A groundbreaking for the second building to be developed at the Water Campus on Baton Rouge’s riverfront has been delayed more than two months because of the height of the Mississippi River, according to a spokeswoman with Commercial Properties Realty Trust, which is developing the Water Campus.
The building that will house the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority was supposed to have gotten under way in March, based on what officials said in February when they broke ground on the first building at the Water Campus. But because the river level is so high, any construction within 1,500 feet must be put on hold until the river goes down, says CPRT spokeswoman Tina Rance.
Flood stage for the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge is 35 feet. This morning the river was at 30.9 feet. By June 2 it’s expected to be at 18 feet, and Rance says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has told Commercial Properties Realty Trust it should be cleared to begin construction by then.
The Water Campus is a 33-acre riverfront research park devoted to deltaic studies and coastal issues. In early February, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined other state and local officials, LSU administrators and business leaders at a ceremonial groundbreaking on the site of what will be the first building on the campus—the $16 million Center for River Studies, which will house a scaled model of the Mississippi River.
The CPRA building will be the second building developed on the site and will cost around $9 million. The third building planned for the campus is the signature Education and Research Center that will be constructed on the old city dock and house the offices of the Water Institute of the Gulf
—Stephanie Riegel
