Rouzan TND

[Antrell Williams]

itsjustme3 has a point, young people no matter the social or economic background will go to the new and popular areas. 

He's not talking about just young people, he's referring to a specific demographic. I don't think they will wander into an indie film and start trouble.

 

Wait, it's the businesses fault for not making their retail development into a fortress? Do we need to see a ID to enter the stores or to park?

Since Alamo Draft House's signature is serving alcohol and food, it would be very easy to only allow 21+ into the theater.

[itsjustme3]

He's not talking about just young people, he's referring to a specific demographic. I don't think they will wander into an indie film and start trouble.

Since Alamo Draft House's signature is serving alcohol and food, it would be very easy to only allow 21+ into the theater.

Yeah, no rift raft has ever been attracted to places serving alcohol. Nor movie theaters or shopping.

C'mon. People are attracted to new places.

[dan326]

I don't think those people will be too interested in this...

1. They want to be seen, this probably won't provide the right audience

2. I probably won't house the right does they want to pretend they're shopping at

Compare : AMC/Rave to Cinemark

[garrett_225]

Wait, it's the businesses fault for not making their retail development into a fortress? Do we need to see a ID to enter the stores or to park?

 

Yes. 

Edited November 20, 2014 by garrett_225

[greg225]

Planning Commission gets applications from Rouzan, Performance Contractors, Hilton and more                                                                            Plans for the next phase of the Rouzan Traditional Neighborhood Development, as well as those for a new building for Performance Contractors, a new Hilton hotel and a new single-family subdivision, are among the applications submitted to the Planning Commission by today’s deadline to be considered for approval at the commission’s April 20 meeting.

Developer Tommy Spinosa filed a final development plan for the Neighborhood Center at Rouzan, his traditional neighborhood development in Southdowns. The Neighborhood Center, which will be anchored by an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, will comprise eight acres and include more than 71,000 square feet of commercial, office and residential space in three separate buildings, which will be four stories each. According to the application, plans also call for 215 high-density residential units among the three buildings and 873 parking spaces.

The Planning Commission staff says though they have not yet reviewed the plan, they have identified two minor problems with the application. One of the commercial buildings encroaches slightly on the public right-of-way on Perkins Road. Also, the landscaping plan submitted for the TND does not follow the city-parish points system, which is a way of notating that certain standards are met. Commission staff members plan to meet with Rouzan engineers Friday to discuss the issues.

Also submitted today for approval is an application by Performance Contractors for a small planned use development, or SPUD. The industrial contractor is planning to build a new three-building office complex totaling some 250,000 square feet on vacant land adjacent to the company’s existing headquarters on Pecue Lane. Chris Town, subcontract manager for the company, says the proposal is a long-term master plan and that all three buildings will not be constructed at once. He says the company is currently pricing the construction project and will determine how quickly it wants to start construction and which buildings will be developed first.

An application was also filed today for the first Louisiana location of Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ contemporary, extended-stay brand, called Home2 Suites. As Daily Report has previously reported, the hotel is set to open in the first quarter of next year. According to the plan review application, Supreme Construction wants to build the 56,000-square-foot hotel at 10800 Siegen Holiday Circle, located just off Siegen Lane between Interstate 10 and U.S. 61.

Also submitted today is a plan for a new single-family subdivision, Hunter’s Trace, which will be located at Burbank Drive and Pelican Lakes Parkway adjacent to the existing Pelican Lakes development. The 291-lot subdivision will comprise 85 total acres and is being developed by Ross Bruce, who could not be reached as of this afternoon’s deadline.

—Stephanie Riegel   http://www.businessreport.com/article/planning-commission-gets-applications-rouzan-performance-contractors-hilton

Edited March 5, 2015 by greg225

[greg225]

Developers submit revised plans for Heritage Oaks, Rouzan to Planning Commission                                                                                             The developer of an upscale subdivision planned for a 15-acre site at Highland Road and Pecue Lane has resubmitted revised plans for his project to the Planning Commission. The changes to the plans for Heritage Oaks were made in response to an earlier denial by the Planning Commission, which agreed with the concerns of nearby neighborhood groups that the subdivision would create traffic and drainage problems in the area.

In the revised plans, the subdivision is reduced to 39 lots from 46. It also includes increased drainage capacity, and the entranceway has been relocated further south toward Pecue Lane to better align with traffic flow.

“We met with the people and listened to their concerns, and we have made some changes addressing traffic, drainage and the number of lots,” says Larry Jordan, the lead developer on the project. “There’s no reason for us to do those things except trying to put the surrounding folks at ease.”

The Planning Commission will take up the matter at its meeting May 18. At that meeting, the Planning Commission will also consider a final development plan for the commercial portion of Rouzan. Developer Tommy Spinosa resubmitted his plans today for the 71,000-square-foot Neighborhood Center to be located in the traditional neighborhood development after withdrawing them last month because of several technical issues identified by the Planning Department staff. Assistant Planning Director Ryan Holcomb says it appears those concerns have been satisfied.

The Neighborhood Center will be anchored by an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater and will comprise eight acres of commercial, office and residential space in three separate buildings.  http://www.businessreport.com/article/developers-submit-revised-plans-heritage-oaks-rouzan-planning-commission

[greg225]

Commission approves Rouzan Village Center development plan with stipulation                                                                                                  The Planning Commission has approved by a 5-2 vote a final development plan for the commercial phase of Rouzan, Tommy Spinosa’s traditional neighborhood development in Southdowns. In response to concerns from nearby residents, however, the commission on Monday evening stipulated that construction crews working on the Village Center must use Perkins Road—not the more narrow Glasgow Avenue—to access and egress the development.

Members of the Southside Civic Association had requested that the commission make the stipulation because of their concerns with traffic and congestion caused by the TND. They also requested that the commission require Spinosa to commission an updated traffic impact study, given that his last one was completed in 2011 and plans for the TND have changed since then. However, the commission did not stipulate that the developer must conduct a new study.

The Village Center is the much-anticipated commercial component of the project and will comprise three mixed-use buildings in the heart of Rouzan totalling 71,000 square feet. Anchoring the center will be the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater. Additional tenants are said to be in negotiations.

—Stephanie Riegel     https://www.businessreport.com/article/commission-approves-rouzan-village-center-development-plan-stipulation

[greg225]

Rouzan Village Center wins permit for commercial construction                                                                                                                 After years of delays and roadblocks, construction finally is getting underway on the commercial portion of Rouzan, developer Tommy Spinosa’s Traditional Neighborhood Development off Perkins Road in Southdowns.

The Department of Public Works issued a commercial construction permit on May 19 to Spinosa’s contractor, Glenn Jarrell, and a giant crane is now visible on the site of the former Ford family property, which for years was a grassy expanse of farmland along busy Perkins Road.

DPW issued the permit for 222,439 square feet of mixed-use space in Rouzan’s Village Center. According to the permit application, the structures will include a 175,883-square-foot parking garage, 13,002 square feet of retail space and 32,000 square feet for 21 multifamily units.

Last month, the Planning Commission cleared the way for commercial construction at Rouzan to begin when it approved the final development plan for the TND by a 5-2 vote. Residential development at Rouzan has been underway for several years. The TND’s Mimosa District is complete. Construction in the Creekside District is underway.

—Stephanie Riegel    https://www.businessreport.com/article/rouzan-village-center-wins-permit-commercial-construction

[greg225]

Work on final development plan for Rouzan continues

 

 

Tommy Spinosa is moving forward with plans for the fifth phase of Rouzan, his traditional neighborhood development in Southdowns. But the developer withdrew the final development plan for the nearly 38-acre phase just hours after submitting it for approval to the Planning Commission this morning because of inconsistencies Planning Commission staff noted between the final development plan and the original concept plan.

The final development plan for phase five called for 230 single-family homes, including 49 low-density, 148 medium-density and 33 high-density. The plan also called for four acres of green space and a little over seven acres of common open space.

Planning Project Coordinator Gilles Morin says the original development plan does not allow for any high-density residential in that part of Rouzan. There was also some discrepancy over the distinction between green space, which is grassy area, and open space, which is a designated area for communal use, he says.

A statement provided by Spinosa’s development company, 2590 Associates, says the developer will make corrections to the application and resubmit plans next month. The Planning Commission would then take up the matter at its December meeting.

Phase five of Rouzan—which, unlike the Village Center, Creekside and Mimosa Districts, will simply be called Rouzan—will connect the Village Center with the developed portions of the TND, according to the statement.  

Level Homes, which has already developed dozens of lots in Rouzan, has “numerous” lots under contract in the fifth phase as well, the statement states. Additionally, Spinosa has contracted with several direct buyers, who will build their own homes.

Meanwhile, Rouzan’s Village Center—the commercial portion of the development that will front Perkins Road and be anchored by an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater—is awaiting permits from the city-parish. The once grassy farmland has recently been cleared, and heavy machinery appears ready to begin construction.

The statement from 2590 Associates says comments from the permits department are being finalized and that construction permits should be issued soon. The initial phase of the Village Center is expected to be complete within the next 12 to 18 months.    https://www.businessreport.com/article/work-final-development-plan-rouzan-continues

[greg225]

Spinosa files plans for Rouzan phase five, Village Center   

Developer Tommy Spinosa is moving forward with plans for the fifth phase of Rouzan, his 117-acre traditional neighborhood development in Southdowns. For the second time in as many months, the developer has submitted for approval to the Planning Commission a final development plan for the 38-acre fifth phase.

Last month, Spinosa withdrew the final development plan for phase five just hours after submitting it because of problems noted by the Planning Commission staff—namely that the plan called for 33 high-density residential lots. High-density residential lots are not allowed in that part of the TND.

The revised plans still indicate that 33 high-density residential lots are planned for phase five. However, an attorney for Rouzan says the application contains an error.

“There will not be any high-density residential,” says attorney Brian McCullough. “That was an oversight by the engineer.”

He could not confirm the exact number of low- and medium-density lots that are planned for phase five. The application contains conflicting numbers. A Planning Commission staff member says the commission staff is aware of the discrepancy and is working with the developer to correct it.

Also today, Spinosa filed a revised concept plan for the 17-acre Village Center, which will contain 100,000 square feet of space and be anchored by an Alamo Drafthouse theater. The plans also indicate a nearby mixed residential area will be nearly 73 acres, with 18 acres of neighborhood edge and 9.5 acres of green space.

McCullough says construction will begin on the Village Center as soon as the developer receives permits from the city-parish.  https://www.businessreport.com/article/spinosa-files-plans-rouzan-phase-five-village-center

Edited October 8, 2015 by greg225

[greg225]

Spinosa clarifies number of residential lots planned for next Rouzan phase          

Developer Tommy Spinosa has clarified conflicting information submitted last week to the Planning Commission about the number of residential lots planned for the fifth phase of Rouzan, his traditional neighborhood development in Southdowns.

According to Planning Commission staff, the 38-acre fifth phase for Rouzan calls for a total of 223 single-family residential units, composed of 51 low- and 172 medium-density lots. Low-density residential allows for 5.9 units per acre while medium-density residential allows for 12.1 units per acre.

Spinosa originally submitted a plan that included 33 high-density lots as well. However, high-density residential is not allowed in that part of the TND so he was required to resubmit new plans.

While lot density on a plan application may seem like a trivial detail, it’s significant because of the controversy over Rouzan that dogged Spinosa for years. Residents of nearby Southdowns were concerned about too much density in the neighborhood, and the TND ordinance that was crafted specifically for this project carefully spells out how dense residential development can be and where it must be located.

Spinosa also recently filed a revised concept plan for the 17-acre Village Center, which will contain 100,000 square feet of space and be anchored by an Alamo Drafthouse theater. The plans also indicate a nearby mixed residential area will be nearly 73 acres, with 18 acres of neighborhood edge and 9.5 acres of green space.

Construction is due to begin on the Village Center as soon as the developer receives permits from the city-parish. He applied for those permits last summer and has cleared the property in anticipation of starting construction. It is unclear what is behind the delay. Numerous calls to the city-parish permits department have not been returned.   https://www.businessreport.com/article/spinosa-clarifies-number-residential-lots-planned-next-rouzan-phase

[greg225]

Rouzan among developments to be impacted by Delgado’s push to reduce setback requirements on Perkins Road

 

 

How wide should the right-of-way be on a busy stretch of Perkins Road between College Drive and Staring Lane? It’s a question the Planning Commission staff is grappling with at the moment, and the answer will have implications for the commercial development of Rouzan and any other new buildings along that portion of the thoroughfare.

At issue is the city’s Master Street Plan, a document that’s more than 60 years old and lays out the city’s street grid, while anticipating future road development. The plan calls for Perkins Road to be five lanes wide and also to have a 125-foot right of way. Through the years, the stretch of Perkins Road has expanded to five lanes, and Metro Councilmember John Delgado—whose district includes Rouzan—says there doesn’t seem to be any good reason the right of way, or setback, should remain at 125 feet. He has asked the Planning Commission staff to prepare a report on the issue and deliver it to the full commission.

“The issue for Rouzan, and just anybody on that corridor, is how close to the street can you build?” Delgado says. “Are there plans for more lanes on Perkins Road? If not, then let me know the Master Street Plan is satisfied so the right-of-way can be returned to the property owner so they can build.”

Assistant Planning Director Ryan Holcomb says the staff is reviewing the matter but will not have a report for the commission until December. Initially the report was to be completed by the commission’s November meeting, but Holcomb says Planning Director Frank Duke determined the staff needed more time.

It’s unclear exactly how the outcome of the issue will affect Rouzan’s commercial development, which is called the Village Center. It will comprise three buildings, including a 220,000-square foot, five-story apartment building and parking garage, and a 30,000-square-foot Alamo Draft House movie theater. All of those buildings are set back from Perkins Road but, depending on the right-of-way decision, maybe not be situated far enough from the roadway.

“It affects where you put your buildings,” Holcomb says. “You are allowed to put landscaping and certain things within the Master Street Plan right of way but not any structures.”                 https://www.businessreport.com/article/rouzan-among-developments-impacted-delgados-push-reduce-setback-requirements-perkins-road

[greg225]

Alamo Drafthouse nixes plans for theater at Rouzan

Plans for an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater at Rouzan have fallen through.

Two sources close to the situation have confirmed that the lease between the Beaumont, Texas-based franchisee group planning to develop the theater, Cojeaux Cinemas, and Rouzan developer Tommy Spinosa has ended. It’s unclear whether the lease, which was signed in the fall of 2014, has expired or was terminated for other reasons.

Spinosa did not return a call for comment by this morning’s deadline, nor were calls to Cojeaux Cinema or Alamo Drafhouse’s corporate offices returned.

Planning Director Frank Duke says he was aware of a clause in the lease that gave Cojeaux Cinemas an out in the event Spinosa did not break ground on the project by a certain date. Duke does not know what that date was, nor was he aware this morning that the lease has been terminated.

The theater was to have been the anchor tenant in the planned Rouzan Village Center, a more than 200,000-square-foot, mixed-use complex of apartments, shops and restaurants with a parking garage.

Spinosa first announced in November 2014 that he had inked a deal with the popular Austin-based movie theater chain, which serves food, craft beers, wine and cocktails in intimate, cabaret-style movie theaters.  At the time, Cojeaux Cinemas President Anthony Coco said Rouzan was the ideal location for Louisiana’s first Alamo Drafthouse, which was to have seven screens and 900 seats.

It is unclear exactly why construction on the Village Center has dragged on for so many months. Last May, the city parish issued a commercial construction permit for more than 220,000 square feet of commercial space to Spinosa’s contractor Glen Jarrell, and a giant crane began working on the site. Work soon terminated, however, and nothing appears to have been done in months.

Part of the hold up may be connected to recent efforts to change the width of the setback along the stretch of Perkins Road that runs in front of Rouzan. The Metro Council Wednesday night approved the change, which will enable Spinosa to develop his commercial buildings closer to Perkins Road than originally planned.

https://www.businessreport.com/article/alamo-drafthouse-nixes-plans-theater-rouzan

[Antrell Williams]

Really disappointed about that but oh well.

[dan326]

Maybe this is a good thing... Maybe they'll consider putting it downtown.

[richyb83]

Seems like it's been one disappointment after another with Rouzan....not that i'm into nasty beer..lol

The concept "Village Center" sounds pretty cool too...but it keeps being dismantled!

[richyb83]

Looks like the Stalled/patrially done   Rouzan is back on track!   This property deserves something special....  It would be nice to see the new Southdowns branch library anchor the Village Center.

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_88289af4-fd65-11e7-8b7b-8fec377c1368.html

[dan326]

That's nice. They should be able to do it justice. Maybe Alamo will return.

[dan326]

From playing around with Google maps and seeing what type of shopping centers Sprouts is located in in other cities, it seems to be in mid-lower level shopping centers. I know retail is hurtin' right now but hopefully that's not an indication of things to come for Rouzan.

Sprouts supermarket signs lease to build first Louisiana location at Rouzan

https://www.businessreport.com/article/sprouts-supermarket-signs-lease-build-first-louisiana-location-rouzan

  

The Phoenix, Arizona company that operates Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. has signed a lease to open a grocery store in the planned Village Center at Rouzan.

According to documents filed Jan. 3 with the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, SFM LLC signed a lease in October 2017 with Village Center Partners LLC, which is owned by Tommy Spinosa.

Sprouts is a full-service supermarket chain that specializes in organic and health foods, and fresh, prepared meals. It offers full-service deli, seafood, butcher and bakery departments at its nearly 300 locations across the U.S., the first of which opened in 2002. The Rouzan location would be the company’s first in Louisiana.

The lease agreement with Sprouts, a high-end, full-service grocer, should put to rest concerns of some Southdowns residents, who have worried for years about the tenant mix for the planned shopping center at Rouzan and speculated it might include a convenience store or gas station.

Edited March 6, 2018 by dan326

[Mr. Burnham]

2 hours ago, dan326 said:

From playing around with Google maps and seeing what type of shopping centers Sprouts in located in in other cities, it seems to be in mid-lower level shopping centers. I know retail is hurtin' right now but hopefully that's not an indication of things to come for Rouzan.

Probably is.  Functional developers don't care about good design.

[cajun]

6 hours ago, dan326 said:

From playing around with Google maps and seeing what type of shopping centers Sprouts is located in in other cities, it seems to be in mid-lower level shopping centers. I know retail is hurtin' right now but hopefully that's not an indication of things to come for Rouzan.

Sprouts is actually a very good store.  They go after the younger, more health conscious market similar to Trader Joe's - except they sell fresh food and less prepared food.

Edited March 6, 2018 by cajun

[dan326]

5 hours ago, cajun said:

Sprouts is actually a very good store.  They go after the younger, more health conscious market similar to Trader Joe's - except they sell fresh food and less prepared food.

Well that sounds good.  I'll admit the interior photos I saw online looked really good.

[richyb83]

On 1/20/2018 at 8:33 PM, richyb83 said:

Looks like the Stalled/patrially done   Rouzan is back on track!   This property deserves something special....  It would be nice to see the new Southdowns branch library anchor the Village Center.

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_88289af4-fd65-11e7-8b7b-8fec377c1368.html

BOOM!!!  Just Maybe Southdowns Branch library  will happen? Would be nice anchor w grocery at the Village Center

https://www.businessreport.com/article/proposed-rouzan-library-long-way-reality-library-director-hopeful

*Renderings are conceptual only, done by the Rouzan development team, not the library system.  Just a hypothetical..

 

Edited March 7, 2018 by richyb83

[dan326]

^Nice! BREC builds nice libraries. If Alamo comes back it'll be like a true village center. 

[Mr. Burnham]

Those are hideous buildings. 

I'm really getting tired of the plain, boring modernist architecture that doesn't fit the space or environment it's located in. A library in this area should reflect the historic architecture of South-downs.