Beau Box with Beau Box Commercial Real Estate and Edward Rotenberg with Sealy & Falgoust Real Estate have been involved with a 58-acre site near the corner of Ben Hur Road and Nicholson Drive for more than 10 years. Capstone Development, a multi-family developer out of Birmingham, Ala., has purchased the site in a deal that closed last week. According to Box, the site sold for over $9 million or about $3.50 per square foot. Capstone Development had already begun clearing the site prior to its closing, and intends to construct a 382-unit development in two phases, which will house approximately 1,290 residences. Phase I, which is geared toward LSU students, will consist of 583 bed spaces in 159 cottage units. The seller was UPUD, a New Orleans-based investment company represented by Box. Capstone was represented by Rotenberg. Rotenberg and Box had worked through two owners and four potential purchasers. The obstacles included the availability of sewer, existing wetlands and rezoning the property. That coupled with state road access issues made this a complex transaction that took nearly 10 years to complete. The fact, that it has been completed is a testament to both Box and Rotenberg’s patience and tenacity. “The typical Baton Rouge resident does not realize how difficult it is to bring a project of this magnitude online,” says Box. Part of the problem was that a traffic light was needed at the corner of Ben Hur Road and Burbank Drive, and according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, this was too close to the intersection of West Lee Drive and Burbank. Therefore, Ben Hur Road had to be re-located approximately 1,000 feet east of its current location. This will enable a traffic light to be installed further east on Burbank and will allow access to the development from a lighted intersection along Burbank and the relocated Ben Hur, along with access from Nicholson Drive. There are still 200 acres available for development owned by UPUD.
— West Feliciana Parish has a plan to promote good growth, which often means it’s difficult getting new retail development approved. Spring Creek, a Baton Rouge-based investor represented by Brad Way and Trey Williams with NAI/Latter & Blum recognized this and purchased an existing shopping center at the corner of U.S. Hwy 61 and Wilcox Road. The sale took place last week for $1.23 million or about $68.33 per square foot. The center contains 18,000-square-feet and is occupied by Patrick’s Jewelry, Pearls Nails, H&R Block, Wing it Grill and others. The seller was C.P. Daniel Properties, who had owned the center for several years. “It was a good investment for the new owner and we believe the space will only get more valuable as time goes on and St. Francisville continues to grow” says Williams.
(Appraiser Tom Cook owns Cook Moore and Associates. Reach him at 293-7006 or TCook@cookmoore.com.)
