A long-vacant office building on Corporate Boulevard is set to return to commerce following a local investment and planned renovation, with a major tenant already lined up.
Scott Berg, president of Lee Michael’s Fine Jewelry, purchased the roughly 50,000-square-foot building at 5551 Corporate Blvd. for $2 million in February 2025 nearly two years after a fire caused significant smoke damage to the property in December 2023.
“As a family, we saw it as an opportunity to make an investment,” Berg tells Daily Report. “We do have a tenant for the building and we’re very excited.”
The incoming tenant is accounting firm Hannis T. Bourgeois, which is expected to occupy the first and second floors of the three-story building. The firm is planning to move in later this year, once renovations are complete.
Fabian Edwards of Elifin represented Berg in the leasing transaction, while Charlie Colvin of Momentum Commercial Real Estate represented Hannis T. Bourgeois. The CPA firm currently operates in a space on Tremont Drive near Airline Highway, in addition to locations in Alexandria, Denham Springs, Hammond and New Orleans.
The property has required work following the fire. Berg says his team has spent about a year navigating the redevelopment process—first securing a tenant before moving forward with construction.
“There’s no sense in rehabbing a building if you don’t have a tenant,” he says.
Renovations are currently underway, though Berg declined to provide a cost estimate.
The remaining third of the building is still being marketed, with no additional tenants announced.
Berg says the project reflects a broader goal of returning underutilized properties to active use in Baton Rouge’s office corridor.
“The best thing you can do in a city is make sure that buildings are in commerce,” he says. “It’s good for the city, and it’s good for us.”
The redevelopment comes as portions of the Baton Rouge office market continue to adjust to shifting demand, with selective reinvestment in well-located properties helping stabilize key submarkets such as Corporate Boulevard.
