Compose Digital Design is the latest tenant to move into downtown’s 440 on Third building, joining health tech company Kinesics on the second floor of the mixed-use development.
The new digs for the Baton Rouge communication design firm—previously located on Europe Street in Beauregard Town—includes a studio where clients can walk into a sound booth to record voice-overs for commercials or online marketing videos among other features.
Sarah Powell, the firm’s co-owner and creative director, says the office’s centralized downtown location, near several of her clients, attracted her to the space. She also expects the studio to be particularly beneficial during the campaign season when she creates ads for political candidates.
Completed in 2014, the renovated 440 on Third has 65 luxury apartments, 30,000 square feet of office space and Matherne’s Supermarket, the downtown area’s only full-service grocery store. The local headquarters for USAgencies is also in the building. Originally built in the 1950s, the facility once housed Capital One’s Baton Rouge operations until it was renovated and reopened.
The design firm’s move reflects a trend of businesses moving downtown, with the number of businesses within the district boundaries reaching 644 in July, up from 571 a year before. Average office space rental rates in the area rose by about 15 cents per square foot last year, though Powell declined to comment on her rental agreement.
