The latest local company planning to relocate to downtown is Forte & Tablada. The engineering consulting and surveying firm has a purchase agreement on the vacant lot at 1029 North Blvd. near Interstate-110 and is planning to develop a facility on the site.
“We felt that this site would serve as a strategic location for our company’s continued growth, for our evolving culture and for our continued 55-year commitment to Baton Rouge,” Forte & Tablada CEO Ann Trappey says. “We are also extremely optimistic about the investments being made east of I-110 in the downtown area.”
The newly rechristened downtown east area has seen a flurry of activity in recent months. In January, Arkel Constructors announced it will renovate the entire 1000 block of Florida Street, where its headquarters are located.
Also nearby, the long-vacant Northside Motors Exchange building at 655 Scenic Highway has been converted into a shared collaborative space. Two new multifamily complexes—the Elysian II and the Deville Apartments—are also under construction in the area.
Trappey says her firm has been eyeing downtown for some time and that the 36,555-square foot lot came along at the right time. The property’s listing price is $658,000.
“The future Water Campus, the new IBM building and many other recent investments that have been made to promote quality-of-life have us excited about downtown Baton Rouge,” she says.
Claire Major, who co-owns the property with Chris Remson, confirms the lot is under contract.
“We’re excited about it,” says Major, whose family is behind the Northside Motors Exchange project. ‘We’ve had other offers on the property before but they would not have enhanced the property or the neighborhood like this will.”
Forte & Tablada’s headquarters are currently located at 9107 Interline Ave.off Airline Highway. There’s no word yet on when the sale is expected to close or how long development of the firm’s new facilities might take.
—Stephanie Riegel
