Capital Region real estate to watch in 2015
Water Campus
After more than two years of planning, construction for the Water Campus got underway in early 2015. The 33-acre research park devoted to coastal and deltaic studies promises to establish Baton Rouge as a world-class center of excellence on all things related to coastal sustainability. It also is expected to serve as a catalyst for redevelopment along the Nicholson Drive corridor between downtown and the LSU campus. In February, construction began on what will be the first building on the campus—the $16 million Center for River Studies, which will house a full-scale model of the lower Mississippi River. Later this spring, a second groundbreaking will be held for a $9 million building that will house the offices of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. An office building for private sector firms that want to do business on the campus will likely be the third structure built. A fourth building—the signature Education and Research Center that will be constructed on the old city dock and house the offices of the Water Institute of the Gulf—is still in the design phase.
IBM Business Services Center
More than 500 employees are expected to relocate in May from IBM’s temporary offices on Essen Lane, where they have been based since mid 2013, to its new $55 million riverfront office tower. IBM will occupy floors four through seven in the building. Other tenants—including New Orleans-based law firm Fishman Haygood and Raising Cane’s headquarters—will lease space on the eighth floor. Later this year, the residential portion of the complex, which has nearly 100 high-end apartments, will be completed.
Rouzan
After eight years of battling neighborhood opponents, waiting out an economic recession and dealing with a foreclosure lawsuit over another nearby project, developer Tommy Spinosa’s traditional neighborhood development in the heart of Southdowns is finally taking shape. Earlier this year, the Austin, Texas-based hipster movie theater chain, Alamo Drafthouse, announced plans to move into Rouzan Village as an anchor tenant. Meanwhile, construction continues of upscale, single-family homes in the TND’s Creekside filing. Everybody knows TNDs take time to develop. Local real estate observers say this one has finally reached the tipping point. Look for other high-end retailers and restaurants to announce their own deals with Spinosa before too long.
River District
In April, the Planning Commission signed off on the final development plan for the 20-acre River District, a proposed mixed-use development that will straddle Nicholson Drive near Magnolia Mound plantation. Though the project, which has been in the works since the mid-2000s, has made its way through the formal approval process, Lafayette sister-and-brother developers Dalis Waguespack and Michael Moreno have yet to announce an official groundbreaking. No one will say for sure what’s taking so long, but real estate experts say financing likely remains the challenge in a market that has a lot of potential but remains untested. Like the Water Campus, the River District is significant because it’s one of the keys to the redevelopment of the Nicholson Corridor and will help link downtown to LSU.
Downtown Hotels
In April, Mike Wampold began demolition work on the historic LNB Building at 150 N. Third St, which he acquired in late 2013 and plans to redevelop as an upscale hotel. Just down the street, meanwhile, South Carolina developer Windsor Aughtry has lad out plans for a 147-room Courtyard Marriott at the corner of Florida and Third streets. The competing hotels—along with a 89-room Holiday Inn Express at North Boulevard and St. Ferdinand Street that is scheduled to open later this year—would bring to more than 1,000 the number of downtown hotel rooms and will enable Baton Rouge to market itself to a broader array of convention and visitors’ groups.
Greenway Project
Work is underway on the city’s downtown greenway project—a 2.7-mile, tree-lined path for cyclists and pedestrians that will wind through downtown and connect with City Park, the LSU Lakes and Southdowns. A later phase of the project will tie in the greenway with Rouzan, Kenilworth and, eventually, a separate BREC greenway also under development that will stretch all the way to Siegen Lane. Consultants from the Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, are helping the city and Downtown Development District develop a bike-sharing program that will be an important component of the greenway project. Together, the greenway project and bike-sharing program have the potential to remake Baton Rouge into a greener, more pedestrian-friendly and connected city.
Baton Rouge General Medical Center Mid City
When Baton Rouge General Medical Center closed its Mid City emergency room in late March, hospital brass assured the community the Florida Boulevard’s acute-care wing would remain open. They conceded, however, that the facility’s business model would have to change. It’s unclear exactly what the future holds for the site, but several options are on the table, namely the development of a post-acute care facility. The Mid City campus already has a large percentage of elderly patients, so a post-acute or rehab facility would seem to make sense. There’s also the possibility the facility could be redeveloped into the mental health assessment center the city wants to build. It’s a prime location, but it wouldn’t be an overnight transition. Either way, the future of the facility will have an impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
