Still building in Livingston: Officials broke ground last week on North Oaks Livingston Parish Medical Complex, a $32 million, two-story, 47,000-square-foot outpatient medical facility. But look for construction to begin on more than just that. Suma Crossing, a 1,037-acre New Orleans-style traditional neighborhood development being built by Baton Rouge developer Garry Lewis, also remains on target. Sherman Messer of Messer Real Estate says construction is scheduled to begin in the next 30 days on 80 condominiums, once permits are issued. An ExxonMobil convenience store will go up shortly, and there’s a pending contract for a Holiday Inn Express. The 800-seat Suma Hill Conference Center begins offering Branson, Mo.-style shows in May. In all, Suma Crossing will consist of 610,000 square feet of retail and 1.1 million square feet of medical and office space, with 11 restaurants and two hotels.
Dinner to come: Gene Todaro just opened his wine bar in the old Southdowns Lounge location, and Enoteca Marcello’s is set to begin serving food this week. Enoteca is Italian for “wine library” and describes a type of regional shop where people can buy and taste wines. Much like The Grape in Perkins Rowe, you can pick out a bottle of wine in the shop and have it with your dinner at retail price.
