BusinessReport.com

The developers of Carriage Wood Estates, a subdivision off Vignes Road in southeast East Baton Rouge Parish, have purchased about 35 more acres for the second phase. GM Investments paid $915,681 for the land in a deal that closed at the end of April. The property has been divided into 70 lots and the land is already on the market. Chris Gendusa, one of the partners in GM, says the lots have a minimum square footage of 2,200 and are priced starting at $60,000. That's a little smaller than the first 122 lots in Carriage Wood, which were 2,600 square feet. "There was a lot of interest in smaller-sized lots, from retirees who wanted something smaller to people looking for starter homes," Gendusa says. The first phase of Carriage Wood has been on the market since the fall; Gendusa says 42 lots have been sold, and the first few houses are going up.-- Timothy Boone