At a groundbreaking ceremony in Livingston Parish today for the long-awaited $350 million Juban Crossing development, hundreds of public officials and business leaders in attendance learned of just one retailer—Kohl’s department store—to be a part of the first phase of development. “We are in negotiations with many others, and we look forward to announcing those in the coming weeks,” says Stephen Keller, principal of Creekstone Companies, which is developing Juban Crossing. Ross Dress for Less and T.J. Maxx are also in negotiations, according to a press release distributed at the groundbreaking. Livingston Parish President Mike Grimmer has said the retailers at Juban Crossing will likely reflect those at Town Center at Cedar Lodge in Baton Rouge, which Creekstone also developed.
Anticipating a fall 2012 opening, the first of three phases of development on the 471-acre site at Interstate 12 and Juban Road will include 350,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 14-screen movie theatre, national chain restaurants, a hotel, drug store, gas station and two banks. Future phases, which Keller estimates will take five to seven years to complete, include roughly 800 single-family homes, 300 multi-family apartment homes, additional hotels, office space and a town square.
Gov. Bobby Jindal was scheduled to attend the groundbreaking but did not show. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Sherri LeBas appeared on the governor’s behalf and noted 1,500 jobs will be created by all three phases of construction. The development has been in the works for five years, but the launch has been delayed several times because of the national recession. For a look at some of the renderings of Juban Crossing, click here. —Steve Sanoski
