Despite some initial fears, proposed Government Street beer garden gets support of community, Planning Commission

It’s almost a guarantee that if a bar is planning to open too close to a residential neighborhood in East Baton Rouge Parish, the chambers of City Hall will be filled with opponents rallying against it.

But that’s just not the case on Government Street.

On Monday evening, residents and homeowners from Mid City — skewing a little younger than the average group of residents attending a municipal meeting — filled the council chambers and implored the Planning Commission to allow a proposed beer garden to open at the corner of Government and Steele Boulevard.

Proposals for redevelopment of Westmoreland center in Mid City include mix of residential, retail

Five groups of developers have submitted proposals to Catholic High School to redevelop the Westmoreland Village Shopping Center on Government Street in Mid City, which the school acquired in late 2010.

Gene Tullier, president of Catholic High, says he is very happy with the proposals the school has received because each includes a unique idea none of the other proposals has, and they all featured a mixed-use component with residential and retail ideas.

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Crawfish Aquatics buys building on Siegen for $1.32M

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Crawfish Aquatics has purchased a Siegen Lane building adjacent to where its new 40,000-square-foot swimming and recreational facility is under development, in a deal that closed Tuesday evening for $1.32 million.

The 6,500-square-foot building at 8556 Siegen Lane was formerly home to Capital Golf, which recently closed, says Drew Pearson of Waters & Pettit Commercial Real Estate, who brokered the deal.

Developer looks to rezone vacant Mid City building for restaurant use

The owner of the vacant building at 2978 Government St. that for years was home to Southern Camera and Video hopes the property can be rezoned, a move that would make it easier for a restaurant to move into the space. Real estate developer Geordy Waters, who is marketing the property for longtime owner, Joyce Mcintire, filed an application today with the Planning Commission to rezone the property from C1, or commercial, to CAB-1, which would allow for a full-service restaurant. Mcintire also owns two vacant parcels behind the storefront that could accommodate as many as 30 parking spaces, and Waters says with the Model Block under construction directly across the street the location is ideal for a hip, new eatery.

Baton Rouge Medical District Area Property Owners Welcome Proposed Traffic Solutions

Owners of property in the proposed Baton Rouge Medical District in the Essen Lane, Perkins Road and Bluebonnet Boulevard areas are welcoming the new development concept, but are taking the proposal with a grain of salt, says Geordy Waters, a broker with Waters & Pettit who manages several homeowners associations in the area.

Central Shopping Center Sells for $2.47M

Central's City Market Shopping Center, located at 18564 Magnolia Bridge Road, has been sold for approximately $2.47 million, says Justin Langlois of Mike Falgoust & Associates Commercial Real Estate, who represented the seller in the deal. Built in 2007 and patterned off of a shopping center in Destin, Florida, City Market is located 2.5 miles from Wax and Sullivan roads, an intersection Langlois calls the "epicenter" of Central. "It's located right at the base of the bridge that takes you from East Baton Rouge Parish to Livingston," Langlois says, "so it's strategically located. If you want to go to Denham Springs, you kind of have to cross over Magnolia Bridge Road." The roughly 18,000-square-foot, 14-suite shopping center houses about eight tenants, he says, including Chris' Specialty Meats and local doggie daycare Smooch My Pooch, but has approximately 3,800 square feet of space available for additional tenants. Because the shopping center is only seven years old, Langlois says the new owners have no immediate plans for renovations. The seller in the deal was Bellingrath Lakes LLC, and the buyer was Gulfport, Miss.-based 2003 Realty Company LLC. Drew Pearson, of Waters & Pettit Commercial Real Estate, represented 2003 Realty in the deal and will market the vacant space in the shopping center. The sale closed Thursday. —Rachel Alexander

Cook: Concord Park Lots Sell

Sales of vacant land are few and far between in older established subdivisions like Concord Park, located off College Drive and Perkins Road. Brian Andrews will recognize this as the subdivision that houses the Penthouse Club, just behind Hobby Lobby. Anyway, two lots on Old Forge Drive have sold for $223,800, or just above $6.75-per-square-foot for the 32,895-square-foot site. The property was brokered by Drew Pearson and Robert Pettit with Waters & Pettit Commercial Real Estate. The seller was Colony Spices Limited, represented by Ann M. Naquin, and the buyer was Old Forge Holdings LLC, represented by Donald L. David. According to Pearson, the new owners have no immediate plans for the property.

(Appraiser Tom Cook owns Cook Moore and Associates. Reach him at 293-7006 or TCook@cookmoore.com.)

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