steve3n8

both are going to be 6 floors.

There is a Hotel planned in the Long Farm Village Development..... That would probably be the closest to Highland road and the Blue Bayou area unless they do happen to build one closer later on.

Good for city of BR! The more huge businesses that want to be annexed in BR, the less likely St George will survive! Now if they can just get the Mall of LA, Perkins Rowe, and Laberge Casino annexed that would be tremendous!

Perfect examples of Dense urban sprawl would be cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and NYC, and non dense urban sprawl would be cities like Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta... If your gonna sprawl out, atleast go dense with public transit!

Good One Richy, although this could become a reality with that building in the renderings.....maybe not the bowling ally and what not, but still going to be impressive!

I would like to see some renderings for this. I thought they mentioned this being a new elevated freeway type system...

Very sad it has to be that small and short for that HUGE parking lot Just another day in BR for now atleast!

NOW THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT!!! DREAM BIG!!!

LOL! No BR didn't have that many buildings back then........but maybe one day!!! Hopefully

Where did you hear about Audubon Alive Timelordnerd? That's awesome if its true!

Yeah id like to see Residential for that building! Next hotel should be new construction from the ground up....particularly a high rise hotel like the Marriott...

CVS purchase at Burbank and Gardere signals neighborhood's resurgence CVS has acquired a 1.7-acre tract at the intersection of Burbank Drive and Gardere Lane and plans to put a new store there, which will bring to 21 the number of CVS pharmacies in the greater Baton Rouge area. State Fuel Centers Inc. sold the property for $1.35 million, or $18.23 per square foot, in a deal that closed Wednesday. That a national drug store chain like CVS would invest at this intersection—which marks the entrance to what was once one of the city's most notoriously dangerous areas—suggests the area is on the upswing, according to local real estate agents. "I think it is turning," says Louis Barcelona Jr., of Triangle Realty, who represented the seller. "With the [L'Auberge] casino nearby, the sheriff's substation across the street and all the new road construction, the area is definitely improving." At nearby Burbank and Bluebonnet Boulevard, construction is underway on a Super Walmart and a new Sonic Drive-In. At Bluebonnet and Nicholson Drive, home construction has begun in The Preserve at Harveston, a TND. Meanwhile, L'Auberge Casino & Hotel at River Road and Gardere Lane celebrated its one-year anniversary in September. Read a Business Report cover story from February about the resurgence of the Gardere area. —Stephanie Riegel Businessreport.com Garden View Assisted Living plans expansion into B.R. market Locally operated Garden View Assisted Living hopes to help fill a need in the area by opening an assisted living facility at 3130 Jones Creek Road, says Julie Comeaux, a representative from the corporate office. "The market seems like it's the perfect market," she says. The Jones Creek facility will be Garden View's first location in Baton Rouge and third location overall. Its two other facilities are in Lafayette and New Iberia. Comeaux says the company expects to begin construction on the two-story, 64,600-square-foot development by the beginning of 2014, which would have the suite-style living facility opening by January 2015. Garden View offers a wide range of services and amenities, from personal kitchenettes and daily activities to cooked meals and a secure memory unit for patients with dementia. They have already begun to sign leases and take deposits, Comeaux says. According to the permit application recently filed with DPW, the project will cost approximately $8 million. However, Comeaux says the project is still in the process of being put out to bid and the $8 million figure may not be the final cost. —Rachel Alexander Businessreport.com

FuturEBR architect says creating City of St. George would be 'terrible' After forecasting a "very bright future" for Baton Rouge in general, urban and regional planner John Fregonese warned today of one potentially hazardous cloud on the horizon: the proposed City of St. George. "It'd be like being in a house where the parents are divorced and aren't talking to each other," said Fregonese, whose Portland-based firm authored the city-parish's master plan, FuturEBR. "It'd be terrible." Addressing the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today, Fregonese said if successful, the effort to create the City of St. George would seriously weaken Baton Rouge's image as a strong, cohesive city for business investments such as the landmark IBM deal that was announced earlier this year. Acknowledging he understands the reasons for the proposed city, Fregonese said the financial calamity it would produce for the city-parish would jeopardize projects like the South Baton Rouge Medical District, which he calls a "tremendously powerful force" for the community. Fregonese also emphasized today the necessity for updating and simplifying the city-parish zoning code so that businesses don't have to jump through as many hoops to get their projects out of the ground. "The right thing to do needs to be the easiest thing to do," Fregonese said. In addition to the medical district, Fregonese previewed two other projects along Government Street and Nicholson Drive on the horizon that are recommended in FuturEBR. The Government project involves reconfiguring the current four-lane street into three lanes and adding sidewalks and street parking. The Nicholson plan includes implementing a two-mile streetcar track from City Club on North Boulevard to Tiger Stadium, as well as expanding Nicholson Drive from 60 to 80 feet to accommodate 10-foot sidewalks on either side. Draft plans of the two projects will be available for public review at open houses in February, Fregonese said. —Rachel Alexander Businessreport.com

Project to create South Baton Rouge Medical District beginning soon The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is close to hiring a consultant team that would help East Baton Rouge Parish create a South Baton Rouge Medical District. As first laid out in broad strokes in FuturEBR, the city-parish master plan, officials hope to leverage the Bluebonnet/Perkins/Essen medical corridor as an economic driver and an important part of the city's brand. A consultant would create a plan for "attracting and retaining top-tier healthcare professionals, providing a dynamic community in which all may live and work, expanding and improving transit options serving the area, and coordinating diverse stakeholders around a shared vision of growth and economic development," according to the request for proposals. While each health care institution has its own internal plans and structure, the RFP says, they could benefit from a governance mechanism that identifies opportunities to collaborate and access tax incentives. Three finalists were interviewed last week, and representatives of the top choice will fly in Monday for a follow-up discussion, says John Spain, BRAF's executive vice president. He declined to identify the firms. Spain says two finalists "blew us away," meaning another strong option is available if a deal can't be reached with the first choice. The plan is to be delivered after 12 to 15 months at a cost of $700,000, the RFP says. —David Jacobs Businessreport.com

Duany: Vitality of youth should drive development Cities looking to revitalize need to cut red tape and allow young people to "make it cool" and "get things done," says prominent planner Andrés Duany. Duany, best known locally for his role in Plan Baton Rouge 15 years ago, spoke Monday at the opening night of the 2013 Smart Growth Summit. "If you don't make it cool first, then you have to do public-private partnerships, because the developers who are coming in are coming in too early," he said. While such partnerships and tax incentives once were abnormal, now developers have "all this government largesse lined up before they even look at the project," Duany said. "Is that how we built America? … Public-private partnership is a symptom of not allowing the vitality of youth to come in and do the work." According to Duany, "Detroit is the coolest place of all," because the city doesn't have the wherewithal to enforce expensive and burdensome rules. "The young people can actually start businesses," he said. "The inspectors show up and say, 'Don't hurt yourselves.'" The summit, hosted by the Center for Planning Excellence, continues today and Wednesday at the Shaw Center downtown, which was built through a complex partnership and which Duany praised as "luxurious" and "a diamond." Duany is partaking in a summit seminar this morning focused on urbanism, and later today other officials will discuss the public-private partnership that enticed IBM to bring a services center to Baton Rouge. See the full schedule of events. —David Jacobs Bussinessreport.com

Couldn't have said it better! That's what I always say!

Historic Spanish Town apartments have new owner Commercial real estate broker Benjamin Stalter has acquired two historic apartment buildings in the 600 block of Spanish Town Road from Stuart Nixon and is planning to restore them using historic building tax credits. "We are really excited," says Stalter, who will be taking his first stab at historic restoration with a group of partners that includes Robert Lay and Derek Fitch. "This is a passion I have always had but the right opportunity never presented itself, until now." Stalter paid just $185,000 for both of the 1920s-era buildings, but they need a lot of work. One is merely in bad condition, and the other was nearly destroyed by fire in 2009. Nixon wanted to tear down both buildings after the fire, but preservationists mounted a campaign to save them. Nixon relented after finding what he thought was a buyer in developer John Schneider, who has done historic restoration projects downtown and said he wanted to restore the buildings. But after trying for three years, Schneider walked away from the deal, saying it was too costly to properly restore the structures—even with the help of tax credits. Stalter is undeterred by Schneider's experience and believes the buildings can be properly restored and still be a good investment. "I see a lot of potential in Spanish Town," he says. "It's a good market, and with everything going on downtown, this is going to be a high-demand area."—Stephanie Riegel Businessreport.com

Benny's files zoning application for seventh area car wash Benny's Carwash is making plans for a new Benny's Express on Siegen Lane just north of Perkins Road and across from Winn Dixie. The company filed an application earlier this month with the Planning Commission for a zoning change to allow the facility, which will be the seventh Benny's—and fifth Express—location in the local market. Benny's has not yet closed on the property, which it has under contract, and Justin Alford, whose family has owned Benny's since 1951, says it is still early to discuss plans for the new site. "We have a little ways to go before this is a done deal," he says. "But this is an area we have been looking at for a long, long time and we would like to be there." Benny's closest location to Siegen Lane is its full-service facility on Essen Lane. The Benny's zoning request comes as a Central-based competitor, Geaux Clean, is moving forward with plans to open its third car wash in the market on the north end of Siegen near Champs Collision Center. While that might suggest plenty of demand in the local market for car wash outlets, Alford says the business is both expensive and risky. Stephanie Riegel Read the full story. Businessreport.com M-Tec/Rise plans new office, warehouse behind Celebration Station Industrial sales company M-Tec/Rise is planning to build a new office and warehouse on land near the intersection of Airline Highway and Interstate 12, just behind Celebration Station, says owner John Guillory. Although the company has yet to close on the Patriot Drive parcel, Guillory says it's under contract and should close in approximately 15 days, once the developer, Donnie Jarreau Real Estate, has Baton Rouge water services connected on site. The property consists of two lots, one on which M-Tec/Rise will build, and one which Guillory says he may lease or use for future expansion. JEG Holdings, Guillory's LLC, has already filed a permit application with the Department of Public Works to build the 3,500-square-foot office and warehouse. The office will comprise about 2,100 square feet and the warehouse roughly 1,400 square feet, Guillory says. That's about 1,000 square feet larger than M-Tec/Rise's current space at 12232 Industriplex Blvd. According to the permit application, the new building is expected to cost $200,000. Guillory expects to break ground by Dec. 1, which would have the company moving in by April 1. —Rachel Alexander Businessreport.com

A development like the Brownstones I believe should be in MidCity instead of Downtown. I just think we need to see more High rises in the Downtown area and 3-5 story buildings lined up along MidCity streets like Government, North, and Florida!

With sales exceeding expectations, University Club readies new filing Developers of University Club Plantation have submitted to the Planning Commission plans for a new filing of 68 home sites. The filing—the 10th at University Club—will be called Veranda and will feature homes of between 2,600 square feet and 3,200 square feet, priced between $350,000 and $500,000, according to developer Sinclair Kouns. The homes will feature a traditional, Southern-style design and will be built by Bardwell Construction. "We are honored to be included in the visioning of Veranda and can't wait to bring this new product to the University Club market" says a statement from Bardwell. University Club has experienced rapid growth over the past year. Two other filings, Tiger Crossing and Lake Crest phase two, opened in July and have exceeded expectations, Kouns says. More than 50 of the 70 lots built in the two filings have sold, which Kouns attributes to pent-up demand for housing at the price points offered at University Club. "We are finding that really the price point that is lacking in inventory is between $450,000 and $600,000," Kouns says. "It's been great for us. We had budgeted to sell about 15 homes a year.We did more than 50."—Stephanie Riegel Businessreport.com

BullChicks to open first La. franchise in Baton Rouge Corpus Christi, Texas-based fast-casual restaurant chain BullChicks is planning to open its first Louisiana franchise in Baton Rouge on Coursey Boulevard early next year. "We are definitely planning on further expanding in Louisiana," says BullChicks Chief Brand Officer Narisa Samji. "This is a corporate-owned location, but we will be looking for the right franchisees to open more locations in the state." BullChicks has seen rapid growth since the first location opened in Corpus Christi in 2006, Samji says. "We started franchising in 2010, and we've actually sold development rights in about 17 states." There are currently 11 BullChicks restaurants in five states, including California, Kansas, Minnesota and South Carolina in addition to Texas—where the majority of the locations are. BullChicks will open in a 3,155-square-foot space at 11135 Coursey Blvd. The company recently submitted its initial permitting applications with the city-parish, and it is in the process of finding a contractor to begin renovations on the vacant space on Coursey—formerly home to an Arby's. "It will definitely be within about 90 days from the first of 2014," Samji says of an anticipated opening date. The BullChicks menu features burgers, chicken wings, sandwiches, wraps and salads. "I think what sets us apart is our versatile menu," Samji says. "We really go off on our variety and have something for everybody in the family." —Steve Sanoski Businessreport.com

I will give you the credit Richy! LOL

Another apartment complex planned downtown Yet another new apartment complex is under development downtown and slated to open next fall. Forty on Fifth, a four-story apartment building developed by Commercial Properties Realty Trust, will offer 40 one- and two-bedroom units at 405 North Fifth St. 40 on 5th LLC recently filed a permit for the new building with the city-parish Department of Public Works. According to the development's website, it will offer four different floor plans, which are subject to change. Each floor will house five one-bedroom units, which average 697 square feet; one "convertible" unit, which average 701 square feet and add what appears to be a small office space; two "one bedroom plus den" units, which average 843 square feet; and a pair of two-bedroom units, which average 1,045 square feet. All apartments feature granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, washer and dryer, custom-built kitchen islands, hardwood floors, SMART Home technology with Internet and cable TV included, ceiling fans, and balconies overlooking Fifth and Laurel streets. Residents will have access to a rooftop patio and grilling area, an onsite fitness center and a secured onsite parking garage. Commercial Properties Realty Trust spokesperson Tina Rance did not return a call for comment in time for publication. Also downtown, Commercial Properties is developing 525 Lafayette, the luxury residential component to the IBM complex, and redeveloping the Onyx building on Convention and Third streets into The Onyx Residences, on which it began construction a month ago. —Rachel Alexander Businessreport.com

Planet Fitness to open second location at Siegen Village Planet Fitness will open a second Baton Rouge location at 6900 Siegen Lane sometime in February, says general manager Al Devillier. The fitness center will occupy the space in Siegen Village formerly occupied by Stage. Devillier says the clothing store closed down about two months ago, and Planet Fitness' move was finalized this month. Planet Fitness is renovating the approximately 32,000-square-foot space at a projected cost of $500,000. "Basically the building is there, and not a lot of renovation inside is necessary except for putting in the locker rooms," says Devillier. "And we have to build some partitions for our tanning rooms, rooms for our massage chairs, rooms for our hydro massage beds, and a couple of rooms for our beauty angel booths." DK Mullin is doing the renovation, according to a permit application recently filed with the Department of Public Works. Planet Fitness opened a 28,000-square-foot facility as the anchor tenant of the redeveloped Broadmoor Village Shopping Center in early 2012. —Rachel Alexander Businessreport.com

Shreveport developer buys land at Perkins Rowe for multifamily complex Shreveport-based Vintage Realty has acquired a 20-acre tract adjacent to Perkins Rowe for $6.5 million and will begin developing its planned 334-unit multifamily complex on the site early next year. Vintage bought the property in a deal that closed earlier today from First State Bank in New Orleans, which was among the original banks in the consortium of lenders on the Perkins Rowe project. The complex will be called Park Rowe Village, a change from its originally planned name, The Woodlands. "The development will tie in through Park Rowe, which is the main road that comes into Perkins Rowe, so we thought this name made more sense," says David Alexander, managing partner of Vintage Realty, which has 11 other residential developments around the state. As first reported by Daily Report in July, Vintage submitted plans with the city-parish featuring an "e-Urban" design and including 164 one-bedroom units, 150 two-bedroom units and 23 three-bedroom units. Among other space-saving elements, the e-Urban design by Humphreys & Partners Architects of Dallas replaces traditional hotel-style hallways with elevators as the backbone of an apartment building. —Stephanie Riegel Businessreport.com