Originally published by Baton Rouge Business Report.
Dantin Bruce Development has about 14 acres of land under contract in the Baton Rouge Health District, and is trying to rezone the property from residential to commercial so businesses can join the fledgling district.
Developer Brian Dantin says the firm spotted some vacant property in the district that fronts Interstate 10, behind Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s Bluebonnet campus, and thought it would be a good investment for some build-to-suit buildings.
“We kind of just saw an opportunity,” Dantin says.
The company has filed rezoning applications with the East Baton Rouge Parish Planning Commission to rezone a 7.87-acre tract between I-10 and Summa Avenue from A1 residential to HC1 heavy commercial, as well as a 6.75-acre tract behind the hospital, between Summa and Picardy avenues, from A1 residential to LC1 light commercial.
One major draw for the property is that it sits alongside the proposed Midway Road that is to be constructed to run parallel to Essen Lane and across Summa and Picardy, Dantin says.
The heavy commercial zoning would allow the firm to build a higher density, multi-story building right next to the Our Lady of the Lake’s Children’s Hospital that broke ground earlier this year—with good visibility from I-10, Dantin says.
The company has not finalized a master plan for the property, but Dantin says he hopes to have those plans finished soon.