A Baton Rouge-based physical therapy clinic is expanding its footprint in the area.
Brown Rogers Physical Therapy purchased a garden-style office building on Bluebonnet Boulevard Near North Oak Hills Parkway through Brown Rogers Properties LLC from Dodd Holdings LLC for $1 million, according to a deal filed last week with the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court.
Fabian Edwards with Elifin Realty brokered the deal for the seller and David Palmer of Coldwell Banker Commercial One represented Brown Rogers Properties LLC.
According to Edwards, the office property was built in the early 1980s. Despite requiring renovations to modernize it, the sale price was more than $200 per square foot.
“From a market perspective, for a property like this that has that age to it, that needs renovating and needs modernization to still command the price per foot that is substantial and speaks a lot to the strength of the market in that area and to the office market overall,” Edwards says.
Baton Rouge’s office utilization rates are around 60%, higher than the 50% national average, as reported at the TRENDS seminar in May.
Older buildings lacking significant capital improvements have seen a rise in vacancy. Those properties have experienced a substantial decrease in occupancy since 2020, which has spawned the continued growth of condos. Baton Rouge also has a large number of aged office buildings.
Suburban garden offices in well-located areas still generate healthy leasing activity and are maintaining above 95% occupancy in Baton Rouge.
“Garden office is so strong right now because there was really never a dip, even during the height of the pandemic,” Edwards says. “People can drive up, walk into the office, walk out, get back in the car and go along.”
Brown Rogers Physical Therapy has been in business for 20 years, with Jefferson Highway and Airline Highway locations.
