Lightstone Buys Baton Rouge Hotels for $15.6M

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. (LVPR) recently acquired two Baton Rouge hospitality assets, paying $15.6 million for a Courtyard and Residence Inn—both Marriott-branded hotels. LVPR, a public, non-traded REIT, had been in negotiations with the seller since 2012 and had locked in the acquisition price several months ago, avoiding the currently rising market prices.

“The acquisition contains two well-located premium franchise hotels that were acquired at a substantial discount to replacement cost,” declared LVPR Chairman and CEO David Lichtenstein.

Aiming to profit from improving market recovery indicators, both assets will be repositioned through property improvements. Additionally, the hotels will also be placed under new management within Lightstone’s hospitality division.

Totaling 229 rooms, the franchise hotels are located in close vicinity to each other just off I-10, which connects the Capital City to New Orleans. Both assets are strategically located with regard to major business and employment opportunities of Baton Rouge, such as the Port of Baton Rouge—the tenth largest in the U.S.; Louisiana State University; the recently-constructed Women’s Hospital of Baton Rouge; the 1-million-square foot Industriplex Business Park; and no less than 65 petrochemical facilities.

The 121-key, three-story Courtyard by Marriott comprises 115 rooms and six suites. It features two meeting rooms for a total of 1,000 square feet of meeting space, Wi-Fi throughout the property, a fitness center, heated indoor pool, whirlpool, onsite Bistro signature dining venue, a Starbucks coffee house and onsite parking. The property’s lobby underwent a $3.1 million renovation in 2010.

The 108-key, three-floor Residence Inn by Marriott extended-stay hotel offers amenities such as a full-service business center, 400 square feet of meeting space, Wi-Fi throughout the property, a fitness center, outdoor pool, whirlpool, sport court, barbeque/picnic area and onsite parking. Guest rooms boast fully equipped kitchens. Additionally, guest rooms, meeting rooms and the lobby are expected to undergo renovation work shortly.

Click here for further Baton Rouge market data.

Image courtesy of Courtyard by Marriott Baton Rouge Siegen Lane’s Google+ profile

$17M Hampton Inn & Suites Baton Rouge Downtown Opens

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

After experiencing some delay, the 137-key Hampton Inn & Suites Baton Rouge Downtown is finally set to open. Located on the corner of Lafayette and Main Streets, the property will be the third hotel to be built or renovated on Lafayette Street.

The $17 million project was initially set to open in late 2012 but was pushed back to late first quarter of 2013, with May 1, 2013 now set as the final opening date. It joins the Hotel Indigo Baton Rouge Downtown boutique hotel and the 290-key Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center on the Lafayette Street lodging corridor. The latter sold a few months ago for $40 million; click here for further information on the transaction.

Located in the center of the state capital’s central business district, the seven-story hotel offers expansive views of the Mississippi River and the CBD. Amenities include a 24-hour business center, Jump Start Fitness center, three flexible meeting rooms totaling 930 square feet (with the largest room featuring 900 square feet of meeting space), a board room seating 14 and high-speed Wi-Fi throughout. Covered parking will also be available onsite.

The hotel was built by Windsor/Aughtry Co., a commercial real estate developer and brokerage firm headquartered in Greenville, S.C., and Baton Rouge developer Richard Preis. Windsor/Aughtry has previously developed four Hampton Inn & Suites in Gainesville, Fla., Tallahasee, Fla., Greenville, S.C. and Columbia, S.C.

According to wbrz.com, Hampton Inn & Suites Baton Rouge Downtown broke ground in late 2011 and is expected to create 50 new jobs in the area. Financing for the projects was provided by private funds, as well as city-parish loans and tax credits. The Baton Rouge Downtown Development District was also involved in making the project a reality.

For more Baton Rouge market data click here 

Image courtesy of Hampton Inn & Suites Baton Rouge Downtown’s Facebook page

Local Hotel Rebrands; $55M IBM and Residential Complex Being Developed

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Magnuson Hotels, one of the top global hotel chains, has announced six formerly
Wyndham franchised hotels converting to the Magnuson Hotels brand. The properties, among them the Magnuson Hotel Baton Rouge, are just the latest in a recent uptick in Wyndham-to-Magnuson hotel franchise conversions ranging from Tyler, Texas to Lansing, Mich.

Located at 9999 Gwenadelle Dr., The Magnuson Hotel Baton Rouge features amenities such as an outdoor pool, complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, meeting facilities and complimentary parking including RVs and trucks.

In other news, technology giant IBM recently announced its intention to establish an 800-job technology hub in downtown Baton Rouge dubbed IBM Services Center. The result of a $55 million public-private partnership, the undertaking includes not only an 800-job technology center, but also a major new riverfront development, as well as computer science-related higher education programs.

The 800 IBM jobs will be created over the next four years and will be joined by 542 new indirect jobs spurred by the development, resulting in a 1,342-permanent-job economic impact for the Capital region. The build-out will also create an estimated 600 construction jobs.

The IBM Services Center will be located in a brand new mixed-use riverfront complex to be developed by Commercial Properties Realty Trust (CPRT), a REIT managing and developing the property holdings in the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF).  The project will comprise an office building housing the IBM center and an 11-story residential building containing 95 river-view apartments, joined by nine separate townhomes.

The project will be developed on the old Advocate newspaper site and is expected to complete the first phase, comprising the office component, by spring 2015. It will be followed by the residential element in the summer of 2016. While construction completes, IBM will lease office space in the Essen Centre office complex.

The project will also receive massive financial support from both state ($14.8 million) and local ($3 million) government, as well as $12.7 million in Community Development Block Grant funds, which will cover the total needed amount of $30.5 million for the construction of the office component. This component will be owned by Wilbur Marvin Foundation (WMF), an affiliate of the BRAF. The residential component will look for funding from private investors but will also be an asset of the same foundation.

Image courtesy of the Baton Rouge Downtown Development District

LSU’s Nicholson Gateway Moving Forward; New Affordable Housing Opens

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

The Nicholson Development Plan was recently put to a vote, and the Louisiana State University (LSU) Board of Supervisors unanimously approved it. The project will see the underutilized tens of acres that make up the Nicholson Drive Corridor completely transformed from an underdeveloped, underperforming back-of-campus area into a gateway district.

According LSU’s homepage, the first phase—dubbed the Nicholson Gateway project—would reimagine the 28-acre area between West Chimes Street and Skip Bertman Drive into a student residential district and mixed-use retail-housing center. As previously reported on this page, the project will create hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space, such as office, retail and restaurant space, as well thousands of new student housing beds.

Some of the office development will be the new LSU Foundation headquarters, with over 149,000 square feet of office space replacing the old Alex Box Stadium. According to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, the LSU Board of Supervisors recently approved a ground lease for the site of the future $20 million HQ.

According to the same source, LSU’s board now has to analyze its options for developing Nicholson Gateway and decide between taking it on on its own, partnering with a private venture, partnering with a private entity via a non-profit, or contracting an outside company or venture to develop the project, which includes tearing down the outdated Nicholson Apartments and replacing it with market competitive student housing for upperclassmen and graduate students.

In other news, LDG Development and Louisiana Housing Corporation have recently officially opened the new 48-unit Woodcrest Family Apartments affordable housing project on N. Lobdell Avenue. The three-story development, which cost around $8 million to develop, offers 24 two-bedroom units and 24 three-bedroom apartments. Amenities include Energy Star appliances, landscaped grounds with picnic and grill areas, a residents’ parking lot, fitness center, business center, and clubhouse with entertainment equipment.

Designed by The Weber Group Inc., the five-acre property is managed by Latter and Blum Property Management and was financed by a bevy of sources including the State of Louisiana – Office of Community Development, Disaster Recovery Unit, East Baton Rouge Parish OCD, Louisiana Housing Corporation, United States Treasury Department, Stratford Capital Group, J.P. Morgan Chase and Hancock Bank.

Image courtesy of LSU

131-key Hotel Picked Up by CWI, Goes Under HRI Management

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

New York-based Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated (CWI) recently announced the acquisition of a five-property Hilton-branded hotel portfolio from Fairwood Capital LLC-managed entities. The transaction, valued at around $104 million, included $64.5 million in debt.

The portfolio includes the 131-key Hilton Garden Inn Baton Rouge Airport in Louisiana, the 105-key Hampton Inn & Suites Legacy Park-Frisco in Dallas, the 119-room Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Downtown, the 144-room Hampton Inn & Suites Memphis-Beale Street and the 133-room Hampton Inn Birmingham-Colonnade in Alabama.

The latter three hotels are to be managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts, while the first two have been included in HRI Lodging Inc.’s (HRIL) management portfolio. All properties were constructed between 1994 and 2004 and underwent significant renovation between 2010 and 2012.

However, HRI Lodging’s sister company HRI Construction has been tapped to handle physical improvements to CWI’s newly acquired properties. Planned work will include upgrading design features to align the hotel with contemporary design standards.

“Adding these two hotels to our portfolio is another step in HRI Lodging’s long-range growth plan… We look forward to implementing the programs and standards that have been successful at our other properties in order to maximize the performance for the owners and the customer experience for our guests,“ HRIL President Gary Gutierrez declared in a news release.

The two hotels represent New Orleans-based HRIL’s eighth and ninth properties, bringing the company’s room inventory to 1,614.

The 131-key Hilton Garden Inn Baton Rouge Airport’s amenities include a 24-hour business center, over 1,500 square feet of meeting space, fitness room, pool, lounge, bar, onsite convenience store, Wi-Fi and the onsite Great American Grill restaurant.

HRI Lodging operates hotel properties in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia.

Photo courtesy of Hilton Garden Inn Baton Rouge Airport’s Google+ profile

$3.5M Repentance Park Set for February Opening

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

The wait for the highly anticipated Repentance Park will soon be over, the Downtown Development District of Baton Rouge recently announced. The entity reports that barring unfavorable weather, the park will wrap up redesign and open by the end of February.

The project, designed by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects with subconsultants Reich Associates and Suzanne Turner Associates, was proposed by the Riverfront Master Plan and Plan Baton Rouge II’s ‘Central Green’ concept.

The park has undergone a reconfiguration process, turning it into a visually pleasing public open space connecting the Municipal Campus, River Center Campus, North Boulevard Town Square and the Arts and Entertainment District.  Repentance’s new design more invitingly promotes pedestrian activity and community engagement, as well as public events.

Among redesign work done at the park is the removal of a parapet wall at the City Hall Plaza, creation of new pedestrian walks, and the creation of amphitheater-like area by the introduction of a gradually sloping lawn. The latter will be used as a concert and performing arts venue.

A pedestrian promenade was created along St. Philip Street, as well as a lit pathway outfitted with benches at the southern part of site.  The park’s highest terrace will feature an interactive water fountain under a shade grove. In fact, 750 fountain jets have been installed at Repentance.

Repentance Park’s new design allows for a variety of uses while being adaptable in the long run. The park has a price tag of $3.5 million. It was initially slated for a late 2012 completion. The project’s primary contractor is Group Industries.

According to The Times-Picayune, the park was named after the only street that ran contrary to Baton Rouge’s original grid design. The street was partially covered by the construction of the Old State Capitol. Though the park will open as soon as it is finished, the ribbon-cutting has been scheduled for April.

Image courtesy of the Downtown Development District 

182-Unit Multifamily Complex Planned, LSU Foundation Considers New HQ at Nicholson Gateway

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Zachary, La. might see some new multifamily development in the near future, as a permit application has been filed for a 182-unit apartment complex between Barsket Road and Bur Oak Drive, on Mount Pleasant Zachary Road, reports The Advocate. Owner Heritage Construction plans to build a 12-building apartment community featuring one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a clubhouse and a car wash stall. Cost are estimated at $14.5 million

In other news, the Louisiana State University (LSU) Foundation is considering building a new headquarters within the Nicholson Drive Corridor redevelopment project. According to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, LSU Foundation representatives are considering the move as not only is the Foundation’s current lease at the Lod Cook Alumni Center on West Lakeshore Drive providing insufficient space, but a new HQ would also provide space for LSU Press and University Relations currently housed in separate structures among sorority houses. A move could also free up space for one or possibly even two new sororities. The new location would be part of the Nicholson Gateway redevelopment project and would take up 149,250 square feet of office space near the old Alex Box Stadium.

As previously reported on this page, LSU is considering the redevelopment of the Nicholson Drive Corridor, a project that could cost between $140 million and $200 million and create an estimated 130,000 square feet of retail, 110,000 square feet (or more) of office space, surface parking and about 1,200 rental student residences. Expanding a streetcar line to the area has also been brought up in some instances. The project, expected to soon go before the LSU Board of Supervisors might break ground as early as 2014, with the first phase completing in 2015 and the entire project wrapping up in 2018. LSU might undertake the project on its own, or enter into a partnership with a foundation or private developer.

Los Angeles, CA-based AECOM, a global provider of professional technical and management support services helped in creating the redevelopment plan, after public and stakeholder meetings.

Image courtesy of LSU’s Facebook page

Costco Heading to Baton Rouge; Condominium Project to Add 104 Units

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Costco’s coming to Baton Rouge seems more like a question of “when” than “how,” after the most recent East Baton Rouge City-Parish Planning Commission meeting. Costco Wholesale Corp., the Issaquah, Wash.-based international chain of membership warehouses, has received site plan approval from the Planning Commission, reports The Advocate.

According to the Baton Rouge publication, the store will be located on Dawnadele Ave. in the now-defunct Coca-Cola bottling plant. The proposed 144,807-square-foot Costco warehouse, which will be more than 30-foot high, and 3,840-square-foot gas service station will be developed on 15 acres of land out of the total 28 acres the company has under contract. Costco plans to open the store warehouse by summer 2014, depending, on the property sale finalizing and state and city-parish approvals.The remaining outparcels will be developed later.

The warehouse club retailer also received a sign waiver allowing it to install four signs atop the structure. The sign will have to be scaled to the height and acreage of the building.

Costco Wholesale representatives are advocating for several changes to Dawnadale Ave., such as new turn lanes, as the road is incompatible with retail developments in its current state.

In other news, the planning commission meeting also approved plans for the expansion of The Cottages at Southfork condo project.

The Cottages at Southfork has received final development plan approval for 19 structures on 2,250-square-foot lots. The buildings will consist of 104 single-family attached condo units. The development currently consists of 40 condos in five buildings located off Sherwood Forest, near Interstate 12. The one-story condos feature two or three bedrooms, two-car garages, large master suites and open floor plans, with kitchens centering around islands. The project also boasts a swimming pool.

Tower Capital Corp. is the project’s developer, while construction is being handled by FaKouri Construction, Inc. and E. Jacob Construction Inc. All companies are Baton Rouge-based and have been involved in several other condominium projects in the state capital.

Photo courtesy of  The Cottages at Southfork’s Facebook profile

LSU Master Plan Proposes to Redevelop Nicholson Drive Corridor, Spend Up to $200M

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Louisiana State University (LSU), one of the economic driving forces in Baton Rouge, announced a new plan that could make a difference in the Nicholson Drive Corridor, if not the city. According to a report by the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, LSU’s Department of Residential Life has submitted a master plan for the project to the LSU Board of Supervisors. The master plan could go on the board’s agenda as soon as Feb. 1.

Though few details have been released, the proposed master plan could cost between $140 million and $200 million and would create not only thousands of new student housing units, but hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space. The multi-phase project would raze the outdated Alex Box Stadium and replace it with a mixed-use development with street-level retail topped by residential housing. North of the stadium, LSU’s married student housing would also be demolished, and replaced with three residential-only structures and much-needed surface parking. It is estimated that 130,000 square feet of retail, 110,000 square feet of office space, surface parking an about 1,200 multifamily units would be created. The residential element of project would mostly target LSU’s student body, but a proposed 89 units could rent at market rate and house LSU staff and faculty members. The idea of a streetcar line has also been brought up.

According to the same report, if the project is green-lit, it could start as early as 2014, and the first phase of development, containing mixed-use, as well as residential-only structures, could be finished in 2015-2016. The entire project could wrap up in 2017 or 2018. LSU has yet to decide if it plans to develop and manage the project on its own or enter a partnership with a private developer or foundation.

Los Angeles-based AECOM, a global provider of professional technical and management support services helped in creating the redevelopment plan, after public and stakeholder meetings.

The news was received with mostly positive feedback from students and alumni of LSU, as well as the general Baton Rouge population, garnering several hundred likes and dozens of comments in only a few days on LSU’s Facebook page.

Image courtesy of LSU’s Facebook page

Technip Lands FEED Contract for Potential $700M Plant Expansion

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Technip, a global project management, engineering and construction firm targeting the energy industry, has announced The Mosaic Group has awarded it the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for a new ammonia plant currently under consideration.

According to The Advocate, the new facility would be located adjacent to the Faustina plant in St.James Parish and will cost around $700 million. If Mosaic decides to go forward with the build, construction would probably start in 2014. The plant could be operational by early 2016 and would generate 53 new direct jobs with average salaries of $83,000 per year. 366 indirect jobs would also be created by the expansion, while around 1,400 workers would be employed during construction. The State of Louisiana is also offering a $3 million, five-year Modernization Tax Credit as well as job training services, to attract the development.

Mosaic is the world’s largest producer of finished phosphate products, with annual production capacity greater than the next two largest producers combined. The company plans to integrate more fully into ammonia production by expanding its present capacity at Faustina. The proposed expansion would increase  production capacity to 2,200 metric tons per day -  almost triple its current output. Mosaic already has two facilities in the Greater Baton Rouge Area: the Faustina fertilizer manufacturing facility on the west side of the Mississippi River and Uncle Sam on the river’s eastern bank.

According to a press release, the plant’s design will feature Haldor Topsøe’ proprietary ammonia process technology that Technip has utilized for the past 40 years. Technip will also be in charge of preparing the corresponding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposal including preliminary design work for plant offsite, interconnections, utilities and various supporting units for the facility.

The FEED contract will be executed by the Houston office of Technip in collaboration with the Technip engineering center located in Rome, Italy. Both FEED and EPC proposals begin in November 2012 and are expected to complete by mid-2013, when Mosaic will make the final decision regarding the expansion.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Loxton via Wikimedia Commons