Ethan Allen purchases site

Published Oct 1, 2012 at 6:00 pm (Updated Oct 1, 2012)

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The building that had been occupied by Young Fashions since 1993 has sold to an LLC that will develop the store for occupancy as an Ethan Allen furniture store. The 54,930-square-foot building sold Aug. 23 for $1,925,000. The building is on a site containing 2.74 acres and consists of a retail area of 24,209 square feet and a warehouse of 30,921 square feet. The sale price calculates to about $35 per square foot. Jordan Johnson with Beau Box Commercial Real Estate represented the seller. Chad Ortte of Rising Realty Group represented the purchaser. Ethan Allen intends to spend significant funds renovating the property. The building has had several uses in the past. In 1985, it was constructed as a lumber supply facility; in 1993, it was converted for retail use by Young Fashions. The seller was Gamma Investments. The purchaser was TPG Properties.

In a related transaction, Young Fashions, doing business as Gamma Investments, purchased a building at 11111 Coursey Boulevard to relocate the uniforms store. The seller, Business First Bank, had taken the property back from the former owner. The building had formerly been occupied as The Golf Shop and Rug Gallery, and had been vacant for several months. It fit the needs of the new owners because there is storage area for products along with a finished retail area. The purchase of the Coursey building was made at $995,000 for 12,747 square feet, or about $78 per square foot. The building rests on an irregularly shaped lot with significant frontage and visibility on Coursey Boulevard and contains 41,017 square feet. Renovations for occupancy by Young Fashions are currently under way.

Racetrac acquires site

RaceTrac Petroleum has been expanding its operations in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area for several years now. The most recent acquisition is the purchase of the property at the corner of Bluebonnet Boulevard and Burbank Drive, across from what will become a new Super WalMart. Mark Hebert with Kurz & Hebert Commercial Real Estate brokered the transaction. The 2.074 acre site sold for $1,619,838, or about $17.93 per square foot. A portion of the site will be used for fill and to raise the remaining area. The sale price reflects the cost of site work RaceTrac will incur. The seller, Pearson Burbank, closed the sale Aug. 23.

Tract on American Way sells

A 3.7-acre tract adjoining the AT&T building on American Way has sold. Mark Hebert with Kurz & Hebert Commercial Real Estate had the property listed for sale for Hurstbourne Green Baton Rouge. The purchaser, Dearborn Land Investment, purchased the site for $725,000. Grey Mullins represented the purchaser. The property is zoned C2, for heavy commercial development, and is surrounded by relatively good-quality office use properties. The sale at $725,000 calculates to $4.50 per square foot. The purchaser, Dearborn Land Investment, is a build-to-suit project for Progressive Insurance. Progressive plans to construct a 20,000 to 30,000-square-foot office building on the site before the end of the year.