Decade in Review: 2010s

A New Year’s Day blaze burns The Caterie club in the Acadian-Perkins Plaza shopping center.

2010

$1 million

Amount of federal stimulus money that the Baton Rouge Police Department spent on a new R44 Raven II police copter

Embattled Baton Rouge

Police Chief Jeff

LeDuff announces plans to retire at the end of the year.

Russell Mosely unveils plans for Long Farm, a TND on farmland in south Baton Rouge owned by his grandfather, the late U.S. Sen. Russell Long. Towne Center developer Phil Witter sues partner Steve Keller in what would be a years-long legal battle over the popular development. The lawsuit was settled in early 2016 when Witter sold his 50% ownership in the development to Houston-based commercial real estate investment firm Moody Rambin for an undisclosed price.

53,000

Number of barrels of oil that leaked into the Gulf each day for three months after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20

13th

Interstate 10’s ranking on the list of most-congested traffic commutes in the country, according to online publication The Daily Beast

Stephen Keller announces plans for Juban Crossing, Livingston Parish’s largest retail development, which would open in 2015 after years of delay.

$1.5 billion

Value of the stock-for-stock merger between Hancock Bank and New Orleans-based Whitney Bank

Latter & Blum acquires the residential side of ERA

Stirling Properties’

business in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans markets.

Former Gov.

Buddy Roemer

announces he’s running for president. The campaign ends in May 2012.

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber launches a rebranding for the region, calling it “The Creative Capital of the South.”

East Baton Rouge Parish Library Director David Farrar

resigns after the Library Board of Control discovers his 1996 arrest in Alabama on sexual abuse charges. Although a judge overturned the jury’s guilty verdict, Farrar was convicted of impersonating a police officer.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opens the gates of the Morganza Spillway for the first time since 1973, flooding the Atchafalaya Basin to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans from Mississippi River flooding. Barbara Freiberg takes the reins as president of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.

2011

The Metro Council votes 9-3 to kill Mayor Kip Holden’s bond proposal—versions of which voters had already defeated in 2008 and 2009.

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Paula Pennington de la Bretonne’s

compound at 11001 Highland Road is listed for sale at more than $20 million. 2012

Law enforcement and elected officials unveil a crime fighting initiative called BRAVE to target the 70805 ZIP code, the highestcrime area in Baton Rouge.

$368 million

Price tag for L’Auberge Baton Rouge, which opens in September

Voters in the city limits of Baton Rouge and Baker approve a dedicated 10.6mill, 10-year property tax to fund needed upgrades and improvements to the Capital Area Transit System.

Lipsey’s Inc., the nation’s largest firearms distributor, breaks ground in early December on an 80,000-square-foot warehouse at Rieger Road and Exchequer Boulevard, which will house offices and serve as the distribution center. The company moves into its new digs in early 2014. The East Baton Rouge Parish School board hires Bernard Taylor in April to be its superintendent, with strong backing from the business community and BRAF. Taylor, whose tenure would be marked with controversy, lasts just three years in the job.

Developers Mike Wampold (right) and John Fetzer (not pictured) announce plans for Harveston Baton Rouge, a TND on Nicholson Drive.

Costco Wholesale Corp. signs a purchase agreement to acquire the former Coca-Cola bottling site on Airline Highway for a new store that would open in 2014. Supporters at the time declare that Costco’s arrival signals Baton Rouge is becoming “a world-class city.”

42

Age of Darian Chustz, president of Coca-Cola Bottling United in Baton Rouge, at the time of his death Jan. 13 following a brief illness. Chustz was named Business Report’s Young Businessperson of the Year in 2009, and was a member of Business Report’s 2006 class of Forty Under 40.

CB&I announces it will acquire The Shaw Group for $3.2 billion, signaling the end of one of Baton Rouge’s few remaining homegrown, publicly traded companies. The deal closes in early 2013, and founder Jim Bernhard and his top executives would go on to form the private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners. Trader Joe’s opens as the anchor tenant in the newly completed Acadian Village Shopping Center at South Acadian Thruway and Perkins Road.

Jim Bernhard acquires Richard Preis’ 1.3-acre tract of downtown riverfront property that the developer had tried to develop into a residential project called

RiverPlace. Baton Rouge General

Hospital CEO Bill Holman, who led the hospital for 12 years, steps down in a surprise announcement following a late-night meeting of the hospital’s board.

Born out of frustration over the parish school system, a group of residents in the southeast section of East Baton Rouge Parish launches an effort to incorporate the city of St. George.

2013

John Georges announces he’s buying The Advocate from its longtime owners, the Manship family. The deal, announced in January, closes in April for an undisclosed amount.

The Jindal administration comes up with $18 million—$7.2 million in state dollars and $10.8 million in matching federal funds—to keep

Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s Mid City emergency

room open through June as the hospital struggles to financially support the facility.

A growing number of Capital Region women are training for industrial jobs traditionally held by men.

Kleinpeter Farms Dairy hires consultants, contracts with an LSU food scientist, and fires several employees in an effort to pinpoint why milk is spoiling before it should and why some batches have a peculiar, chemical taste. Mike Wampold acquires the 12-story old State Office Building on Third Street from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to develop the Watermark hotel.

2014

A flurry of residential construction projects, new retail and restaurant development, and a full-service supermarket mark a turning point for downtown Baton Rouge as it strives to become a viable live-and-work district.

Business First Bank announces it is merging with American Gateway Bank.

A growing number of Louisiana businesses look to unmanned aircraft technology for various corporate uses as state and federal regulators continue to look for proper guidance on how to regulate drones.

Frank Duke takes the helm of the East Baton Rouge Parish Planning Department as the cityparish implements its new master plan, FuturEBR.

The Metro Council votes to allow ride-sharing companies to enter the market, which Uber does late in the summer. The East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority looks for a firm to develop 115 blighted acres of inner-city property, including the 6-acre former Entergy site on Government Street. The site would be redeveloped into Electric Depot, a multi-use property with retail, restaurants and residential spaces that opened in 2019.

Local attorney Phyllis Cancienne of Baker Donelson breaks a glass ceiling as she becomes the only female managing partner of a major law firm in Baton Rouge.

2015

Creditors drag Barry Bellue’s Thinkstream into bankruptcy court for the second time in two years over allegations of unpaid debt and mismanagement.

Baton Rouge-based Albemarle Corp. completes its $6.2 billion acquisition of New Jersey-based Rockwood Holdings Inc., one of the largest lithium producers in the world. Later in the year, Albemarle announces it will move its corporate headquarters to North Carolina.

Despite a state budget crisis and slumping oil prices, economy watchers remain optimistic as the Capital Region enters the second quarter of 2015.

Organizers for the proposed city of St. George fall 71 signatures short of collecting the required number to get their petition on the ballot.

Innovation invades the Capital Region cuisine scene as dozens of new restaurants plan to open with boutique and farm-to-table offerings. Jeff Kleinpeter steps down as head of Kleinpeter Farms Dairy amid mounting quality control issues that threatened to shutter the 102-yearold family-owned dairy in 2014.

Developers target Mid City—as well as the neighborhood’s crime and infrastructure challenges—as the next frontier in Baton Rouge.

Companies along Airline Highway north of Cortana Mall are migrating south as the population also shifts in that direction—toward Prairieville.

Matherne’s Downtown

Supermarket opens on the ground floor of the former Capital One Building, now called 440 on Third, giving downtown Baton Rouge its first full-service supermarket in decades.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Baton Rouge police shoot Alton Sterling outside the Triple S Food Mart on North Foster Drive in the early morning of July 5, touching off more than 10 days of racially charged protests followed by the ambush killing of three law enforcement officers by a lone gunman on July 17.

Five new video games are set to emerge during the year from studios at the Louisiana

Technology Park.

Political attention turns toward underdeveloped north Baton Rouge, but challenges abound for sustainable economic development. Voters approve a 2% occupancy tax on hotel stays within the Baton Rouge North Economic Development District. On the eve of a short special session called to address Louisiana’s fiscal crisis, the business community grapples with how far it’s willing to go with tax increases.

2016

Torrential rains on Aug. 12-14 flood Baton Rouge and surrounding areas, affecting thousands of homeowners and businesses and causing billions of dollars in damage.

After selling the family’s insurance business earlier in the year for $127 million, Deborah and Hans Sternberg launch a new company, Highflyer Human Resources, in a new field—selling human capital management software and services. The Baton Rouge Health District takes a huge step forward with the hiring of its first executive director, Suzy Sonnier.

Dan Borné steps down as president of the Louisiana Chemical Association.

The Rev. Jimmy

Swaggart’s SonLife Broadcasting

Network breathes new life into his once-dying ministry. Developer John O. Hearin breaks ground on downtown’s newest apartment complex, Lofts at 6C, a 142-unit complex on Florida and Sixth streets.

Beer sales in Tiger Stadium move closer to reality as LSU officials plan for a beer garden to be added to the stadium.

Knock Knock Children’s

Museum opens its doors in City Park after seven years of planning.

$1.4 billion

Estimated cost of the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project, which took its first major step toward becoming a reality when the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority began soliciting proposals from engineering firms

Ground is broken for the third component of the downtown Central Green, part of Plan Baton Rouge II, to connect North Boulevard Town Square to Repentance Park.

After a 10-month investigation, the Department of Justice determines there is insufficient evidence to prosecute officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II for violating Alton Sterling’s civil rights.

$6.5

MILLION

Cost to expand the NICU at Woman’s Hospital, including 11 new rooms allowing parents to stay overnight with their infants

2017

Baton Rouge celebrates its bicentennial.

With about 280 partner restaurants, Baton Rouge quickly becomes a top market for food delivery service Waitr.

Despite a history of mismanaging public funds, the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging is set to start receiving an $8 million annual windfall in taxpayer dollars.

The fledgling Baton Rouge Health District touts Provident ProtonCare’s plan to build an $85 million proton therapy center.

Amid a flurry of luxury apartment construction, local experts start warning of an oversupply that will take the market years to absorb.

J.C. Penney Co. closes its doors at Cortana Mall, leaving only one retail anchor open at the site.

The Trump administration’s hard-line stance on immigration threatens to leave key Louisiana industries with a crippling labor shortage.

In response to an increase in mass shootings across the nation, a growing number of Baton Rouge businesses are learning how to respond to an active shooter.

BREC considers moving the Baton Rouge Zoo from its spot in north Baton Rouge to south Baton Rouge, near the Baton Rouge Fairgrounds on Airline Highway. The effort to move the zoo would ultimately fail.

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WARNING

THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS PROTECTED 24 HOURS BY PATROL AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE

Crime prevention districts—and the sense of security they provide—are popular in older Baton Rouge neighborhoods, but do they actually help reduce crime or are they simply mandatory HOA fees?

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HOA VU

27

Number of crime prevention districts in Baton Rouge as of 2018

The state’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program is under fire as community groups such as Together Baton Rouge question whether the corporate tax incentive is pulling its weight.

$275,600

Cost of rebranding the state with the new logo and slogan: “Louisiana: Feed Your Soul”

To address a local nursing shortage, Baton Rouge General and FranU expand their nursing school options.

The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy awards its lone medical marijuana pharmacy permit for the Capital Region to Capitol Wellness Solution, run by Randy Mire. The pharmacy would open in 2019 as the state rolled out its first batches of medical marijuana products.

2018

BROOME ROAD TAX, TAKE TWO A WORLD WITHOUT OBAMACARE SHERIFFS GET RICHER

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This Baton Rouge building was purchased for $108.5 million in 2015… So why does the tax assessor say it’s only worth

An analysis by Business Report of select commercial properties in East Baton Rouge Parish suggests a

PATTERN OF UNDER-ASSESSMENT that is leaving potentially tens of millions of dollars in lost tax revenue on the table.

An analysis by Business Report of select commercial properties in East Baton Rouge Parish suggests a pattern of underassessment that is costing the parish potentially tens of millions in lost tax revenue.

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Our Lady of the Lake’s $230 million Children’s Hospital

opens, offering 80 pediatric patient beds with the capacity to expand to 120. 2019

A class-action lawsuit involving some 900 mostly Baton Rougebased victims of the Stanford Group’s Ponzi scheme is transferred to the U.S. Middle District Court in Baton Rouge.

Baton Rouge and eBay officials enthusiastically announce that the city has been selected to participate in the company’s Retail Revival program, a 12-month e-commerce and business training program, joining just five other cities worldwide.

Baton Rouge General breaks ground on a neighborhood hospital in Prairieville as the hospital system broadens its footprint outside of Baton Rouge.

Dr. Barbara Griffith is tapped to succeed longtime Woman’s Hospital CEO Teri Fontenot.

Short-term rentals are causing controversy in Spanish Town and other Baton Rouge neighborhoods. The Metro Council mulls regulations, but ultimately does not pass any ordinances on the issue. LSU launches an ambitious distance learning initiative with the long-term goal of enrolling 30,000 students in online programs.

H&E Equipment Services Inc. acquires We-Rent-It, a nonresidential construction equipment rental company in central Texas, for $100 million.

Electric Depot opens on Government Street at the former Entergy site, offering a mixture of entertainment, restaurants, retail and residential spaces.

Officials announce that Cortana Mall will be repurposed into a regional distribution and fulfillment center for Amazon.

Following disappointment in the legislative session, three of the state’s most well-respected policy organizations—the

Committee of 100 for Economic Development, Council for a Better

Louisiana and the Public

Affairs Research Council of

Louisiana—team up to push for major systemic change across Louisiana in key policy areas.

$1,800

Cost of a rat sculpture on display at the mosquito abatement facility.