In the two weeks since the former Redemptorist High School site at 4000 St. Gerard Ave. became available for lease, there have been some nibbles but no bites from potential renters of the recently-vacated campus.
Chris Gremillion of NAI/Latter & Blum, which has the listing for the Redemptorist property, says a few groups have shown interest in the property but no serious inquiries have come to fruition. Rent for the campus, which includes 13.6 acres of land in total and 94,412 square feet of school facilities, is listed at $23,853 per month, or about $3 per square foot. Gremillion says the lease price was determined based on comparisons with other schools.
The ideal lessee for the property would be another school, Gremillion says, but it can’t be an elementary school because the campus is located next door to St. Gerard Elementary. The elementary school is operated by the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, which also operated Redemptorist prior to its closing in May.
“We haven’t had any firm interest, but we’ve had people inquire,” he says. “We hope to lease it to another school it has a future land or institutional use for. It currently is a school, so I can’t see a new school having any issues with zoning.”
Redemptorist High School closed its doors for good last month after years of declining enrollment. The school was built in 1947 and renovated in 1998, according to the listing. The location is zoned A-2.
Though speculation has emerged that the Redemptorist site could become home for Cristo Rey Baton Rouge High School when the Catholic institution opens next year, officials with the Chicago-based Cristo Rey Network have said they have never considered Redemptorist as a site for their school.
—Deanna Narveson
