The mystery on Balis
A new office in an improbable spot is for an interior designer for celebrities.
It’s rare for a new office building to attract gawkers. But a curious structure on Balis Drive—along a popular cut-through to Walmart and around College Drive—has sparked plenty of speculation, including recent social media posts about its elaborate landscaping.
The building’s architecture is the spark of interest: a series of windowless boxes broken up by stone walls, with a hidden front entrance and plants seemingly peeking out from an interior courtyard. Not one window, like a Brutalist bunker for an endtimes fretter.
RedEye did some digging. A $1 million building permit was issued for a 4,800-square-foot office at 3166 Balis Drive, one of the lots where Google Maps shows the building. Bernhard-Norman Construction Inc. is listed as the contractor, and the firm indicates the building is for designer Kenneth Brown’s office.
Brown and Todd Normand have worked together on luxury homes, including Normand’s own home in Baton Rouge.
