Construction is set to begin next month on the first building of the Water Campus, a 30-acre riverfront research park devoted to water management and coastal issues.
A groundbreaking is scheduled for Feb. 11 for the $16 million building that will house a full-scale model of the Mississippi River. The 90-by-120-foot physical model will be a key tool for researchers, with more than 200 computerized, foam panels that will simulate the movement of the river.
In March, a second groundbreaking is scheduled for a building that will house the offices of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. No firm date has been set yet for groundbreaking on the approximately $9 million building.
Plans for two more buildings that will comprise the first phase of the Water Campus’ development are in the design phase. An office building for private-sector firms that want to do business on the campus likely will be the third structure built. A spokeswoman for Commercial Properties says there are no signed leases yet with potential tenants.
A fourth building—the signature Education and Research Center that would be constructed on the old city dock and house the offices of the Water Institute of the Gulf—is still in the design phase. There is no timeline for either of those buildings.
Plans for the Water Campus were unveiled in December 2013. The project is the brainchild of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and represents a coming together of multiple interests: state and city-parish governments, BRAF, the CPRA, LSU and the Water Institute.
Read a story about it here.
