Hotel may be developed near Cypress Mounds complex

It’s not shovel-ready, but a tract of land on the west side of Gardere Lane—adjacent to the Cypress Mounds Baseball Complex—has been rezoned for use as a hotel or motel. The 1.43-acre tract is owned by Sthanki Properties, which got the rezoning approval in June. However, company spokeswoman Bianca Matta says that since then, no significant progress has been made with other business partners toward developing a two-story hotel on the site. “It’s not set in stone,” she says of the hotel plans. While Sthanki Properties owns a Best Western in Westwego, Matta says that if the hotel is built on Gardere, it will be independently owned. Matta also says the opening of L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge did not factor into Sthanki’s decision to choose the Gardere property for a hotel. However, she says the site’s proximity to LSU did factor into the decision. —Adam Pearson