Baton Rouge Growth and Development

[dan326]

Here is the virtual tour for the Cresent at University Lake. I knwe these were nice, but I didn't know they were this nice. The only problem is that the video cuts off before it is finished.

http://www.crescenttour.com/

[richyb83]

That's a really nice development for the University Lake area. They are now begining improvements to plant trees along a new median on the quarter-mile stretch of Stanford Avenue. Also BREC and Wampold are working on a new lighted bike-path, and BR Beach will be larger too.

[Rardy]

BR Beach will be larger too.

BR Beach wink, wink, nudge, nudge

[richyb83]

The Rush to New Urbanism continues......

Plans released with details of another huge development in EBR!

The mixed-use development will include two shopping centers, hundereds of homes, and two movie studios. Plans for 200 acres of the 800 acre site site to remain wilderness preserve and 118 acres turned into lakes. A canal will connect one shopping center to a film institute.

Check the site-plan and sketches.

I-12 is Louisiana's hottest corridor.

http://www.businessreport.com/assets/promo...elicanLakes.pdf

Hopefully a new interchange will come with this development between O'Neal and the Amite River. O'Neal Lane already has a hectic traffic scene.

Edited December 19, 2006 by richyb83

[dan326]

^I was about to post that. I so amazing to see how Baton Rouge is landing all these huge projects.

[Rardy]

The Rush to New Urbanism continues......

Plans released with details of another huge development in EBR!

The mixed-use development will include two shopping centers, hundereds of homes, and two movie studios. Plans for 200 acres of the 800 acre site site to remain wilderness preserve and 118 acres turned into lakes. A canal will connect one shopping center to a film institute.

Check the site-plan and sketches.

I-12 is Louisina's hottest corridor.

http://www.businessreport.com/assets/promo...elicanLakes.pdf

Hopefully a new interchange will come with this development between O'Neal and the Amite River. O'Neal Lane already has a hectic traffic scene.

Are those roundabouts I see on the site plan???

No new interchanges on there...traffic in BR will NOT be getting any better anytime soon.

I like the renderings!

Edited December 19, 2006 by Rardy

[dan326]

Here's alittle more info on the O'Neal project.

"Along with the film school, developers told the crowd they also want to build some 700 new homes, an apartment complex and add 700,000 square-feet of retail space. "

700,000 sq ft is almost a whole nother mall worth of space! No one can say B.R. isn't getting it's fair share of retail.

Edited December 19, 2006 by dan326

[richyb83]

No new interchanges on there.

^I see the dashed lines running across I-12; I am trying to keep hope alive; it may be a few years....you know how that goes.

BRCC is begining construction this week on the Health and Wellness Center. It includes a fitness center; dance studio; 3,000 seat gym for basketball teams; high-tech classrooms on the second-floor.

*No rendering on website; nice rendering in Monday morning Advocate

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/suburban/4941367.html

Edited December 20, 2006 by richyb83

[brresident]

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

Edited December 20, 2006 by brresident

[dan326]

^That is kind of silly. Why not build a parking garage, about 2 or 3 levels? Or maybe that's in the plan as I don't see how even 700 spaces can fit in that amount of space. Neat that it's 5 stories though.

Edited December 20, 2006 by dan326

[BayouCapitalCity]

Pertaining to the Direct General construction... Will it be like a campus of some sort? It looks like it covers the entire vacant property. I didn't know if that was a sewage/overflow pond or is it just a recreational pond on Choctaw. One more pointless question... Why is the ONeal extension built up? Is that a possible overpass/bridge in the farview?

[richyb83]

Why is the ONeal extension built up? Is that a possible overpass/bridge in the farview?

Yes the O'Neal extension/Central Thruway will have an over-pass over the R.R. tracks...not a pointless question

[BayouCapitalCity]

Yes the O'Neal extension/Central Thruway will have an over-pass over the R.R. tracks...not a pointless question

Thanks... I forgot all about the RR tracks. It's good that a thruway like ONeal won't have to stop like a Airline and Sherwood.

[dan326]

Has work started on the Settlement at Willow Grove TND?

[brresident]

Has work started on the Settlement at Willow Grove TND?

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

[dan326]

Just a little tidbit of info.

One of the major housing developers,KB homes, that came to the market a few months ago has started on two of it's neighborhoods. I went by them the other day. Spring Brook on Flannery already has a few houses finised, while Stone Gate on Old Hammond has just finished or nearly finished clearing off the land.

Edited December 24, 2006 by dan326

[bluff2085]

Here is the virtual tour for the Cresent at University Lake. I knwe these were nice, but I didn't know they were this nice. The only problem is that the video cuts off before it is finished.

http://www.crescenttour.com/

The video reveals the size of Crescent condos, showing that what we are seeing now on stanford ave is really only the first of many phases. Wow.

Edited December 24, 2006 by bluff2085

[richyb83]

Baton Rouge makes Top 10 places to own real estate list at #8th fastest rising market, according to analyst from Economy.com!!! Due to see a rise in 07'.

12 of the Top 20 markets are in the South!

http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/20/magazines/...dex.htm?cnn=yes

Edited December 26, 2006 by richyb83

[dan326]

What exactly does that mean? Does that mean we're a good market to buy homes or something like that?

[richyb83]

I think so. It means property values are steadily increasing and will continue to, even with much of real estate values tapering-off(staying the same or dropping) around most of the country.

[dimebag1980]

Holy crud, that's impressive!

[NCB]

I've got a question for you guys. On Jefferson Highway, past the Mall of Louisiana, there are these two huge unfinished, or partially deestoyed buildings. At least I guess that's what they are. From a distance they just look like huge parking garages, as they are hollowed out, but I'm pretty sure that they're not. They've been sitting there for years, and I'd love to know what they are and the story behind them.

[byrde]

I've got a question for you guys. On Jefferson Highway, past the Mall of Louisiana, there are these two huge unfinished, or partially deestoyed buildings. At least I guess that's what they are. From a distance they just look like huge parking garages, as they are hollowed out, but I'm pretty sure that they're not. They've been sitting there for years, and I'd love to know what they are and the story behind them.

Not quite sure of the location you are making reference to. The first think that comes to mind is the unfinished dorm @ Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.

[NCB]

^Yep, that would be it. I saw it nearly every day for three weeks when I was in Baton Rouge after Katrina, and I drove by this past weekend again, and it didn't seem like anything had changed in 16 months. Is there only one building on that site? If that's the case, then I have no idea where I'm getting two buildings from.

[byrde]

That building was supposed to be a dorm for Swaggart's Bible College. That place was growing like weeks in the early 80's until he was caught with the prostitute. The building in the pic ^^^ along with this one below were to be dormitories for his college.

The buiding below was opened as a dorm before his downfall so it was easy to convert it to apartments. The other one has looked the same for the last 20 years.

Oh and this is on Bluebonnet just south of the Mall of LA.