Sliding into Starbucks spot: Camille’s Sidewalk Café is set to open its second restaurant in Baton Rouge after the chain signed a lease for the former Siegen Lane Starbucks location. Benjamin Stalter, an agent with Maestri-Murrell Real Estate who represented Camille’s, says the restaurant should open in July. The Starbucks on Siegen closed in July as part of a wave of store shutdowns aimed at revitalizing the company.
Got the go ahead: The Planning Commission on Monday afternoon approved Pinnacle Entertainment’s plans for a 576-acre resort at River Road and Gardere Lane. The casino company submitted its concept plan for the property, which follows the concepts East Baton Rouge Parish voters approved in early 2008. Las Vegas-based Pinnacle plans to develop the site in four stages over an extended period of time. The first phase would involve a 169,000-square-foot riverboat casino and a 100-room hotel. The second phase calls for development of a 13.6-acre village green, which would be the center of the overall development. The third phase involves building a second 100-room hotel on the other side of River Road, along with 137,500 square feet of office space, retail space and 240 townhomes. The final phase consists of a golf course, an equestrian center and 430 single-family homes.
Trending down: The number of houses sold in the Capital Region fell by nearly 20% in April, when compared with the year before. According to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple listing service, there were 570 houses sold locally last month, compared with 711 in April 2008. At the same time, the average sale price fell by 15.4%, from $219,123 in April 2008, to $185,288.
