By the numbers: The number of building permits issued across East Baton Rouge Parish in February was down 14% compared to the same month a year ago, according to a new report from the city-parish Public Works Department. But while the total of 1,641 permits issued in February was lower than the 1,912 in February 2012, the number of permits for commercial projects was slightly up on the month—70, compared to 68. Daily Report has more details and the full February report here.
In the oven: A Panera Bread bakery and café is still planned for Baton Rouge, says the owner of the franchise rights in south Louisiana, but it won’t be built and open until September at the earliest. Tom Krings has been working to open a Baton Rouge location since late 2010 and says he is still in negotiations to lease four acres of land on the east side of Jefferson Highway, just south of Corporate Boulevard. The full story from Daily Report can be found here.
Making plans: Officials from the Department of Public Works spent Thursday morning walking through the old Woman’s Hospital facility on Airline Highway to determine how best to quickly and inexpensively convert the 24-acre campus into a public safety complex that will house the administrative offices of the Baton Rouge Police Department and, eventually, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office as well. Get the full story from Daily Report here.
This week’s poll question: Do you think the former Woman’s Hospital campus is a good fit for a municipal complex housing law enforcement operations?
