fanatics

[Antrell Williams]

Parking garages are the reason I joined this site, so are failed proposals.

[buckett5425]

The parking garage downtown at convention and third is rather impressive. It was designed by Eskew Dumez Ripple.

#parkinggaragesarethecoolest

Edited February 9, 2012 by buckett5425

[richyb83]

LSU plans to enhance gateway entrances

LSU already has “historic gateways” at the north and south gates of Highland Road, but little else at the campus’ other major arteries and entrances. “This is another example of an ongoing effort to keep this campus accessible and up to date,” said LSU Chancellor Michael Martin.

The largest change would construct a road roundabout at the campus entrance by the intersection of Dalrymple and West Lakeshore drives to ease traffic problems and improve the aesthetics. The project would place a traditional “Louisiana State University” monument in the center of the roundabout, according to preliminary plans approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors. The presence of University High by the entrance adds to the traffic issues, Soileau said.

He estimated the roundabout portion of the total cost at about $450,000. The projected costs of the four new campus gateways are $787,000. LSU is working with Grace & Hebert Architects in Baton Rouge.

Another similar “Louisiana State University” entrance would go by the LSU lakes at South Stadium Drive and West Lakeshore Drive.

But the largest monuments are saved for the intersections of Nicholson Drive and Nicholson Extension and of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive.Soileau said larger signage is needed along Nicholson Drive to catch people’s attention because of the faster and increased traffic.

The “Louisiana State University” gateway sign proposed by Burbank Drive is supposed to be more than 90-feet long and have an LSU video board next to it that can show off various images. Soileau said the video board can highlight athletics imagery on football game days or show off LSU graduates for commencement. “It fronts the athletics district, so it has to be very visible,”

The “more playful” monument at Nicholson Extension would spell “LSU” in the more modern “Geaux” font and stand more than 20-feet high, he said. There is an alternative option to do the “Geaux” font monument with LED video lighting so more imagery could be displayed over the large letters

http://theadvocate.com/home/2005653-125/lsu-plans-to-enhance-gateway.html

[itsjustme3]

I like the plans.

[Antrell Williams]

I like them too. LSU has the best campus in the state and its getting better. The school should compete better on the national stage, the football team only helps. Isn't the baseball team ranked?

[buckett5425]

I like the plans too. the round about on Dalrymple is badly needed.

However I am skeptical of why everything needs to include a LCD video board. That just doesnt seem very classy and seems way too commercial. Also I don't care for any of Grace and Hebert's design work so I don't expect to like their concepts either.

[Antrell Williams]

I like the plans too. the round about on Dalrymple is badly needed.

However I am skeptical of why everything needs to include a LCD video board. That just doesnt seem very classy and seems way too commercial. Also I don't care for any of Grace and Hebert's design work so I don't expect to like their concepts either.

The one on Nicholson and Burbank should be nice, SU has one at its entrance yet in a different format. The other, I'm not so sure about.

[cajun]

Seems Iike a good idea to create distinctive gateways into LSU. I am a little nervous about them incorporating high tech features to them....but I will wait to reserve judgement into we see the blueprints. I think we are right to be concerned with a video board.

Traffic circles and roundabouts are also more aesthetically pleasing.

A fountain or statue would be great things to place at these "gateways". I have noticed some landscaping being put into place along Nicholson as well as sidewalks...very positive change.

I would like to see a blatant ripoff of Houston's metro rail along the Nicholson median between Brightside and downtown one day...through LSU. I hope the new roadway improvements have the space for that. Between a wider Nicholson and these gateways, that area will improve quickly.

Edited February 14, 2012 by cajun

[richyb83]

It would be nice to see them doing something like that for the Nicholson median!

Hopefully they can save the Lakes.....

Can the LSU Lakes be saved?

In the early 1930s, the federal Works Progress Administration converted a thick cypress-tupelo swamp into an urban lake in Baton Rouge's growing southeast environs. A lake was infinitely more appealing than a swamp, local officials believed, especially in the part of the city that now housed LSU.

The campus had been relocated to its current site from downtown in 1926, and an eye-catching body of water served as the ideal gateway. University Lake joined the existing City Park Lake, which had been dug a decade earlier. Together, they have formed one of the city's most enduring points of recreational activity and civic pride.

But the lakes' long-term sustainability is another story.

Composed of the two main lakes—University and City Park—and four smaller water bodies—Lake Crest, Lake Erie, Campus Lake and College Lake—the 275-acre site attracts scores of joggers, walkers, kayakers, fishers and picnickers. Numerous running events, including the Louisiana Marathon, are held along all or part of the area, which is a well-known migratory bird flyway that also attracts naturalists and photographers.

Visible from Interstate 10, the lakes offer a scenic glimpse of Baton Rouge to thousands of daily motorists. They also are the

connective tissue between LSU and City Park, a standout accomplishment in a city with a poor history of planning.

The lakes are lined with some of the Capital City's priciest residences and support diverse, established neighborhoods such as Old South Baton Rouge, College Town, Southdowns and the Garden District. Neighbors take advantage of the lakes on a constant basis, but so does a wide swath of East Baton Rouge Parish.

A BREC public-opinion survey released last month determined that nearly 30% of parish residents routinely visit the lakes. Most use them monthly or weekly, and more than 70% stay from 30 minutes to two hours.

“It's a very significant area to Baton Rouge,” says former BREC Superintendent Bill Palmer, who retired in January. “It's the gateway to LSU and to several neighborhoods. It's a natural draw. Water attracts people.”

But as tranquil as they appear, the lakes are in peril. Authorities say they were not properly dug and have grown shallower over the decades. With depths ranging from 2½ feet to 5 feet, they can't efficiently filter the continual runoff from surrounding urban conditions, including grass clippings, fertilizers and silt from yards, roads and the City Park golf course.

Unwanted nutrients have built up in the lakes and created conditions for plants and algae to grow in excess. When these plants die and decompose, the lakes' oxygen level falls, sometimes choking out marine life and causing fish kills. Plants now are taking over shorelines where water once lapped. Without dredging, say experts, the lakes will continue to deteriorate.

*REST of ARTICLE...

http://www.businessreport.com/article/20120220/BUSINESSREPORT0401/302209996/0/BUSINESSREPORT0201

[itsjustme3]

Since LSU is forking over so much money for bus stops and signage, maybe they can contribute some $ for dredging. If not the dredging will have to wait awhile aka 10 years.

[buckett5425]

No action will be taken on the lakes until the average citizen begins to notice the poor quality of the lake and form an opinion of the issue. At that point the city will take action and most likely pass some sort of a small tax to restore the lakes. Crisis averted.

[cajun]

Since LSU is forking over so much money for bus stops and signage, maybe they can contribute some $ for dredging. If not the dredging will have to wait awhile aka 10 years.

I'm sure you'll see LSU paying for the cleanup, as well as BREC (awash in funds) and the city/Parish.

[steve3n8]

LSU unveils $53M Business Education Complex

LSU celebrated the near-completion of its new Business Education Complex today with a few hundred friends, donors and officials. The facility demonstrates to the outside world that “not only do we have a great college, but we have a big-time university,” Chancellor Mike Martin says. Former Chancellor Sean O’Keefe said the project, more than a decade in the making, was the cornerstone of what became the Forever LSU fundraising campaign, which raised about $764 million in private donations. The complex was built with a first-of-its-kind [for LSU] public-private partnership, with the state paying half of the projected $53 million cost and the rest funded by private donations and a $4 million loan from the LSU Foundation; organizers are seeking an additional $7 million in donations to cover the costs. “The past does not matter,” said guest speaker Steve Forbes, who stressed that the true source of wealth is innovation. “As never before, Louisiana is open for business.” Forbes and Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater briefly mentioned E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean Eli Jones’ impending move to the University of Arkansas; Jones himself didn’t mention it. “Let’s complete the job,” Jones said. “Let’s bring in the faculty we need to complete the job.” In an interview yesterday, Jones said the size of the business college faculty has been reduced by14% since he arrived in 2008, and said stronger financial support available to Arkansas’ Sam W. Walton College of Business was a factor in his decision to move on.

Businessreport.com

[itsjustme3]

That is one ugly building

[buckett5425]

I went and walked around the campus of the new complex this weekend. It came out pretty nice.

[steve3n8]

Apple reportedly working to bring a store to LSU

Apple representatives have confirmed the company is working to bring a store to the LSU campus but won't elaborate on the plans, The Daily Reveille reports. The student newspaper says it's rumored the Apple store will be located inside the 50,000-square-foot bookstore currently under construction at the corner of Highland and Raphael Semmes roads. Jason Tolliver, director of University Auxiliary Services for LSU, declined to talk about the Apple store specifically but says he's "working on something big" for the bookstore. Scheduled for completion by December, the new bookstore will dwarf the existing one at the LSU Union, which is about 28,000 square feet. Regardless of whether Apple opens its own store within the bookstore, there will be a number of technological upgrades in the new bookstore, including a new technology store that will feature retail products and computer repair services. "We want students to be able to come to the bookstore and purchase everything they need for school, including technological needs," says Paul Stevenson, bookstore general manager. Read the full story here.

Businessreport.com

[Antrell Williams]

Would like for it to have a storefront facing the street instead.. If this one is built one downtown will never happen.

[cajun]

There are south end zone expansion elevations

floating around on LSU sports themed message boards. Anyone seen them?

What are your opinions on it? http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205415591

They look AWESOME....very much matches the north end zone's arches.

Edited April 18, 2012 by cajun

[buckett5425]

Im disappointed. We North end zone is treasured because its original. This is a cheap replication and devalues the original architecture of the stadium. It should look entirely different like trahan's designs.