Local and state officials gathered at the old municipal dock on the banks of the Mississippi River today to mark the groundbreaking of the 34,000-square-foot, $22.4 million Water Institute of the Gulf Research and Conference Center, which will be a centerpiece development of The Water Campus.
The elevated three-story structure will extend over the river, providing a plaza surrounding the structure for unprecedented public viewing of the Mississippi River beyond the levee. The centerpiece of the structure will be The Water Institute of the Gulf, which will occupy offices on the first and second floors. On the third floor, a major conference space will play host to academic conventions, research conferences and public meetings and hearings, all focused on the preservation of Louisiana’s coast and related efforts worldwide.
Construction of the facility is expected to be completed in summer 2017, when the Water Institute will move from its current office in downtown Baton Rouge to the new headquarters. Now employing 45 research scientists, engineers and technologists, the Water Institute will employ an estimated 55 people at the time of its 2017 move and plans to grow to more than 80 employees in the five years following the move.
“Here at the foot of the Interstate 10 bridge on the Mississippi River, where millions of drivers pass each year, we are developing a world-class campus of water management research, development and project activity,” says Gov. Bobby Jindal, who joined officials including Mayor Kip Holden, LSU President F. King Alexander and The Water Institute President and CEO Chip Groat at today’s groundbreaking, in a prepared statement.
The Water Institute headquarters joins two other facilities under construction nearby as part of The Water Campus. The state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority headquarters and the LSU Center for River Studies are also underway. As envisioned, The Water Campus will include 1.2 million square feet of commercial office, retail, restaurant, hospitality and residential space. The development is expected to create 4,000 direct and indirect jobs when fully built out.
Jindal’s office has more details on today’s groundbreaking. See a rendering of the building.
