Spencer Calahan has begun work to build a new five-story office building in downtown Baton Rouge near the Pastime Restaurant at 252 South Blvd. that will cost the attorney between $8.5 million and $9 million.
GraceHebert Architects is designing the building, which will be located at the corner of South Boulevard and St. Louis Street. There will be two levels of parking, three levels of offices and a helicopter pad on the roof.“We want something classy, we want something tasteful,” Calahan said at this morning’s Downtown Development District meeting.
Work crews have already started demolishing a number of aging houses on the site, and construction of the building is set to begin this summer. Calahan expects the building to be completed about 14 months after ground is broken.
A terrace with space for a catering kitchen and events will be located on the floor below the helicopter pad. The building will have more than 40 offices and a mock court on the three office-occupied floors.
Also at this morning’s meeting, the DDD announced Another Broken Egg will open its new downtown location on Monday. In a news release, the restaurant says it will have a soft opening this weekend.
In other news, the new downtown library at Town Square, the Onyx Building featuring Iberia Bank and the Courtyard Marriott, which will have a Starbucks Coffee, are all underway on Third Street, DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer said.
Baton Rouge Planning Director Frank Duke said updates to the FuturEBR plan, which was adopted in 2011 and is updated every five years, will have a special emphasis on transportation projects. Duke’s goal is to mesh transportation and land use planning in reviewing the master plan.
—Sam Karlin
