Gordon LeBlanc added two more pieces to his growing portfolio of downtown real estate Monday with the acquisition of a parking lot at the corner of Laurel and Lafayette streets and a lot with a small office building on the corner of Laurel and Fourth streets.
Earlier this year, LeBlanc and his business partner, Tom Adamek, acquired two buildings at 626 and 640 Main St. They also own the property at 236 Third St. that houses their investment firm, Stonehenge Capital, and an adjacent parking lot that is the future site of a Courtyard Marriott hotel. Separately, LeBlanc and his family members own the Louisiana Theater Building at 336 Third St.
“It’s just a great time to invest in downtown,” says LeBlanc. “I believe in downtown.”
LeBlanc acquired the two newest properties from Bob Dean Properties. He purchased the 12,000-square-foot parking lot on Laurel and Lafayette with his sister, Moffett LeBlanc Strain, for $900,000. It’s adjacent to a lot he owns next to the Hampton Inn and is an ideal location for a residential project, he says.
“The two lots together are about 25,000 square feet, so that will be something I can develop in the future, maybe as condos,” he says. “There are a lot of new residential units hitting the market downtown right now so we’re want to see how it goes, but that is the long-term plan.”
The other property, which LeBlanc acquired with Adamek for $2 million, covers 28,500 square feet, including the land where the building sits. LeBlanc says it’s too soon to say for sure what the future holds for the parcel, though the 4,000-square-foot building likely will be demolished.
“It’s a strategic investment,” he says. “That corner is going to be important and I can’t believe that the highest and best use will be to retain that building.”
Meanwhile, the building at 640 Main St. that LeBlanc and Adamek acquired in September for $530,000 soon will be redeveloped into new office space that can accommodate two or three tenants. The building is best known as the former Butler Furniture store. Construction is expected to begin early next year. —Stephanie Riegel
