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Gauge

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Posts posted by Gauge

  1. I was driving down Third Street about a week ago and noticed some signs in the windows of the building on the corner of Third and Florida Blvd., the building with the Coca Cola sign on it. The signs were "coming soon" signs and had the name of the bar/club, and indicated that they would have live music, Sunday brunch, etc. I think the signs said it would open in the fall of 2008. I drove by there yesterday and the signs were gone. Did anyone catch the name of the club before they took the signs down? Anyone know the plans for that building?

  2. Hey cajun, if I decide to go to the City Planning meeting on Dec.13th I might need you as back-up. The Southside Civic Ass-ociation is gonna fight this project tooth-n-nail. One of it's leaders actually resigned under pressure bec. he advocated something special like Rouzan being built; they all expect another boring cookie cutter subdivision with probably only single-entrance. They are also responsible for keeping Lee Drive the crummy 2-lanes.

    What I still can't get over that as nice/quaint as they say...Southdowns is; they have no sidewalks. Rouzan will be walkable, imagine that :rolleyes:

    We now have some visionary developers in BR attempting to transform the status-quo; however most (2/3's??)people in Southdowns (and other subdivisions in BR) choose to look at new development thru a straw.

    I will do my best to make it to the meeting. I put it on my calendar.

  3. But one thing that I did notice was that most of the clubs are centered around the Shaw Center. If we could et that to expand further down third street and spill over onto another street or two then downtown would have an amazing night life.

    A little further down Third Street, Schlitz and Giggles is set to open in about 4 or 5 weeks I think. Still further down Third Street (but before the Wine Loft), the M Bar is supposed to open in early September. I drove by both places over the weekend. Both appeared to have active renovation efforts (i.e., not just a "coming soon" sign, but actual construction). These places should be very nice additions to third street.

    Of course, openening in a year or so should be the "Stroube's Chop House" (or whatever they end up naming it). From what little info that has been released, it looks like a large component of this new restaurant will be an upscale second floor/outdoor terrace bar. Assuming they do this restaurant right, I think it will be the final component that makes Third Street what we all seem to hope it will be.

  4. im being too lazy to actually post these in the correct thread, but here is some development from 3rd

    M.JPG

    SG.JPGlooks like we gonna have a place to chill upstairs

    Thanks for posting this. I was really curious to get an idea of what the inside of this place would look like. I drove past there last weekend. The doors were open and it looked like they were doing some work. Couldn't really get a good look inside. Glad you posted the picture. Speaking of, how did you get these pictures?

    I plan on trying out this place very close to opening night. I hope its nice, yet not too pretentious.

  5. Thanks for the heads-up Rardy; I posted that on the Entertainment District thread on August 14th. But I'm glad you brought it up again bec. nobody commented on it. That kinda suprised me bec. this sounds really cool! :shades:

    Where exactly would the 1.5 acres be?? I'm curious to know; I know it says behind the Hilton. And what would it look like from the ground up???? Oh well, still a ways to go before we find out I guess.

    Camm Morton coming to BR with these innovative projects has been nice!

    It looks to me like this would have to be the surface parking lot that is bordered by Florida, Lafayette, Laurel and River Road. That lot is about 1.5 acres.

  6. The following quote from The Advocate has me encouraged. I looked at the website for Beluga in Orlando and was very impressed. Prime steaks, seafood, and a hip, modern atmosphere with what appears to be a more prominent bar than the average restaurant. If this new restuarant models itself after Beluga, I will be very excited.

    Beluga website:

    Beluga

    Four years and 150 prospective tenants later, Commercial Properties Development Corp. announced this morning that Capital City Grill owner Rick Volland will open an as-yet-unnamed restaurant in the former Stroube

  7. I am thrilled that this restaurant will be a steakhouse. I only hope that the new owners do it right. People expect a lot out of a steakhouse. The steaks at this place need to be at least as good, if not better than Chris' or Flemmings. If the steaks are that good, the restaurant will succeed (and flourish). I worry that Capitol City Grill has no experience with top quality steaks. If they simply try to use there current recipes and cooking techniques for the steaks at this new place, it will fail miserably. I hope they know that this new restaurant has to be completely new. They can't just copy large parts from Capitol City Grill and slap a more expensive price tag on it. Having said that, I would love to have an independent but still top quality steakhouse. Brennan's did it in N.O. Maybe this restaurant can do it here.

    "Another element of the plan at the Shaw Center calls for converting the long-abandoned Stroube's Building on the corner of Third Street and North Boulevard into a New York-style steakhouse. Capital City Grill owner Rick Volland will own and run the establishment, which will have a bar indoors as well as on the second-floor terrace. The tentative name of the restaurant is Stroube's Chop House, in recognition of the historic building in which it will be located. "Basically it's going to be an upscale but casual steakhouse/chop house," Volland says. "We'll have a lot of booths with rich, dark wood."

  8. Yes twstd the DDD Meetings are open to the public; they are pretty cool to go to. I have been to a few meetings; but it's been exactly a year since I went to one. My work schedule really does not allow me to attend. <_<

    I would really love to go to the one today, but work will keep me from going as well.

  9. The Grove is trying to get access to the new I-10 frontage road that runs between Bluebonnet and Seigen:

    "At least three major property owners along Interstate 10 are hoping for some traffic adjustments between Siegen Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard that will help their businesses..."

    "...Carmouche of Carmouche Construction Co. is developing The Grove, which he describes as a high-density TND. While not getting the access point won

  10. I know this has been talked about in a few other threads, but this development looks big enough to warrant its own thread:

    "The Planning Commission approved last night The Grove, a high-density traditional neighborhood development near the Picardy Avenue extension. The development will go before the Metro Council next month for final approval.

    Developer Richard Carmouche is hoping to tie the development directly into the Picardy extension. City-parish officials support his plans to get access to the interchange, and the state Department of Transportation and Development favors the idea in theory. The next step is for engineers from the city-parish and DOTD to work out a plan for one or more access points, which they would present to the Federal Highway Administration, a DOTD spokesman says.

    Plans are to have 800 condo units, two hotels, 225,000 square feet of retail (mainly service businesses targeting residents), 300,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of restaurants. For a look at renderings of the development and where it is in relation to the Mall of Louisiana"

    Artist rendering

    I wanted to post the above linked picture directly into my post but I don't know how. If someone else knows how, please do.

  11. Here are a few pics of a model of downtown Baton Rouge I made on Google Sketch Up. :)

    Thats some impressive work. I love the way River Place and City Plaza II look.

    Is that google sketchup file a file that can be emailed or is it something you can post a link to?

  12. ^ Like the idea^! Mayor Kip Holden has tried several times to have the R.R.(removed, diveted), but to no avail. <_< KC R.R (or whoever) has not been very cooperative.

    Actually the proposed DeSoto Park a little further North sounds like what most of yall would prefer.

    Emminent domain.

    Take the damn land. There are not many instances where emminent domain is more appropriate.

  13. This is a great read from Sunday's Magazine section of the Advocate. Some of this is a suprise!

    http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/...ne/8359077.html

    A new brochure, "Baton Rouge a City of Landmarks Walking Tour," helps walkers spot historically significant buildings, sites and vintage homes.

    The full-color brochure includes a map of approximately a mile and covers the North Boulevard Promenade, Capitol Park, the Riverfront, three historic districts and Central Business District, including numerous buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, and nine downtown museums.

    The guide lists 46 buildings known for their historic and architectural significance. Along with each is a brief description of each landmark. As lagniappe, there's a list of downtown museums.

    For example, the ceremonial Indian mound near the Old Arsenal Museum was probably constructed about A.D. 1000 and may have served as a ceremonial platform for a temple or chief's house. The Tessier-Lafayette Buildings, 342-348 Lafayette St., date from 1820 and 1840. Legend holds that the Marquis de Lafayette visited here in a return visit to the United States in 1825. The Old State Capitol, Lafayette Street and North Boulevard, an 1847 Gothic Revival structure, was gutted by fire during the Civil War, and is now a museum of political history. The State Capitol is an Art Deco masterpiece completed in 1932 by Gov. Huey P. Long at a cost of $5 million, including $1 million worth of art.

    The brochures are available at the hotels, the Baton Rouge CVB office, 730 North Blvd., the Foundation for Historical Louisiana at the Old Governor's Mansion, 502 North Blvd., Capitol Park Welcome Center and The Shop at the Top on the 27th floor of the State Capitol. They also can be found at State Welcome Centers throughout Louisiana.

    I'll be sure to post some of my older pics of some of these historical sites :thumbsup:

    Does anyone know if this brochure is available online?

  14. I am sure you have heard about the 4th of July celebration shooting downtown?

    That really pisses me off. I hope that when the perps are found, they put up a fight so the police can put them in the emergency room like those innocent bystanders.

    I am really steamed about this. Baton Rouge is on it's way to being New Orleans...they'd better put in those cameras ASAP. Those street cameras are why those London bombers are in jail...they'd work well in Baton Rouge. Downtown is a relatively safe area that was doing so well in attracting new people. This really puts a crimp in that.

    I agree that putting those shot spotter cameras downtown should be a top priority. Further, police should be instructed that an activation of the system requires an absolutely immediate (less than one minute) response time.

    Any escalation of crime downtown could really hurt downtowns revitalization chances. This must be nipped in the bud before it gets started.

  15. There's a debate on 225 magazine as to whether BR can do better than FestForAll. The article says that JazzFest and Lafayette's International Festival are not competetors but collaborators and that it's time for BR to have it's own festival. Two weekends, three cities, hundreds of performers, thousand of visitors to the state. Sounds good to me. I think it's time for BR to step up to the plate and have a major yearly music festival.

    http://www.225batonrouge.com/news/2007/jun/28/rant/

    I agree. It would not take too much more money to raise the quality of the bands that perform at FestForAll. I have never heard of most of the bands that currently perform there. I think if a slightly larger investment is made to attract quality bands, FestForAll could explode in popularity.

  16. Yes Gauge, congrats on getting married :thumbsup: A friend of mine is getting married in Nov. and said the $price for a reception at the Hilton 10th floor ballroom was extremely high roller!

    Your exactly right Bryde on the more business-type hotel, the Hotel King would be a great compliment to it's luxurious neighbor the Hilton. They keep touting it as a "boutique" hotel; can a boutique hotel be moderately priced?? Wasn't sure on exact definition of "boutique" eventhough I remember SBC explaining it to Dan months ago. The Hotel King was to have about 92-rooms??

    Thanks for the congratulations. Yes the Heidelberg (10th floor) ballroom is kind of pricey. However, both me and the fiance are big fans of the downtown revitalization. Having everything downtown was kind of a no brainer.

    I agree the Hotel King would/will be a great compliment to the Hilton. I only wish it would be open a year from now. As best I can tell, it does look like Daniel's bill to provide for a tiff for the Hotel King and EBRATS building was passed by both the house and senate. Hopefully this will get the ball rolling on the Hotel King:

    http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/Hist...mp;billid=HB849

  17. How many rooms do you think that building could accomodate as a hotel? I've always felt that what is needed downtown is a moderately priced hotel so if that's what they are planning, then that location could do well. Something like a Hampton, Holiday Inn Express or a Fairfield Inn would fill a niche that's missing downtown. The Sheraton, Hilton and new King take care of the luxury crowd, but for people that have to do business downtown and don't need a full service hotel, they have to stay off College or in Port Allen.

    I agree with you byrde. I am actually getting married next summer and the reception will be at the Hilton. Custom says that if you are going to provide your guests with a luxury hotel to stay in (Hilton), you should also provide a more budget hotel. There is currently no budget hotel anywhere near downtown.

    However, I also agree with richyb83. The EBRATS building does not seem like the best place for this proposed hotel. As richyb83 points out, I think that building would be better as an office or government building.

  18. The TIF will also help get things moving at the Hotel King.

    I would really like to see the renovation get started for this hotel. Can anyone even speculate as to what the completion date might be?

  19. The Wal-Mart will not be built downtown.

    Am I reading that excerpt wrong? It looks to me like they are talking about the Wal-Mart on bluebonnet, but also talking about a wal mart at the property on Fith at Laurel? After looking at it again, it looks like they are just stating that they will generally discuss the demolision of the property?

    Any ideas what they will do with the property on Fith and Laurel?

  20. Planning Commission to discuss Wal-Mart, downtown

    The East Baton Rouge Planning Commission is set to vote this evening on a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter that would be built at the Bluebonnet Boulevard-Burbank Drive intersection. The commission also will discuss the demolition of the New Richmond Place apartment building downtown. Commercial Properties Development Corp. bought the site in the spring and plans to redevelop the property at Fifth and Laurel streets.

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

    This could really help downtown. A super walmart would really jump start all of the upcoming residential lofts and things like the River Place condo's.

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