‘Daily Report’ Week in Review: LED secretary says most industrial projects will move forward despite oil price plummet, Carson impresses BR business community and a whole lot more
You might call it a case of bad timing. Less than 24 hours after LED Secretary Stephen Moret told Daily Report that most of the major industrial projects planned across Louisiana would move forward despite plummeting oil prices, Sasol Ltd. announced it is rethinking whether or not to proceed with its planned $14 billion gas-to-liquids plant in Lake Charles.
“The vast majority of the projects are going forward as planned,” Moret said on Tuesday, following his participation in a panel discussion that was held as part of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s annual meeting. “We have talked to a representative sampling of the major projects that have been announced as well as some of the other projects we are pursuing. I would be surprised if it was more than a handful of the big projects (that don’t happen).”
On Wednesday morning, after Sasol announced it was delaying a final investment decision on the Lake Charles plant, Moret told Daily Report the state’s outlook for manufacturing investment “continues to be outstanding.” He notes that Sasol is moving forward with a first phase project in Lake Charles; an $8 billion ethane cracker.
“We anticipate well in excess of $62 billion in manufacturing investment will be completed in Louisiana whether or not Sasol completes its second phase,” Moret told Daily Report. “Similarly we continue to expect the creation of more than 91,000 new jobs from projects announced since January 2008 even if the second phase of the Sasol project does not proceed.”
Also at the LABI annual meeting this week, rising conservative star and potential 2016 presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson delivered the keynote speech and got a warm reception from the audience, which included a large number of local business leaders as well as elected officials from state and local government.
Here’s a rundown of some of the other top local stories making headlines in Daily Report this week:
— Speaking to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, LSU Center for Energy Studies Executive Director David Dismukes said we will be well into the next decade before a barrel of oil costs more than $100 again. Even into 2016 and 2017, oil is expected to trade at less than $65, he says.
— An anonymous donor has pledged to give LSU athletics and academics $40 million upon his or her death, which would mark the largest such gift in the university’s history. LSU only describes the donor as “an alumnus and lifelong supporter of LSU athletics.” Of the total donation, $20 million will go to the Tiger Athletic Foundation to support student-athlete scholarships and $20 million will go to the LSU College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering.
— The East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar of Voters is about halfway through the process of verifying signatures on city of St. George incorporation petitions, and so far only an estimated 3% of signatures have been thrown out because they’re invalid. Though the Registrar’s office declines to provide Daily Report exact numbers, Amy Pourciau, a spokeswoman in the office, says the overwhelming majority of signatures have been verified and that her office is on track to complete the process by the end of February. Theoretically, that would be in enough time to place the incorporation issue on a May ballot.
— As Baton Rouge-based Go Auto Insurance prepares for an aggressive expansion of its reach outside of Louisiana this year, the company also is settling into its new headquarters on Highlandia Drive. Go Auto bought the Suite A office condo at 533 Highlandia Drive for $1,821,500 from R & D Property Development LLC, the registered officers of which are Donnie Jarreau and Randy Poche.
— A grand opening took place this week for a new combination restaurant concept featuring a Schlotzsky’s and Cinnabon Café in the same space at 5565 Essen Lane. The restaurant is in a 3,200-square-foot space previously occupied by a PJ’s Coffee and Verizon Wireless, both of which closed last year.
— Capital Area Transit System buses will begin departing the Mall of Louisiana every hour on the hour on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 8 a.m., when a new route that also will serve the Gardere neighborhood and L’Auberge Casino & Hotel is launched. The new line is called “46 Gardere Limited,” and will operate seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 9:55 p.m. on weekdays; 7 a.m. to 9:55 p.m. Saturdays; and 8 a.m. to 6:55 p.m. Sundays.
— The Downtown Development District is asking the Metro Council to place a renewal of its dedicated property tax on the Oct. 24 ballot. Only properties within the boundaries of the DDD pay the 10-mill property tax, with some exemptions for government properties and others. The tax generates roughly $497,650 annually for the DDD. It’s been at 10 mills ever since it initially was approved by voters in 1987.
— Less than a week after officially opening as downtown Baton Rouge’s first full-service grocery store in nearly 50 years, Matherne’s Supermarket announced an expansion of its hours—staying open two hours later each night—as it tries to keep up with the demand from customers who have been overwhelmingly supportive of the new store. The 16,000-square-foot grocery store—located on the ground floor of the former Capital One Building, now called 440 on Third—already is exceeding the sales volume projections its owners had hoped to meet a number of months from now, once the store was established.
— A second traditional neighborhood development is coming to Central, this one by the developers of the famed River Ranch in Lafayette. In his State of the City of Central address to the Chamber of Commerce of East Baton Rouge, Mayor Jr. Shelton outlined plans for the Shoe Creek TND, a 138-acre mixed-use development on Sullivan Road across from Walmart. The project calls for 700 housing units, including cottages, townhouses, village homes and apartments, as well as more than 68,000 square feet of commercial space for offices, restaurants, a grocery and shops.
— Richards Honda has inked a deal with developer Windy Gladney to relocate its dealership from 7791 Florida Blvd. to his mixed-use development, the Greens at Millerville, at the intersection of Millerville Road and Interstate 12. Con Lemoine, general manager for Richards Honda, says no plans or timeline for the construction and move have been finalized. He says the dealership—which has been at its Florida Boulevard location for 43 years— has been looking for larger space for some time now.
— Developer John Engquist acquired roughly 36.5 acres of land on Mt. Pleasant Road in Zachary directly across from his growing traditional neighborhood development, Americana. Engquist says he has no plans for the property at this time, adding he acquired the parcel because “we want to make sure whatever goes in there is what we want it to be.”
— The Municipal Employees Retirement System is building a 4,200-square-foot addition to its headquarters at 7937 Office Park Blvd., just off Jefferson Highway. The nearly $1.4 million project will include the construction of a new, larger board room as well as improvements to the system’s existing building and an expansion of its parking lot.
— The D’Iberville Apartments at 7520 Chad Ave. in Addis sold for $1,562,500, or about $32,500 for each of the complex’s mix of 48 two- and three-bedroom apartments. The seller, Patricia Hidalgo Amoroso, owns other multifamily holdings in the Baton Rouge area. Sunrise Land LLC bought the complex, which fetches monthly rents ranging from $500 to $650 per month.
— The Pied Piper apartment complex at 4546 Alvin Dark Ave. in Tigerland has changed hands and will get a facelift, according to its new owner. Local businessman Holt Harrison, who owned the 39-unit complex for nearly 30 years, sold it Tuesday for $1.09 million to Ryan Bodin, a New Orleans-based real estate agent and investor. Harrison, who’s retired, says he was ready to sell the complex because he was getting tired of all the upkeep. Bodin says he plans to renovate and paint the complex and “make it look more modern.”
— Stroubes and Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar announced plans to enter the Livingston Parish market at Juban Crossing, which also has landed six new retailers. Stroubes will open a new concept called Stroubes Grill by this summer, while the Walk-On’s will open by the end of the year. The six new retailers are Dress Barn, GNC, LA Nails, Mattress Firm, Maurice’s and Verizon. They’re all aiming to open by the end of the year.
— Arizona-based chain Massage Envy will see its local presence expand with a planned spa on Bluebonnet Boulevard near the corner of Perkins Road. The 3,600-square-foot spa will be in a new, freestanding building at 7940 Bluebonnet Blvd. Mandeville businessman Emmett Smith owns the franchise for the spa and says he will be doing the interior build out, which will cost an estimated $300,000.
— The Water Institute of the Gulf unveiled a new initiative that it hopes will open a community dialogue on sustaining and capitalizing on the Capital Region’s freshwater assets. Into the Blue 2050, as the initiative is called, seeks to increase public awareness of the area’s freshwater assets and engage the community in planning for ways to use those assets to enhance recreation, economic development and quality of life in Baton Rouge.
— U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told Daily Report that Louisiana ports stand to see a significant increase in exports—which already account for roughly one in five jobs in the state—should the U.S. secure new trade rules this year with 11 nations under the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.
— Whitney Bank deactivated the debit cards of more than 7,100 Whitney Bank Louisiana customers, including an unspecified number in the Baton Rouge area, after detecting a fraud in which perpetrators were able to access customers’ debit card numbers and PINs.
— The LSU Library is promoting a new program that enables students in more than 100 courses to access electronic textbooks, thus avoiding the need to buy costly printed ones. The change represents significant savings for students, who typically shell out several hundred dollars each semester on textbooks. E-textbooks are free.
— John Elstrott, chairman of Whole Foods Market, will deliver the keynote address at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s annual Shareholders’ Meeting, which will take place March 24 at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel. BRAC says its annual meeting will be the biggest yet, and will include an awards ceremony, recap of achievements from 2014 and presentation by BRAC President and CEO Adam Knapp.
