Trader Joe’s releases renderings for Baton Rouge store

We’re getting our first peek at the long-awaited Trader Joe’s grocery store, which is scheduled to open next September in the Acadian Village at Perkins Road and Acadian Thruway. Daily Report has obtained a copy of architectural renderings for the 13,000-square-foot specialty supermarket, which will be the anchor tenant for a 54,000-square-foot shopping center that will include several other high-end, well-known national retailers, says Tina Rance, marketing director for the property. “We are in the final lease stages with several tenants that will be a great addition to the Baton Rouge market,” says Rance, who works for Commercial Properties Real Estate Trust, which is developing the project. “Baton Rouge is the first Louisiana location for Trader Joe’s, and we feel that it will be a regional draw as well.” Renderings for the project, which is being designed by architects Antunovich Associates of Chicago, depict a stylish brick façade with a distinctly Louisiana flair, including Palladian-style windows and historically inspired, cast-iron luminaries. According to information released by Trader Joe’s in July, the store’s interior will feature a festive décor that mixes cedar covered walls and Hawaiian motifs with local art. The shopping center will sit behind the new Galatoire’s Bistro, which is under development and on schedule to open in December. Check out the renderings here. —Stephanie Riegel