$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.

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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