An office building at 8555 United Plaza Blvd. known as IIII United Plaza is the first property in the proposed footprint of St. George to officially request annexation into the city of Baton Rouge.
Attorney Charles Landry, who is the managing member of 8555 United Plaza LLC, which owns the building, submitted the annexation petition to the Metro Council administrator’s office this afternoon.
Late last week, the Metro Council received a petition from an individual property owner in the 8900 block of Jefferson Highway, but Council Administrator Ashley Beck says that petition was incomplete and therefore cannot yet be submitted to the council for approval.
Landry’s, on the other hand, will begin making its way through the approval process, which entails review by the council administrator’s office and the Parish Attorney’s office before it is forwarded to the Metro Council for consideration.
As a practical matter, Landry’s petition—assuming it is approved by the Metro Council—would not deliver a significant revenue blow to St. George. As an office building, it pays significant property taxes, which would not be affected, but does not generate sales tax revenues.
Still, Landry—who handled the city of Baton Rouge’s annexation of several large commercial properties, including the Mall of Louisiana and Siegen Lane Marketplace several years ago— says it was important to him and the building’s other three owners to be located within the boundaries of the city of Baton Rouge.
“We want the certainty of being within the city of Baton Rouge,” he says. “We understand the tax structure. We understand the administration. We understand the DPW, the Planning Commission and the city police.”
Historically, the Metro Council has welcomed properties seeking annexation into the city of Baton Rouge. Councilmember Chandler Loupe, whose district includes parts of the proposed St. George, says he does not expect that to change.
“I’ve always believed we should respect the wishes of the property owners,” Loupe says.
However, Councilmember Dwight Hudson, whose district comprises much of St. George and who has been aligned with the movement, thinks annexation talks are premature.
“I think the best thing for everyone moving forward is let both municipalities get set up, calculate their budgets and expenses and we can move forward from there with annexations in the future,” Hudson says. “Having said that, if I get a petition, we typically respect a property owner’s wishes but we want to make sure it does not create an undue burden on whichever municipality is losing or gaining.”
