Council to consider buying former Ethan Allen building for library system

The city-parish is looking into the possibility of turning the former Ethan Allen building at Florida Boulevard and Airline Highway into an outreach services facility for the East Baton Rouge Parish Library. The building would serve as a systemwide training center, as well as a home for the library system’s book resale program. A resolution to purchase the 25,500-square-foot building—of which about 10,000 square feet is warehouse space—for $1 million is being introduced at Wednesday’s Metro Council meeting. The council will not take any action on the resolution this week, but will set a public hearing on the matter for its Nov. 26 regular meeting. It appears the proposed $1 million purchase price would be a bit of a bargain for the city-parish, as the listing for the property by Beau Box Commercial Real Estate has an asking price of $1,147,050. The building sits on a 1.4-acre lot. After spending more than 30 years in the location, Ethan Allen vacated the Florida Boulevard location early this year to move into a newly renovated building it purchased in 2012 on Perkins Road near Bluebonnet Boulevard, just across from Perkins Rowe. The library system currently operates its Recycled Reads book sales program from a facility at 234 Little John Dr. —Steve Sanoski