Shifting gears: The former Timmons Truck Center at Airline Highway and Tom Drive will be demolished to make way for a new commercial development after an Atlanta-based company with ties to RaceTrac Petroleum bought the property last week. Pepperwood Inc. bought the property from Jane Linch, James Linch Jr. and Hobe Sound Bible College in Florida for $1 million. Pepperwood’s board of directors includes the boards of several companies in Georgia and Texas, including RaceTrac Petroleum Inc., according to sales documents. Jim Dowling of Alliance Commercial Real Estate, who brokered the deal, confirms Pepperwood plans to put a commercial development on the property but has no specifics. Calls to the company for comment were not returned.
Now open for closings: Baton Rouge-based Commerce Title has expanded its footprint to the west side of the Mississippi River with a new office in Port Allen. The company, which has two Baton Rouge offices and a third in Prairieville, will now be providing pre-scheduled closing services from a shared office space at 1650 Beaulieu Lane in Port Allen. The company is calling the new spot a “pop-up office,” as it’s leasing the space from attorneys Jamie Fontenot and WIlliam Kleinpeter, who also have offices on site. “It is clear that there’s a need for more title services in West Baton Rouge, and we’re excited to be able to meet that need,” says Ashley Coco, who is spearheading the new office, in a prepared statement.
Going up: Work is underway on the Arlington Cottages and Townhomes on Ben Hur Road near LSU, and the developers say they are still on schedule to open the 179-unit apartment complex next fall. John Vawter, head of development for Alabama-based Capstone Collegiate Communities, says sitework is underway following a groundbreaking in May. The company received a building permit today for an 8,500-square-foot fitness center and clubhouse in the development. Construction on that space is expected to cost about $1.88 million. Capstone Collegiate Communities purchased 20 acres on Ben Hur Road for the development in May for about $7 million.
