BusinessReport.com

Meeting of the mind-sets

River Park, the proposed $600 million multi-use development on 36 acres next to Hollywood Casino, would have been almost unthinkable not so long ago.

“Twenty years ago, there wasn’t the mind-set that there is now on downtown,” says Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District. “The idea of a gravel pit in the northern part of downtown being developed, I think was foreign to a lot of people.”

Rhorer says the first attempt to rethink downtown was called Baton Rouge 2000, a planning effort begun in 1988 that led to legislation requiring state government to consolidate downtown. That meant thousands of state workers had to come downtown daily, whether they liked it or not.

In 1998, there was Plan Baton Rouge, featuring seven days of community meetings led by New Urbanist Andres Duany, which sought to create a comprehensive plan to guide the development spurred by the presence of all those warm bodies. The predictability of having a road map in place helped inspire the private sector to take a chance on downtown, Rhorer says.

“The first Plan Baton Rouge was really about forming the identity for the heart of our city and creating the vision for what downtown could become,” says Rachel DiResto, vice president of the Center for Planning Excellence in Baton Rouge. City officials now say there’s been more than $1.5 billion in public and private investment downtown over the last 10 to 15 years, with another $300 million on the way, not counting River Park.

So in the spirit of supporting and enhancing that growth, CPEX has now issued a request for qualifications for a consulting team to help guide Plan Baton Rouge Phase Two. The effort will include planning for specific residential, commercial, mixed-use and infrastructure developments, and include recommendations for incentives for the newly designated Arts and Entertainment District.

River Park, as envisioned, calls for 800 to 1,200 condos, 250,000 square feet of retail, 640,000 square feet of office space, a 280-room flag hotel, 220-room suite hotel, meeting, convention and exhibition space, and 6,000 residential and commercial parking spaces, all to be built out over the next 10 to 15 years. Its 1,500 linear feet of high bank riverfront will be accessible to the public.

Developer Pete Clements hopes to connect with the surrounding areas by trolleys and pedestrian and bicycle paths, thus adhering to the Plan Baton Rouge vision of a pedestrian-friendly downtown. River Park would add the equivalent of 10 to 12 city blocks to downtown, and Rhorer says it could take its place alongside Spanish Town and Beauregard Town as Baton Rouge’s next great neighborhood. —David Jacobs

Park places

Several years ago, the BREC commission voted to rename City Park and Brooks Park, adjacent parks on opposite sides of Dalrymple Drive, as one. After significant renovations, including a new promenade and walking trail between the two sides, City Brooks Community Park [above] will have its grand re-opening on Saturday, May 31.

The celebration includes a dedication of a historic marker and opening of the golf course, labyrinth [go to Batonrougelabyrinthproject.org to find out what that is], dog park and tennis center.

Meanwhile, Rep. Bodi White, a Republican who represents part of Central, withdrew his bill that would have removed the new city from BREC’s taxing authority and form a recreation district of its own.

The May 14 compromise prioritizes a new sports park, for example, while smaller nature areas and parks that BREC was planning will be delayed. White intends to help BREC get state capital outlay money for an indoor recreation center at the planned 33-acre community park.

After the House meeting, White said he plans to introduce legislation in the next regular session that would guarantee at least one member from the northern part of the parish on the BREC commission. Whether that would involve adding a 10th member, he hasn’t decided. —D.J.

BUSINESSofPOLITICS

Law school money to be debated: Even though the full House and Senate are expected to offer up fiery debates, the House Education Committee recently gave a green light for LSU and Southern University to increase tuition and fees for their respective law schools. Chancellors at both institutions want to dole out more scholarships—for good reason. The number of prospective students taking the LSAT statewide is down 30%, meaning Louisiana’s law schools are suffering from a plummeting enrollment. Opponents wonder how increasing the cost of attendance will help, but there are other reasons for the request as well. Jack Weiss, chancellor of LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center, says there is a dire need in Baton Rouge for law clinic, which offers on-hand legal experience in a sort of mock law office. “We’re the only major law school in the south without a clinic,” he says. House Bill 1145 by Republican Rep. Franklin J. Foil would increase tuition at LSU by $500 during the first year, then $1,000 and finally $1,500 in year three. House Bill 1314 by Democratic Rep. Michael Jackson, meanwhile, would raise tuition at Southern by $500 annually during its own three-year period. Foil and Jackson are from Baton Rouge.

Workforce money coming down pipe: The groundwork for Gov. Bobby Jindal’s workforce development plan is still being rolled out. House Concurrent Resolution 65 seeks a reconfiguration of funding for Louisiana’s community and technical colleges, which are being placed on the frontlines of Jindal’s plan to train the state’s emerging labor market. LCTCS President Joe May says there are more than 100,000 vacant jobs in the state, and everything is in place for his colleges to fill those jobs—that is, except for the money. “We’re looking at how to solve that problem, and the community and technical college system is seeking to be charged with that responsibility,” May adds. The House has endorsed the symbolic increase, which is still to be determined. The resolution requests that the Board of Regents consider a number of factors to come up with an adequate increase.

Funeral scams become targets: The normal way of doing business for funeral homes might soon be changing. Sen. Eric LaFleur, a Ville Platte Democrat, is pushing legislation that would require an itemized list of all merchandise and services the consumer pays for from funeral directors. Among the mandates, his Senate Bill 806 calls for all contracts to include a detailed description of the casket being used to prevent unscrupulous “bait and switch” tactics. But the real target is so-called “pre-need contracts,” which are basically prepaid funeral arrangements. Funds that have been set up nationwide to hold the money as interest collects are being drained for nefarious purposes, leaving the dead and their families in the lurch. The National Funeral Directors Association estimates that more than $30 million in pre-need funds have been stolen from consumers nationwide since January alone. Closer to home, the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is currently investigating the theft of consumer pre-need funds in Vivian and Lake Charles, with total losses perhaps exceeding $500,000. —Jeremy Alford

Extra-large Coke

Baton Rouge Coca-Cola announced earlier this month it is increasing the size of the bottling and distribution plant it is building near Baton Rouge Metro Airport by 50%, a move that will add up to 113 new jobs over the next four years. The expansion will allow the plant to produce and distribute Powerade and Vitamin Water drinks for Louisiana and neighboring states.

Coke officials made the announcement along with Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret, Mayor Kip Holden and Baton Rouge Area Chamber President Adam Knapp. Darian Chustz, president of Baton Rouge Coca-Cola, says the first phase of the new plant will open at the end of the year. “Baton Rouge is perfectly positioned to be a southeastern regional hub for the Coca-Cola system, and we are excited to play a key role in the expansion of our industry, as well as serve as a driver of economic growth in our community,” he says.

The new jobs will have an average salary of $45,000. The 270,000-square-foot expansion will bring the size of the plant to 770,000 square feet and raise Coke’s investment to $178 million. The plant will begin producing Powerade and Vitamin Water next year, followed by additional drink lines in 2010 and 2012. With the additional hires, Baton Rouge Coca-Cola will have more than 600 employees.

A first for LSU

LSU’s Ourso College of Business has found a new dean: Eli Jones, currently associate dean of executive education and a professor of marketing for the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston.

Jones will be the first minority dean of LSU’s business college. He succeeds Robert Sumichrast, dean of the business college from 2003-07, who is considered to have been very effective during his tenure. Like Jones, Sumichrast was an associate dean and professor before coming to LSU.

Jones has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, an MBA and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M. Sumichrast has a bachelor’s in physics from Purdue and a Ph.D. in management science from Clemson.

But Jones has more of a corporate business background: Before becoming a professor, he worked in sales and sales management for Frito-Lay, Nabisco and Quaker Oats. He also served as executive director of the Sales Excellence Institute and the Program for Excellence in Selling, authored articles in major marketing and management journals and co-authored two books.

Jones serves on four editorial review boards and on the board of directors of Administaff, the nation’s leading professional employer organization. He’s won several teaching excellence awards and he has taught sales and sales management around the world at the undergraduate and MBA levels.

What nobody mentions—though surely everyone realizes, even if it didn’t figure in Jones’ hiring—is that landing a talented, accomplished black person for such a high-profile position is proof that LSU is making progress, however incremental, toward becoming a more diverse institution. —Steve Clark

Wonder women

They are state officials, nonprofit leaders, presidents and vice presidents, CEOs and CFOs, law partners, entrepreneurs and marketing professionals. They are the 2008 Influential Women in Business.

This year’s honorees are:

• Coletta Barrett, vice president of mission, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center

• Terri Fairburn Borde, CEO, Alvin Fairburn and Associates

• Linda Perez Clark, partner, Kean Miller; entrepreneuer

• Sue Anne Cox, CFO, Kleinpeter Farms Dairy

• Mary Garner DeVoe, CEO, Keller Williams Realty

• Rannah Gray, owner/partner, Rannah Gray Marketing and Communications/Marmillion-Gray Media

• Susan P. Leake, President/CEO, La. Capitol Federal Credit Union

• Beth Veazey, executive director, Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area

• Ann Silverberg Williamson, secretary, Department of Social Service

Business Report’s annual luncheon to honor the recipients is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 12 at the Baton Rouge Marriott. To purchase individual tickets [$35] or reserve a table for 10 [$325], click here. For more information, call 928-1700.

‘Business as usual’

The owner of the Belle of Baton Rouge and the Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel says plans are to continue “business as usual” after the casino’s parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Tropicana Entertainment filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware earlier this month, nearly five months after New Jersey regulators stripped the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City of its license. That touched off a funding crisis that the company desperately struggled to fend off.

Hud Englehart with Tropicana says the filing will allow the company to correct its debt situation and will not affect operations at the Belle or any of the other properties included in the filing. The Amelia Belle Casino in St. Mary Parish was not included because it is owned by a corporate affiliate. Englehart says plans to swap the Amelia Belle and Belle of Baton Rouge riverboats are still in the works.

Paul West, an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford who specializes in gaming law, says Tropicana’s bankruptcy won’t change how the gaming control board looks at the casino. That the Amelia Belle was excluded from the filing could mean that riverboat might change hands in order to generate money for Tropicana, West says. —Timothy Boone

Spider’s web

Having seen and smelled the conservative smoke for months, incumbent Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden, an unmistakable Dem, knew the fire would eventually emerge. And it did earlier this month in the form of an election challenge from Metro Councilman Wayne Carter.

As for why Carter would mount another run after his unsuccessful showing in the recent agriculture commissioner’s race (when he was at least able to shake the long-held nickname “Spider”), he told The Advocate, “Basically, I got recruited by the Republican Party.” Officials with the state GOP were not sure where the request might have come from, although an outright denial wasn’t provided. The party rarely—if ever—gets involved on the local level and it was suggested that the parish arm might have been the catalyst.

Julie Vezinot, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Democratic Party, says her team will “wait and see” what kind of resources might hit the street. Lane Grigsby, the founder and chairman Cajun Contractors, always finds ways to insert himself in high-profile races, like the last mayoral contest. But even he’s staying mum—at least for now. “I have no plans at this time,” Grigsby says. —J.A.

ONTHEBEAT

Shades of gray: LSU in 2006 graduated 8% fewer of its black students than its graduation rate for white students, according to a study by Education Sector. Nationally, the six-year graduation rate for black students at four-year colleges is about 20% lower than that for white students, according to the report.

Father and son: Kiva’s, a longtime Baton Rouge Italian restaurant, closed in the Bocage Village Shopping Center after co-owner Ken Guidroz decided to retire. Kiva Guidroz says he would take over his father’s lease and move the West Lee Drive location of his more casual Italian restaurant, Portobello’s Grill.

Lamar’s loss: Lamar Advertising Co. reported a loss in the first quarter, hurt by higher expenses and minimal sales growth. For the three months ended March 31, the Baton Rouge-based company reported a loss applicable to common shareholders of $1.6 million, or 2 cents per share.

Sex study: Baton Rouge is one of 10 U.S. cities where child sex trafficking and exploitation being studied, The Saipan Tribune reports. Other cities included in the study, which is being funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, are Las Vegas, Dallas and Clearwater, Fla.

State ranks 10th for Latino growth: Louisiana’s Hispanic population increased by 6.5% in 2007, according to a new report by the Brookings Institution. The report, based on an analysis of Census data, showed that nine of the 10 states that saw the biggest surges in Hispanic population were in the South.

Wood working: Stine Lumber, the largest Louisiana-based home improvement chain, plans to build a 120,000-square-foot store in Walker. The store, which will be on La. Highway 447 between Interstate 12 and U.S. 190, is scheduled to open in early spring 2009.

Play dough: Nearly half of all Louisiana Lottery players make other purchases when buying their tickets, spending an average of $19 on gas, cold drinks and snacks, according to a survey released by the lottery corporation. The survey showed that 70% of players always or frequently visited the same retailer to buy tickets.

Falling price freeze

The Wal-Mart Supercenter on Burbank Drive that was originally scheduled to open this summer won’t start welcoming shoppers until early 2010—a delay caused by the national economic slowdown.

The world’s largest retailer has scaled back the number of store openings this year, says Tice White, a spokesman for Wal-Mart in Louisiana and Mississippi. “We want to make sure that we’re maximizing our performance at each store,” White says.

Nearby residents were upset about plans for the store, to be located at Bluebonnet Boulevard and Burbank, when it went before the Planning Commission in June. The plans for the 181,000-square-foot store were approved because the site had been zoned for heavy commercial use. About a month after the Planning Commission vote, Wal-Mart bought the 17.7-acre site for $3.9 million. White says land clearing and activity should start to happen on the property late this year or early 2009. —T.B.

Reeling them in

The undeveloped land around the Bass Pro Shops in Denham Springs is starting to fill up. First, a 4.36-acre tract was sold in January for $1.9 million to Amite Crossing, a group that plans to build a 37,000-square-foot retail center. Then, Ashley Furniture bought a 4.41-acre site last month and announced plans to build a furniture store.

Now, two restaurants are coming in. Hooters bought a 1.27-acre tract earlier this month for nearly $1.01 million, and Longhorn Steakhouse paid $1.3 million for a 1.9-acre tract between Interstate 12 and Range Range 12 Boulevard.

Charlie Colvin, an agent with Beau Box Commercial Real Estate who has been handling the Bass Pro site, says plans are to open the restaurants by the fall. —T.B.

No bones about it

In the past few weeks, redevelopment plans have been announced for three empty restaurant sites in high-profile locations. First, chef Derek Chang bought the empty O’Charley’s/Damon’s building in CitiPlace so he could move Koto, his popular College Drive sushi restaurant (related story, page 15). Then, the empty Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon on Acadian Thruway just south of Interstate 10 was purchased by Coyote Blues, which plans to demolish the building and replace it with a local version of the crowd-pleasing, Lafayette-based Mexican restaurant. Finally, it was announced that the Dreaux’s Grill/Dreamland BBQ site in Southdowns Shopping Center would be turned into the local version of The Bulldog, a New Orleans tavern.

In each case, the buildings had been vacant for only a few months. But what about the Smokey Bones site? The Siegen Lane building has been empty for a year now, when Orlando, Fla.-based parent company Darden Restaurants pulled the plug on the barbecue chain. It’s a high-traffic location, near casual dining restaurants that often have crowded parking lots [Olive Garden, Hooters]. Darden, which owns the Red Lobster and Olive Garden brands, says it is marketing the Smokey Bones building for sale. —T.B.