Medicine shop: A national drugstore chain is planned as the next tenant in the City Year building at the corner of Third and Convention streets, a retail development that downtown residents have long wanted. The pharmacy would be the first of its kind in downtown in several decades and would be an essential next step in attracting new residential projects in the area. City Year plans on moving into the One Eleven building next the Shaw Center by November or December. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation owns the building at Third and Convention streets. Mukul Verma, a spokesman for BRAF says the organization does not discuss real estate deals until they are signed.
New place to stay: The owners of the Hotel King downtown have closed on financing and work has started to renovate the property and turn it into a Hotel Indigo. The 93-room Hotel Indigo is set to open in late 2010 at the corner of Convention and Lafayette streets. John Schneider, who is redeveloping the hotel with his partner, Brace Godfrey Jr., says it took 39 months to secure financing for the $25 million project. The Hotel Indigo will feature upscale guest rooms with flat screen TVs and CD players, along with free wi-fi and the Phi Bar and Bistro.
