The historic building at 268 W. Chimes St. near the north gates of LSU’s campus has been acquired by a Mandeville real estate investor, who plans to redevelop the site—until recently, the home of Chimes Textbook Exchange—into a restaurant and bar.
In a deal that closed Thursday, Highway 23 LLC, which is owned by Clark Heebe of Mandeville, acquired the 6,000-square-foot property from WCBR LLC, owned by Dennis Jones of Gonzales. The sale price was $380,000.
Broker Wade Greene of Maestri-Murrell represented Heebe in the transaction and is handling leasing of the building, which was rezoned in late July to CAB-1, or commerical alcoholic beverage. Greene says Heebe wanted to rezone the property to allow for bar and restaurant use.
Heebe doesn’t have a specific tenant in mind just yet, according to Greene, but is talking to several potential operators both locally and in New Orleans.
“We are looking for a restaurant concept that wants to be at the footsteps of LSU,” Greene says. “The property is really going to look great once completed. We will have front elevation renderings completed next week, and will work together with the prospective user to finalize the floor plan.”
The building, which has been vacant since Chimes Textbook Exchange closed earlier this year, is one of several historic properties along West Chimes Street.
It was constructed around 1930 and was the original Kappa Alpha fraternity house. In later years, an addition was placed on the front of the building. Greene says that addition will be removed to accommodate a patio and that the interior of the original building will be restored.
The north gates area is a historic neighborhood that was the first retail corridor adjacent to LSU, when the campus was developed. In recent years, however, merchants and retailers have struggled as commerce has shifted to areas outside the south gates of the university.
Still, a handful of iconic establishments—Highland Coffees, Louie’s Café and The Chimes among them—have thrived for decades while others have come and gone. Greene says his client believes a restaurant and bar that has the right concept can do really well in an area that is beginning to make a comeback.
“In the last five years you can see the area is really evolving,” he says. “Investment demand in the area is very strong. Strong operators and well thought out redevelopment projects will insure that the north gates continues on this path.”
—Stephanie Riegel
