Arlington Creek

[dan326]

I figured this was big enough to have it's own thread. I think I remember it saying it would have 700,000 sq ft. of retail. I fell safe in saying be prepared for Baton Rouge's 3rd Macy's or Dillard's. There's no way a development this big can go without some type of major department store.

75+ Acres will be developed into high-end retail shops on the corner of Burbank & Lee in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

[richyb83]

The LSU area would greatly benefit from a big-time development like this. Would something like Super Target and Best Buy be the anchor stores?? Maybe a Kohl's department store added to the mix?? Towne Center at Cedar Lodge has so many "unique" specialty shops; Perkins Rowe and The Boulevard have also added many fist time retailers to the BR market. My que how many specialty shops could this handle before the market is oversaturated??

Seems like I remember them clearing some of the land a few weeks back. It would be nice to see Arlington come to fruition with an added residential componet. Crazy this project is gonna go on top of an old oil field.

I have seen the website for this project before; it was also posted somewhere here in the forums. Can't remember what it was though; could someone please post it again?? Thanks!

[nquint1]

The website is www.vrei.net. There isn't a lot of information there. At one time I saw that the planned tennants were Staples, Super Target, Lowes and Petco. That was just for the area southwest of the lee/burbank intersection, or across the street from the McDonalds. I'm not sure if those are still the tennants. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lowe's back out with the national housing situation.

I will say I got that information at least a year ago, so I'm sure a lot could have changed. If you look at some of their other developments on the website, I'd say they tennants aren't that glamorous. Let's hope this really turns out nicely.

[cajun]

I'd really rather not see some sprawling strip center there.

-SuperTarget is a decent tenant- and they are much, much cleaner than Wal Mart.

-They also need a health food store somewhere int his neighborhood

-24 hour fitness center in this area would do well.

-Petco would do well there, I think.

-Some non-fast food restarants would be popular there.

-Apartments and medium priced condos are always popular in the LSU area- remember, there are more grad students at LSU now than ever, so off campus housing doesn't have to be crappy.

A perkins rowe type of place would be nice, but I know that won't happen. I just think that the smaller one and two bedroom units would be very popular with students.

The area does need some grocery options and Burbank is a better place than Highland Road....but can't they set some of this off as a mixed-use type of development.

I guess I'm okay with it as long as the planning commision forces them to install and maintain extensive landscaping, lots of trees, turn lanes, sidewalks, and some residential spaces...also, cut down on the concrete and use black top asphalt instead. Monument signs instead of those ugly billboards would be nice too. I mean, if you live in the area, you will know what's in this shopping center...you don't need those ugly signs all over the place. Towne Center did a great job with this, and I think that Arlington Creek should try as well. Since this is such a great location for retail, the developer should be forced to relocate the utilities and power lines underground along their property too.

For the love of God...don't add another traffic light on West Lee Drive....

Another good suggestion: Office space is kind of non-existant in this area. If I were the developer, I'd explore adding some office space. I don't know much about the market in this area...this may or may not be a hit, but it's worth exploring.

In Atlanta, an island with trees are required every 12 parking spaces in new construction. Baton Rouge needs something like that.

[richyb83]

WOW! Interesting breakdown on this HUGE 540-acre tract!! 75-acres for the Arlington Creek project; 190-acres from Intercap (City Planning meeting Sept. 22nd); and about 224-acres between Burbank, Lee & Nicholson to remain wetlands. When does this all start?? A year??

Planning begins for work on Lee Drive

Buzz has been building about what the vast tract of land on each side of Lee Drive between Nicholson and Burbank drives will become.

Victory Real Estate Investments, based in Columbus, Ga., plans to develop about 75 acres of the nearly 540-acre tract at Burbank and West Lee. Rumors of a Target store in their development have been circulating since late 2007, but no contractual information is available and Victory Real Estate Investments did not return multiple interview requests.

Another group, Intercap Institutional Investors, based in Austin, Texas, plans to develop 190 acres of the tract. Thirty of those acres will be transformed into a University-linked retirement community, said Greg Eden, managing partner and CEO of Intercap.

Eden said a number of upscale national student housing companies and firms specializing in multi-family housing have expressed interest in the area.

[dan326]

"Burbank-West Lee site being cleared, but developers remain mum

Victory Real Estate Investments has begun to clear land and perform site work at Burbank and West Lee drives, but the company isn't talking about future plans. Columbus, Ga.-based Victory hasn't responded to repeated phone calls and e-mails from Real Estate Weekly. The company received approval for a 516,000-square-foot shopping center last year from the Planning Commission. According to documents filed with the commission, Arlington Creek Centre will be anchored by a Super Target and Lowe's and also will have 70,000 square feet of restaurant space. Future plans call for a TND behind the shopping center."

[cajun]

anyone have a site plan of this one?

[dan326]

I found this on the developer website.

[nquint1]

The realignment of Ben Hur should be nice I'm curious to see what other infrastructure improvements will be made to this area.

[richyb83]

^ My question is WHY the bridge on Ben Hur Rd was "demolished" over Bayou Fountain; between Burbank and Highland?? Seems like that could have taken the strain off West Lee Drive and the surrounding area!

Wonder if this new "Cottages of Baton Rouge" tie into the proposed future Arlington Creek Development?? If that ever gets built??

Planning Commission to vote on condo development

The commission will also look at approving final development plans for The Cottages of Baton Rouge, a 380-unit, medium-density development that would be built on 58.5 acres at Burbank and Ben Hur drives.

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/latest/

[dan326]

Wow! That's a big development! I guess people must still be buying housing in B.R. I'm sure they'll still build the shopping center. I say that because the shopping center is going to have average tenants, that even though we are in a recession, people are still going to be buying things from.

[richyb83]

Construction plans still not clear...Victory Real Estate has been replaced...

Project requests Ben Hur realignment

Ben Hur Road would be rerouted in updated plans for a proposed mixed-use development near Burbank Drive and West Lee Drive. The changes filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers involve a proposed 546-acre traditional neighborhood development bounded by Burbank, West Lee and Nicholson Drive.

According to the revisions, the developers want to reroute Ben Hur south of Arlington Creek so it connects with Burbank several hundred feet farther east than where it does now. According to the latest plans, however, the western half of the tract would be a mix of low- and medium-density residential, along with commercial space. The eastern half would remain undeveloped.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/42566532.html

[richyb83]

A sign of the times....

The new commercial real estate market: Target on hold, Family Dollar building

Over the past few years, the commercial real estate market in Baton Rouge has been dominated by high profile, upscale projects such as Perkins Rowe, Towne Center and the Mall of Louisiana's Boulevard expansion. All those developments cost millions of dollars and featured national chains catering to well-heeled shoppers, such as Whole Foods, Apple and Anthropologie. But national retailers have pulled back on the aggressive expansion plans that fueled these projects. Much of the activity in Baton Rouge over the past year has centered on discount retailers and value priced restaurants -- think pizza parlors instead of steakhouses and dollar stores instead of department stores. The best example of this new reality can be seen on West Lee Drive. Land was cleared last year for Arlington Creek Centre, a development that would be anchored by Super Target and Home Depot. But that property sits vacant and it isn't known when work will resume. Meanwhile, just down the street, a Family Dollar store is taking shape next to Mike Anderson's Seafood.

AND THIS... combined with Arlington Creek...will be a huge develop tranforming the Burbank West Lee Drive area.....

Capstone closes on 58-acre parcel

Capstone Development had already begun clearing the site prior to its closing, and intends to construct a 382-unit development in two phases, which will house approximately 1,290 residences. Phase I, which is geared toward LSU students, will consist of 583 bed spaces in 159 cottage units.

"The typical Baton Rouge resident does not realize how difficult it is to bring a project of this magnitude online," says Box. Part of the problem was that a traffic light was needed at the corner of Ben Hur Road and Burbank Drive, and according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, this was too close to the intersection of West Lee Drive and Burbank. Therefore, Ben Hur Road had to be re-located approximately 1,000 feet east of its current location. This will enable a traffic light to be installed further east on Burbank and will allow access to the development from a lighted intersection along Burbank and the relocated Ben Hur, along with access from Nicholson Drive. There are still 200 acres available for development owned by UPUD

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/real-estate-weekly/latest/