Rebuild or retrofit: The fate of Acadian-Perkins Plaza, heavily damaged in a New Year’s Day fire, is up in the air. Structural engineers and insurance agents are determining whether it makes financial sense to retrofit what remains of fire-damaged buildings there or to tear down and rebuild a good portion of the shopping center. What was there in 1968 was perfect for 1968, says Dan Claitor, general counsel for the Claitor family, which owns most of the shopping center through the legal entity R.G. Claitor s Realty. We would like it to be something that, not only our family could be proud of, but our neighbors and Baton Rouge could be proud of. Dan Claitor says his family is well aware of plans to turn the old Wal-Mart site directly across Acadian Thruway into a mixed-use development in the vein of Perkins Rowe, with first-floor retail and second-floor-and-up housing. We would want to complement that, he says, adding that he expects Acadian-Perkins to reopen long before the delayed redevelopment across the way is done.
Arrivederci: Romano’s Macaroni Grill, one of the first tenants in the CitiPlace retail-office development, closed Friday. The chain has been battered by the recession and by bad publicity over its calorie-rich menu. In recent months, Macaroni Grill underwent a makeover, emphasizing its Italian-Mediterranean roots and rolling out lighter dishes.
Back to collecting taxes: The Louisiana Department of Revenue has ended a program that certified the residency of contractors doing work in the state. Jarrod Coniglio, assistant secretary with the department, says the program didn’t fit in with the core of what the revenue department does: collect taxes. “We realized we would do better auditing on the back end to see if contractors were residents,” he says. All contractors who want to work in the state still have to register with the department of revenue and still have to pay all sales taxes and use taxes.
