Elbow grease needed: In preparation for the start of the 2012 International Planetarium Society conference beginning this weekend—which will bring more than 600 international delegates from 45 countries to various venues in downtown Baton Rouge, including the Louisiana Art & Science Museum and Baton Rouge River Center—Keep Baton Rouge Beautiful is organizing a downtown cleanup on Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m. The conference runs from Sunday through Thursday next week. Sign up and supply distribution for the cleanup will be held at LASM, or you can volunteer in advance by emailing lauralyn@visitbatonrouge.com.
To the highest bidder: The State Mineral and Energy Board awarded 12 leases covering more than 1,534 acres, out of 28 nominated tracts covering more than 16,136 acres, at its monthly meeting and lease sale held last week, the board announced today. The board says it collected $498,136 in bonuses on the sale, which was the first of the new fiscal year. Leases sold are in Allen, Avoyelles, Bossier, Caddo, Catahoula, Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, Terrebonne and West Baton Rouge parishes.
All boxed in: Beau Box Commercial Real Estate is the new exclusive leasing agent for the Hertz Investment Group’s New Orleans portfolio. Hertz is the largest single owner of Class A office properties in the city. Cres Gardner, formerly with Transwestern, will lead the transition as new vice president and partner of the New Orleans office. Hertz’s portfolio includes the Poydras Center, Poydras Tower, First Bank and Trust Tower and Westpark Office Building—which together encompass 1.8 million square feet alone. Beau Box has had a New Orleans office since 2010.
