A Kentucky development group expects to begin work soon on a $38 million affordable apartment complex on the corner of Nicholson Drive and Gardere Lane.
LDG Development, which has built more than 400 units in Baton Rouge, will add another 204 units with the new project, called the Meadows at Nicholson. Construction of the long-planned apartments is financed by tax credits, bonds and HOME funds through the Louisiana Housing Corporation.
The complex comes as the local multifamily market is weathering a slowdown, in part due to seasonality. Occupancy rates and rents shot upwards following last year’s flooding, but have trended downward in recent months.
Evan Holladay, development manager for LDG, says he’s working to close on financing for the deal but expects to begin construction in a few weeks. Permits were pulled on Monday for the 260,000-square-foot, four-story building.
“We saw (the location) as a quickly-growing area of Baton Rouge,” he says. “Also being somewhat near the university (and) the Walmart Supercenter; that’s what brought us to the area.”
LDG, based in Louisville, has more than 1,000 units completed or in production in Louisiana. The firm previously developed the $24 million Mallard Crossing apartment complex on Greenwell Springs Road in 2012, as well as the Woodcrest Apartments, an $8 million development completed in 2013 on North Lobdell Boulevard. The developer also recently completed the Port Royal Apartments, another affordable housing complex on Airline Highway.
Families making between $29,000 and $50,000 per year in household income will qualify for units at the Meadows. Rents will range from $780 per month for two-bedroom units to $915 for three-bedroom units. The project will include a 3,800-square-foot clubhouse, fitness center and swimming pool.
—Sam Karlin
