Good life, less driving
Luxury apartments will join the offices at @Highland, with retail coming next. The arrangement should reduce travel by car for residents.
A $60 million luxury apartment complex is coming to the development at Bluebonnet Boulevard and Highland Road, bringing homes now and shops later.
Why it matters: Baton Rouge continues to warm to an old idea: put homes, offices and shops close together, so getting from one to another doesn't require a drive. Mixed-use projects like this one can take cars off the road, benefiting all.
The details: Next week, Key Real Estate will begin building Residences @Highland—224 apartments in a dense and livable arrangement, served by structured parking, says Michael Lang, the firm's development chief.
- Mohit Vij, CEO of the software company 365Labs, is a partner. He conceived @Highland as a technology-focused business campus.
- With borrowing expensive, getting developments financed has been a challenge. Lang says Key Realty landed favorable financing through a federal program run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will keep construction costs in check and the project moving.
- Apartments will open in phases as they're finished, with the full complex expected within 24 months. Block Companies is the contractor.
- The site sits just inside Baton Rouge's city limits. Cross the street, and you're in St. George.
The bigger picture: Vij plans to finish @Highland with a retail center at the corner of Bluebonnet and Highland. Lang expects some tenants to live in the apartments and walk to work on the campus. Add shops and services within walking distance, and residents may find fewer reasons to drive at all.
What sealed the deal: Lang says @Highland's design standards helped convince Key to build there. He said the apartments will match the best in bigger cities like Dallas.
The bottom line: Baton Rouge developers have been building mixed-use projects for 20 years. Another one in the city should set an example so other developers build more.
