Construction officially got underway today at the Water Campus, a 33-acre riverfront research park devoted to deltaic studies and coastal issues. Gov. Bobby Jindal joined other state and local officials, LSU administrators and business leaders at a ceremonial groundbreaking on the site of what will be the first building on the campus—the $16 million Center for River Studies, which will house a full-scale model of the lower Mississippi River.
“We are now emerging as a world leader in coastal science and engineering,” Jindal said.
The Center for River Studies will be located at 100 Terrace St. just across the railroad tracks from River Road. It will house a 90-by-120-foot physical model that will be a key tool for researchers, with more than 200 computerized, foam panels that will simulate the movement of the river.
“This is an important day for us,” LSU President F. King Alexander said. “This is not just about what we’re doing at LSU. This is going to be an internationally renowned research center on coastal issues.”
The Water Campus is the brainchild of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which unveiled its plans in 2013, and represents a coming together of multiple interests: state government, BRAF, the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the city-parish, LSU and the Water Institute of the Gulf. Officials praised one another today for the spirit of collaboration that made the first step of the project possible.
“People talk about public-private partnerships,” said Baton Rouge Area Foundation President John Davies. “Louisiana does them. We’re a good example of that.”
In March, a second groundbreaking will be held for a building that will house the offices of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. No firm date has been set yet for groundbreaking on the approximately $9 million building.
Plans for two additional buildings that will comprise the first phase of the Water Campus’ development are in the design phase. An office building for private sector firms that want to do business on the campus will likely be the third structure built.
A fourth building—the signature Education and Research Center that will be constructed on the old city dock and house the offices of the Water Institute of the Gulf—is still in the design phase. There is no timeline for either of those buildings.
“We don’t just plan for the now,” said Mayor Kip Holden. “We plan for the future. We dreamed. Today we made it a reality.” —Stephanie Riegel
