Costco Heading to Baton Rouge; Condominium Project to Add 104 Units

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Costco’s coming to Baton Rouge seems more like a question of “when” than “how,” after the most recent East Baton Rouge City-Parish Planning Commission meeting. Costco Wholesale Corp., the Issaquah, Wash.-based international chain of membership warehouses, has received site plan approval from the Planning Commission, reports The Advocate.

According to the Baton Rouge publication, the store will be located on Dawnadele Ave. in the now-defunct Coca-Cola bottling plant. The proposed 144,807-square-foot Costco warehouse, which will be more than 30-foot high, and 3,840-square-foot gas service station will be developed on 15 acres of land out of the total 28 acres the company has under contract. Costco plans to open the store warehouse by summer 2014, depending, on the property sale finalizing and state and city-parish approvals.The remaining outparcels will be developed later.

The warehouse club retailer also received a sign waiver allowing it to install four signs atop the structure. The sign will have to be scaled to the height and acreage of the building.

Costco Wholesale representatives are advocating for several changes to Dawnadale Ave., such as new turn lanes, as the road is incompatible with retail developments in its current state.

In other news, the planning commission meeting also approved plans for the expansion of The Cottages at Southfork condo project.

The Cottages at Southfork has received final development plan approval for 19 structures on 2,250-square-foot lots. The buildings will consist of 104 single-family attached condo units. The development currently consists of 40 condos in five buildings located off Sherwood Forest, near Interstate 12. The one-story condos feature two or three bedrooms, two-car garages, large master suites and open floor plans, with kitchens centering around islands. The project also boasts a swimming pool.

Tower Capital Corp. is the project’s developer, while construction is being handled by FaKouri Construction, Inc. and E. Jacob Construction Inc. All companies are Baton Rouge-based and have been involved in several other condominium projects in the state capital.

Photo courtesy of  The Cottages at Southfork’s Facebook profile