Tom Cook Business Report

Magazine Article 12-1-2022

New Partner in Firm

Cook, Moore, Davenport & Associates would like to announce it’s newest partner in the firm – Craig A. Davenport, MAI

Old Blockbuster in Walker sells, will become new concept store for Olinde Hardware and Supply

Olinde Hardware and Supply Company LLC has purchased the old Blockbuster store on Walker South Road and will transform the former video rental chain’s location into a new concept store.

The company purchased the building at 28195 Walker South Road, across from Walmart, from Birmingham, Alabama-based Foster Family Investments LLC, for $900,000. The price comes out to about $168.75 per square foot.

“We have not made any definite plans on how we will utilize the space just yet,” says Tom Olinde, one of the company’s managing members. “We have several new concepts we are testing, and this location suited our long-range plan.”

Foster Family Investments purchased the building in 2003 for $1.28 million. Blockbuster was already leasing the building and continued doing so after the sale.

The building has been on the market for more than 16 months at $1.05 million.

“We had the building available for lease or sale, but most of the potential tenants and buyers wanted to convert the building to restaurant occupancy, and those users needed more parking than the site could provide,” says Dottie Tarleton, the broker with Stirling Properties in Baton Rouge who represented the seller.

Ricky Hill with NAI/Latter & Blum represented the buyer.

Urgent care center to be developed on Jones Creek Road following $530K building sale

The building at 6441 Jones Creek Road that formerly housed The Perfect Bass music store, which specialized in selling bass guitars, amplifiers and guitars, is getting a new owner and a new use.

The building sold Friday for $530,000 to Stat Care Clinic LLC, which will convert it to an urgent care facility.

According to Carmen Austin of Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate, who represented the seller, GRA Realty LLC, the building is in excellent condition. Originally constructed for a Carquest Auto Parts store, it was later leased to Perfect Bass.

Stat Care Clinic was represented by Dr. Bryan Barrett, who operates an urgent care clinic in Central. Tim Smith with NAI/Latter & Blum served as agent for Stat Care.

“Dr. Barrett was looking for a new location with similar demographics that was underserved by urgent care clinics,” Smith says. “He purchased this building and is leasing another building on South Sherwood Forest Blvd. The building will require extensive renovation for conversion to an urgent care facility, but the purchase price at around $98 per square foot will allow for that to happen.”

Southern Pipe & Supply purchases property in Denham Springs, plans move

Southern Pipe Company has forked over $975,000 to buy the roughly three-acre property at 101 Hatchell Lane in Denham Springs that formerly housed Dodge City Feed and Farm Supply. Dodge City had been in operation for over 40 years when it closed near the end of last year.

Southern Pipe & Supply closed on the property Thursday and intends to move its current operations on Rushing Road in Denham Springs to to the site.

The property includes about 24,000 square feet of building space. The company will begin renovations to the building next month and should have its operations moved to the new site by this fall. The sale price works out to about $40 per square foot, which is a pretty good price when you compare it to what it would cost to purchase land and build a new building.

The sellers, Jimmy Smith Jr. and Jeanne Serio Smith, were represented by Jo Anne Dunkin with Covington & Associates Real Estate. Southern Pipe was represented by Aaron Goolsby, also with Covington & Associates.

“The site will allow the new owner to have plenty of room to store product,” says Goolsby. “And the buildings will be given a facelift and improved to accommodate the new operation. We think it will be good for the city.”

Southern Pipe has more than 100 locations across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Purchase of Former Frenchtown Road Sawmill

A roughly 50-acre tract on Frenchtown Road that was once the site of a sawmill specializing in the milling of old pine and cypress lumber has been sold for $720,0000, as was recently reported by Daily Report. Jake’s Vintage Trucks Inc., represented by former Amedisys CEO Bill Borne, sold the tract to Adventure Investment LLC, represented by Chris Castleberry. The property consists of 49.76 acres and includes a 17,000-square-foot office warehouse, as well as two covered sheds measuring about 12,000 square feet each. The buildings are not in good condition and will require some rehabilitation. Jonathan Starns and Travis Marshall with Donnie Jarreau Commercial Real Estate brokered the transaction, which closed June 13. Most of the site was formerly used to store wood and brick product that was salvaged from old buildings. The new owners will use the facility to house their landscape business, GreenSeasons. “It was a great deal for the purchaser. They can use the sheds for storage of their equipment and the 49.76 acre site will allow them to store plants and landscape materials for their growing business,” says Starns. “Now that the Central Thruway has connected to Frenchtown Road, the property is very accessible.”

Shamrock Marine buys Baton Rouge site for Warehouse

A smaller, but interesting real estate deal that closed recently was the purchase of a 15,000-square-foot masonry warehouse at 711 North 14th St. by New Orleans-based Shamrock Marine. The building, which was designed by A. Hays Town and is known by some as the Nabisco Building, was sold last week by Lewis & Lee Inc. At $375,000, the sale price works out to about $25 per square foot. Saurage Rotenberg Realtors Associate Broker and Retail Specialist Carmen Austin brokered the deal. He says the buyer services the marine industries with a floating store, refrigerated fleet supply and a grocery delivery system. With locations in the Baton Rouge harbor and at the 100-mile point in Port Allen, the new facility will help the company continue to expand its operations. Shamrock Marine says on its website that it is the only true mid-stream boat store south of Vicksburg, servicing 95% of the boat industry on the Mississippi River. Austin says the business has been growing, which required the additional warehouse facility.

Auto Zone closes on Airline Hwy site for New Store

AutoZone Development Corp. closed late last week on a 2.29-acre site off Airline Highway, across the street from the Home Depot at 8181 Airline Highway, at a price of $775,000, or roughly $7.75 per square foot. AutoZone plans to build a 30,000-square-foot store on the site—much larger than the typical 7,000- to 9,000-square-foot store for the Memphis-based chain—which will serve as a prototype and regional hub for stores in the Baton Rouge metro area. A 7,000-square-foot retail store will adjoin a 23,000-square-foot warehouse distribution storage facility on the site, says Austin Earhart of Beau Box Commercial Real Estate, who represented AutoZone in the deal. With the new store as a regional hub, if you go to the AutoZone on Florida Boulevard and they are out of the headlight you need, you can pay for the headlight and they will deliver it to you at any location from the regional warehouse on Airline. This helps AutoZone retain the sale and discourages the customer from going down the street to another parts supplier. According to Earhart, such facilities are being constructed all over the country, and AutoZone chose this spot on Airline—near the intersection of Florida Boulevard—because of its central location in the metro area and its access to major throughways and and the interstate system. The new store should be under construction sometime within the next three months. AutoZone bought the property from Goodwood Tourist Court LLC, which was represented in the deal by Darryl Gissel of Oak Real Estate.

Coursey Plaza Shopping Center sells for $2.1 million

Son’s Plaza Inc. of Chalmette has sold the Coursey Plaza Shopping Center—which is home to businesses such as The Tiger Paw Daiquiris and Grill, Signarama/Minuteman Press and Anytime Fitness—for $2.1 million to La. Coursey Plaza Inc., a Metairie-based investor. The sale of the center, located at 13711 Coursey Blvd., near the intersection of Hickory Ridge, closed on Friday. The sale price for the 15,533-square-foot center works out to about $135 per square foot. The shopping center was part of a larger retail development that includes a CC’s Coffee House and Bluebonnet Dental Care. The 360-unit, upscale Evergreen at Coursey Place apartments adjoin the rear of the center. Both the buyer and seller were represented by Wade Greene and Ben Stalter at Maestri-Murrell Commercial Real Estate. The property was 100% occupied with rents averaging around $13 per square foot, according to the marketing package. “This was a great deal for both the buyer and seller,” says Greene. “The high historic occupancy of the center and the strength of the local tenants generated a very high return to the purchaser.” The new owner will hold the new purchase as an investment.

Louisiana Connections Academy buys BR Building

The Friends of Louisiana Connections Academy has purchased a 20,000-square-foot office building at 4664 Jamestown Ave. from Abdul R. Kahn for $1.6 million. The price per square foot calculates to about $80. Louisiana Connections Academy is an online charter school; it will utilize the building for its offices and administration. According to Wade Greene IV with Maestri-Murrell Commercial Real Estate, who represented the buyer, they will renovate the building, primarily redoing the bathrooms and the exterior. The roof, air conditioners, elevator and other building features are all in relatively good condition. The seller was represented by Ryan Eaton with Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate. The sale closed last Wednesday. The new owner will begin renovations shortly.