Good growth: The Baton Rouge Growth Coalition is now accepting applications for its Good Growth Awards, which will be featured at a gala to be held Oct. 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel. The application fee is $100 and the deadline is Aug. 12. The awards, presented biannually by the Baton Rouge Growth Coalition, highlight the best in development, design and architecture in the Baton Rouge area. The theme of this year’s awards is “Baton Rouge, White & Blue.” Winners in 2014 include the team behind Acadian Village Shopping Center, 438 Main Street and The Crest at Galvez Plaza. See more details here, and download the application.
New equipment: BREC will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the T.D. Bickham Jr. Park next Friday to dedicate the plethora of improvements to the property, including new playground equipment for young children and new basketball equipment. The park, located at 6850 Pettit Road, also features a new picnic shelter and connector walkways. T.D. Bickham Jr. Park is just one of several BREC parks undergoing renovation this summer. Others include Anna T. Jordan Community Park, which will get an expanded visitor’s center, and Scotlandville Park, which has a new disc golf course and grand opening scheduled for Aug. 6.
Expanding: A utility maintenance company is expanding in Rapides Parish. The Associated Press reports Gov. John Bel Edwards and Iviana Stewart, CEO of SolScapes, announced Thursday that the company will add 40 new jobs with an average salary of $28,000 and retain 35 existing positions. SolScapes, based in Lecompte, performs a range of contracted services for utility and pipeline companies. Stewart owned and operated a nursery business in Florida before relocating to Central Louisiana with her husband in 2008. Stewart says the company plans to use the state’s Enterprise Zone incentive, which includes a tax credit of up to $3,500 for each net new job created as part of the project.
