brresident

How about a construction race btw the City Plaza II and the Courthouse? That could be neat.

Cool. As far as the south goes, Baton Rouge is the gateway to the west. Why can't we have our own arch? Baton Rouge stlye, of course. Instead of an arch, how about a gable-shaped structure? Anyways, anything that would be a landmark for BR would be great (like the Gateway Arch, Space Needle, etc). How about a giant red stick?

I have questions for you livingston parish posters....( I am from Gonzales). Which exit is the Bass Pro going into? Is it even definate yet? If so, does anyone have a link to a site plan or what other retailers are going into the Bass Pro development? Before too long, Juban Road and Range avenue will so much like Sherwood Forest, O'Neal, and Millerville that people passing through won't be able to tell the difference between BR and Livingston. I am sure that a medical complex and office space is not too far away for Livingston. So odd that we get the Tanger outlet mall and Livingston gets nothing for so long. I always thought BR would connect with the New Orleans metro area through Prarieville, LaPlace, and Gonzales. It looks like that is going to happen in Covington, Hammond, and Denham first. Geographically and politically, that makes much more since. It may be time secure funding to widen I-12 to six lanes between Baton Rouge and Hammond. It took 10 years to secure the funding for the Picardy overpass. I cringe when I think of I-12/Florida BLVD traffic in Livingston in 10 years if neither has been widened. Juban road didn't even have a ramp last year...and next year it will like Bluebonnet in BR. Something needs to happen to I-12 yesterday. Can you imagine the construction companies in BR if the state actually decided to widen the Mississippi River Bridge in BR, I10 from the split to Highland Road, and I-12 all the way to Hammond? I have never seen such massive private development in Louisiana before, it's time for the state to put up it's share in the form of infrastructure (wider roads, flood control, and railways). Bass Pro Juban Crossing Mall Perkins Rowe in BR Lexington Estates in BR Willow Grove in BR That huge mall/movie studio on O'neal behind the hospitol. all the new Hotels in the area. Northshore and New Orleans rebuilding Louisiana was already industrial construction capitol of the world....now all of this? Livingston is contributing so much to all of this.

Sammys on Highland, Superior Grill on Government, T.J. Ribs on Acadian, and the Chimes on Chimes street. I know that is a lot, but I BR has a lot of good restaurants.

Yeah...site work started a while back. The streets are in, and I think some of the retail buildings are on their way up.

Cool. Way to stay on top of things. New Orleans has always tried to put down Baton Rouge. Not to kick a city while it is down, but I wouldn't want to live there post-katrina with all the storm-related issues added to the crime, racial issues, housing, infrastructure, schools, police protection, and corrupt political system. Everyone should keep an eye out on that. Right now the wiki page looks good....but things happen. Baton Rouge should try hard to avoid being what New Orleans was (or is). IMO, New Orleans is a great city to visit, but Baton Rouge is a cleaner and safer (and more affordable) place to live. I am just worried that NOLA won't pick up again ever, or it will become it's old self again (even more dependent on the State and federal government for normal operations).

Firm details midcity plans Around 100 midcity residents and merchants asked the team overhauling Westmoreland Shopping Center how the residential-and-retail development will affect their neighborhoods

Either Horton or KB Homes is doing a sizeable project on or near the old golf course, but it is where it fronts onto Old Hammond. The sad part is that neither has a history of building anything attractive in Houston. Lennar is a better homebuilder in my opinion, but I am from Houston and that is the only market I know. If Horton and KB do well here, then I am sure it will attract other homebuilders. This might cause problems for local contractors, but it might mean more affordable homes and more choices for us. I had heard that the southern part of the golf course was going to be multi-story condominium communities. I don't know who is doing it, but I do know there was a debate of interconnectivity with local subdivisions. Apparently the existing subdivisions want interconnectivity, but the new development will be gated. Those new Apartments on Millerville are nice. Probably going condo in no time. Edit: Just checked....both KB Homes and D.R. Horton are making their first communites in Baton Rouge off Millerville. Horton's is of Avlalon Ave. KB Homes is off of Old Hammond at the Northeastern edge of the old Fairwood Golf Course. Together, they make up about 350 new homes- all of which are in-fill projects.

^^ I hope not. This was supposed to be done last year. Remember, in BR a lot of the setbacks are at the street and not the street right of way. At this rate, Perkins Rowe and all other new developments will be built at the setback of the old street and will now be built right on Perkins when it is widened. This will prevent future widening if it needs to be done in a decade or so. BR and New Orleans seem to have the narrowest right of ways.....go figure. That Wells Fargo building/Garage is awefully big to be right on the street like that. When Perkins is widened, the sidewalks will be at the edge of the right of way (about where the power poles are in that photo). I hope it doesn't creat a wall that visually shuts out the rest of Baton Rouge from Perkins Rowe. Kirby Smith sort of did that for LSU and Old South 30 years ago.

Not just five lanes...it is getting expensive Old Hammond treatment. The road will be 10" thick re-inforced concrete with 12' center lanes, 14' outer lanes, concrete barrier curb and gutter, and 5' sidewalks on either side. In order to do this, they will have to start on the outer two lanes first (keeping at least two lanes open all the time). The new street will be btw 1.5' and 6" lower than the current road- and it won't have open ditches. It will be so nice when it is done in 150 years.

Wampold, Westmoreland go before Planning Commission The public will get its first look at a 520-acre planned community on Bluebonnet Boulevard extension this evening when Mike Wampold goes before the Planning Commission with a conceptual use plan for Longwood Village. The self-contained development will have houses, office space, retailers, a school, a church and a community center. "The response to this has generally been very positive," says Wampold. "People are excited about seeing shopping and grocery stores come to that area." Morris & Ritchie Associates of Baltimore helped design Longwood Village. Plans are to put retailers toward the front of the development along Nicholson Drive and Bluebonnet, then put housing in the back. If the conceptual use plan is approved, Wampold says he will come back with a site plan for a section of Longwood Village. "We'll start building the single family homes first," he says. "We're about 12 months from breaking ground on those." Development of Longwood Village will take years, but plans are to eventually have 1,650 houses, apartments and townhomes, along with 750,000 square feet of retail space and 410,000 square feet of office space. Longwood Village isn't the only big item on the agenda. The commission is set to vote on a zoning change for the Westmoreland Shopping Center, where the Resource Group wants to build a mixed-use development in the heart of Mid City. On the planning side, there are proposals for a new 45,000-square-foot medical office building at the Baton Rouge Clinic, a new shopping center at Highland and East Perkins roads and a shopping center/Holiday Inn Express on Siegen Lane, next to Academy Sports. http://www.businessreport.com/dailyreport.html 1650 units of residential......wow. That means that this is probably the largest residential development since Tara and Sherwood. It's unusual to see more than 150 or 200 in Baton Rouge because the large chunks of land is mostly taken, and all that is left is the smaller pieces. Since it is planned unit, I am going to guess that is it expensive. Since it is expensive, I am going to predict that most homeowners will be high income (statistically republicans in this state). 1650 units- that is like having 2800-3000 republican voters moving in. What will that do to Baton Rouge? It said that it will incorporate a Church and school. That is going to be neat. I hope the church has the old european look like so many south Louisiana structures have.

They build those in Shreveport, right? Those Colorado/Canyons are great little trucks. I drive a GMC Canyon 4x4. They are more off road oriented than most, so it rides a little harder. The S10 was good, too, but most trucks didnt' have the harder riding Z71 package so most actually rode smoother (but handled worse) than the Colorado. The Coly. chassis (GMT355) is perfect for a smaller Hummer, though. That Shreveport plant wins a lot of J.D. Power awards for quality with the S10 and now the Colorado. They make a reliable product that seems to be affordable...I think it is even better than Chevy's own Silverado as far as dependability. Congrats to everyone who works there. It's a good, clean industry for Shreveport, and I hope that GM expand the plant further with the rumored Hummer H4 to compete with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

LSU Ave? University Hills? Highland Road? Riverbend? Oh yeah....parts of those areas are pretty high-end. Maybe not Bocage-grade...but very very nice. That area is prime for a major retail center....has been for years. Parts of that area is wetlands, part is oilfield....so the wetlands will require a $8,000 set aside per acer developed. Something like that would be an interesting mix of high end retail stores and stores targeted toward trendy college students. I think they can use more shopping in that area. Lee drive is such a pain to drive on most of the day. That alone makes College Drive seem so disant. It will be nice to have retail that isn't along a major freeway.

Wow...BR needs to think about underground utilities for neighborhoods like this. I love that Canes...I think it was the first one. That billboard with the guy's yellow lab is awesome. Tiger District is also one of my favorite T-Shirt joints. I usually go there right before I go to the Varsity for a concert. I haven't been in a while.

I'd buy it....but where would I park?

that is amazing.

Yuck. It looks cheesy on residential developments nowadays. Granite is pretty cool for offices, though.

Dude...If you know for sure that he owns both properties- then we do need to get an email address. Also, if anyone here is an english major- write a letter to the Advocate editorial section. This is one of those wi-win situations for the city if we can get it done.

try this: http://www.businessreport.com/dailyreport.html

W Hotel coming to Esplanade? Plans for a 136-room W Hotel, which would be built at the intersection of Interstate 10 and College Drive, have been filed with the city-parish planning commission. The five-story hotel and adjoining parking garage would be built in front of Esplanade Mall in the parking area around Clicks Billiards. Getting a W Hotel would style up Baton Rouge quite a bit. The chic chain targets hip, young travelers and has locations in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. There are two W Hotels in New Orleans, one on Poydras Street, the other in the French Quarter. The company has been expanding and has a hotel/condo tower in Hoboken, N.J. http://www.businessreport.com/dailyReportArchiveResults.cfm

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=5622751 I can't stand this location. $250 million will give you a very, very large hotel tower downtown or old south. You may not get 13 acers, but you can get a sizeable piece on which you can build restarants, parking, hotels, and even a shopping district. That is an area for apartment homes, single family residences, or mixed-use developments...hell, a Super Target would be better than a Casino. I am not against another casino...but put it downtown or in Old South BR. Pinnacle can pay to rebuild 3 or 4 city blocks- then I will welcome them to baton rouge. I encourage a new casino downtown or in Old South- but this is the worst location in town for something like that. Everyone make sure you are registered to vote in Baton Rouge. Pinnacle will have to pay to hold an election probably. Wouldnt' it be great to have a Casino hotel just south of the I10 bridge? The riverbank right there is nothing but an old muicipal dock and a bunch of trees. That place is begging for development. That is where the casino should be. Kip Holden needs to do something about this. A casino hotel would be a perfect catalist for re-development of old-south....especially if they buy that abandoned hotel site on Nicholson.

I gotta say that now that the picardy overpass is finished, is like night and day right there. It is so easy to get to the mall now. I love it. Before, you had to get on Bluebonnet to get to the Mall (that sucks), but now you can just get off on Picardy. the cool part is that people getting the the freeway eastbound at bluebonnet doesn't get tangled in traffic getting off on siegen. this is so great. I love it. They should do that between Essen and Bluebonnet next.

Another big Highland Road project coming up The City-Parish Planning Commission is set to vote this evening on a request from developer R.W. Day to create a 96-lot subdivision off Highland Road between the Kenilworth and Staring intersections. Day's plans for the Grand Oaks at Highland subdivision have generated some complaints from neighbors who are concerned about development on the low-lying south side of Highland. This is the latest in a series of controversial developments along Highland, following the Quantam Express mail center and Kevin Nguyen's commercial development at the Bluebonnet Boulevard intersection. The commission staff has given preliminary approval to Grand Oaks, pending a resolution of some issues with the Department of Public Works. The commission also will hear from Jim Tanner, who is planning a mixed-use development on a 316-acre tract in Zachary at the intersection of Scenic Highway and Zimmerman Road. Also on tonight's agenda are two hotels in the Howell Place development: a 92-room Mariott Courtyard Hotel and an 81-unit Fairfield Inn & Suite. complete daily report here: http://www.businessreport.com/dailyreport.html I wanted the hotels to move downtown.....and for Howell Place to get a shopping center with a Wal Mart, restarants, and possibly the movie theater. That is two smallish hotels for Howell Place. 96 lots is really not that big. National homebuilders won't even puchase a plot that they can't build 200 unit with....assume you have 2 voters per household..and you are only looking between 150-200 new voters in that area. What scares me is that this is going to add 150-200 cars on Highland, as I am sure they won't interconnect with Burbank or the new connector. I hope they can incorporate this with the new Highland Road-Burbank connector....but asking Baton Rouge developers to interconnect is like asking Rosie to stop being ugly.

Do you call that density when smaller buildings take up the entire block? Whatever it is, I prefer 3-6 stories to surface parking! It looks good. The street entrance is impressive. I don't know if I would have put the main entrance there...I know that street is busy with traffic and the other is a one-way. Even still...Eastern CBD needs more offices like that. I would prefer the state put more there...also, the North Blvd area between the overpass and downtown could use a nice building like that.

Yeah...hopefully with anouther thousand students in that area who are willing to call the police if something suspicious happens. That will definately push the crime element out very quickly (it already has). In my opinion, with another few developments like that, Old South BR can be in the hunt for a pharmacy and a grocery store. Too bad it takes college students to do that...but oh well.