Back in business: A Livingston-based company has purchased the old 84 Lumber building in Gonzales and plans to start fabricating petrochemical tanks there. Smith Tank & Steel, which paid $2 million for the building on La. Highway 30, says it will hire about 50 people at the facility. The plan is to invest another $3 million to outfit the building and be fully operational by January, says Sam Smith Jr., president and CEO.
Still building: Louisiana had the biggest year-over-year increase of any state in the number of people working in construction during the month of July. There were 140,600 construction workers in July, up 3.6% or 4,900 jobs, from July 2008, reports the Associated General Contractors of America. North Dakota was the only other state to add construction jobs year to year, reporting an increase of 600 positions or 2.8%.
Another location for Britton & Koontz: Britton & Koontz Bank plans to open a third Baton Rouge branch in Towne Center by Thanksgiving. The Natchez, Miss.-based bank is set to move into a 1,300-square-foot space near Bonefish Grill, says Jeff Mancuso, B&K’s city president. B&K looked at other locations along Corporate Boulevard, but the Towne Center space “fit in the overall plan,” Mancuso says.
New design could save properties? One possible new design for Capitol Lofts, the controversial proposed apartment building on the north edge of Spanish Town, would adjust the project’s footprint so that seven houses that contribute to the neighborhood’s historic designation could be saved after all, according to people present at a recent meeting between developer David Slaughter and other interested parties. Under the possible redesign, five houses on State Capitol Drive and North Seventh Street would remain in place, while two houses on State Capitol Drive would be moved to other vacant lots in Spanish Town. Still, saving the houses doesn’t address the question as to whether the scale of the project fits into the neighborhood under the historic district guidelines.
