Commercial development near LSU is booming—at least on some sides of campus.
To the west, LSU’s massive Nicholson Gateway Development is nearing its expected fall completion. To the south, several commercial and mixed-use developments are underway along Burbank Drive, from Highland Road all the way out to Bluebonnet Boulevard.
But the story is much different around LSU’s North Gate—Baton Rouge’s second-oldest commercial neighborhood.
Nicholson Gateway marks the first phase of a total transformation of the Nicholson Drive corridor—the largest underdeveloped tract of university-owned property adjacent to the heart of campus. The 28-acre site between West Chimes Street and Skip Bertman Drive will feature 38,000 square feet of retail space, anchored by Matherne’s Market, and 1,625 parking spots.
North Gate, on the other hand, has neither grocery stores nor adequate parking. It does, however, claim some of Baton Rouge’s most legendary businesses, including The Chimes, Louie’s Cafe and the original Raising Cane’s. Still, being so close to campus has been paradoxically difficult for the area.
Bounded by Highland Road, West State Street, Lake Street and Chimes Street, the historic district is “limited” in its capabilities, says Highland Coffees owner Clarke Cadzow, who doubles as a recreational North Gate historian. Chief among these: Business nearly comes to a screeching halt when classes are not in session.
“When one adds up all of the school holidays at LSU and the periods between semesters, one gets about 16 weeks, or close to four months,” Cadzow says. “That number does not include summer school, which, of course, has far fewer enrolled students than do the fall and spring semesters.”
From 1925 until the early 1980s, Cadzow says, most off-campus dining and shopping took place in the North Gate area, then known as Tiger Town. Before 1980, there was little restaurant or retail development south of campus.
Since that time, however, an influx of new apartments for LSU students have been built south of campus, not to mention the newer on-campus amenities available to the LSU community. Restaurants and retail stores followed.
Real estate broker Jonathan Walker of Maestri-Murrell Commercial Real Estate says the city’s southern section is seeing most of the development because of a “greener pastures effect,” fueled by a housing boom. In line with Baton Rouge’s current retail trends, these developments are primarily “stores you can’t find online” that offer “a service and an experience,” he says, including nail salons, restaurants and fitness centers.
Walker says the Nicholson Gateway development and the North Gate area primarily target the same consumer: students.
“Retail follows rooftops,” he says, adding, “Nicholson Gateway is on campus, so I think they’ve got to be able to survive just by the student population.”
Cadzow maintains the North Gate area still has its charm. Every fall, for example, it hosts the North Gate Fest, a popular music and arts festival held on Chimes Street.
“There is no doubt that the competition will continue to increase, but we have no control over that,” he says. “We need to continue to remind people that we are here … and that we are worth supporting.”
