Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the Center for Coastal and Deltaic Solutions, the signature building at the Water Campus on the site of the old city dock. A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Completion of the 34,000-square-foot building, which will be home to The Water Institute of the Gulf as well as to a collaborative work space and an event venue, marks a significant milestone in the development of the research park. Two other buildings have previously been completed—the office building that houses the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the LSU Center for River Studies, which houses a 90-by-120-foot scaled model of the Mississippi River and is expected to officially open in January. Yet it’s the Center for Coastal and Deltaic Solutions that will serve as the iconic structure on the campus, not only because of its location on the Mississippi River but also as a highly utilized community gathering site.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, through its real estate company, Commercial Properties Realty Trust, is developing the $60 million Water Campus between River Road and Nicholson Drive near downtown. As envisioned, the campus will be a world-class research park that will attract experts in the field of coastal and deltaic studies. It will also serve as an economic development catalyst for the Nicholson Drive corridor.
Earlier this year, BRAF raised $210,000 from a fundraising campaign, in which it offered donors the opportunity to have their name, or the name of someone they wish to honor, embossed on metal plaques that will line the back of the risers at an outdoor amphitheater at the Center for Coastal and Deltaic Solutions. The stadium seating facility will overlook the river and link the new building with the refurbished city dock.
A second phase of the risers campaign, which ultimately seeks to raise $500,000, will open in early 2018. The campaign is part of an effort by BRAF to help recoup some of the $17 million it is spending on infrastructure improvements at the 35-acre campus, such as road construction, burying utility connections and protecting the railroad crossing.
With the completion of the first three building at the Water Campus, Commercial Properties is turning its attention to two additional buildings, including one that will house 20 loft style apartments and an office center. Construction should begin on those buildings in the spring, CPRT spokeswoman Tina Rance says.
—Stephanie Riegel
