A southwest Louisiana real estate developer has acquired a 1.1-acre tract at the corner of 38th Street and North Choctaw Drive with plans to develop a Family Dollar on the site, according to real estate broker Harold Williams, who represented the seller in the transaction.
In a deal that closed Monday, Mainstream Development, a Sulphur-based firm that has developed several Family Dollar stores around the state, acquired the vacant property for $395,000 from Cap LLC, a local family-owned investor group. The property was previously the site of a Fidelity Homestead bank but the building was demolished several years ago.
While the sale price is relatively low compared to what commercial real estate fetches in south Baton Rouge, Williams believes the price is twice as high as what it would have been two or three years ago, a positive sign that parts of the 70805 neighborhood are beginning to turn the corner.
“The area is definitely coming back,” Williams says. “There are several indications that things are improving.”
One thing that has helped spawn the increased interest in the area is an upgrade to the Choctaw Village shopping center, which is anchored by a Piggly Wiggly supermarket and is adjacent to the vacant lot. Williams says the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority awarded a Façade Improvement Grant in 2013 to the center’s owner, Cap LLC, and that upgrades have improved the business climate in the area. A new fire station also recently opened in the area, and Williams says several other potential deals are in the works.
“When I first started working in this area 15 years ago, businesses were leaving,” Williams says. “Now you’re starting to see them come back.” —Stephanie Riegel
