Greater Baton Rouge Business Report: On the waterfront: the city-parish is hoping to revive Baton Ro

Back in 1931, a reporter from the Baton Rouge State-Times called the new Municipal Dock "almost indestructible."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Fast-forward seven decades, and the dock's reinforced concrete supports have indeed lasted. But time, fire and neglect have reduced everything else to ruins.

The city-parish is now preparing to issue a request for proposals to build something new upon the blank slate of the dock, which lies off River Road about a quarter mile south of Interstate 10.

So today, structural integrity is all that matters. That, and the spectacular, 180-degree views of the Mississippi and the I-10 bridge.

The dock occupies a key site between downtown and Old South Baton Rouge, where numerous redevelopment efforts are converging. "The is the catalyst we've been waiting for on this side of the bridge," says Boo Thomas, executive director of Plan Baton Rouge, a smart growth group that recently expanded its purview south of I-10.

"People will suddenly see that this side of the bridge is just as beautiful," she says. "The views are better, LSU is closer, and the land is much, much cheaper."

This is not the first crack at redeveloping the dock. The 1970s saw two attempts to locate a restaurant there. For one of them, the steamboat Robert E. Lee was briefly hoisted atop the dock. In 1978, what remained of the dock burned.

The city-parish then leased it to a marine repair company before getting it back in 1992 with hopes of putting a casino on it. Nothing came of that. Several years ago the Port of Greater Baton Rouge considered developing the dock, but in 2002 the city decided to pursue the project itself.

The Municipal Dock is a tough site. Access is via a 300-foot bridge that connects back to the levee, so it is a poor location for retail. Post Architects, which prepared a "possible use study," recommends mixing a restaurant and banquet facility with residential and office uses, or perhaps including an arts venue.

The platform itself has about 21,000 buildable square feet suspended 50 feet above the river. A 2003 engineering study found that the concrete can support at least three stories. Post estimates that each floor could contain food service for 500, office space for about 210 people, or 10 condos.

Parking is also a challenge. Depending on its use, the dock would need up to 400 spaces. But only a fifth of the property's 15 acres are east of the levee, and part of that is a pump station. Post estimates that the site can hold only 285 cars unless someone builds structured parking or buys more land, although the preliminary request for proposals instructs developers to assume the city will move about 850 feet of River Road, which would open up the site.

City-parish Director of Public Works Fred Raiford says he hopes to issue a final RFP by late September. Such processes typically remain open for a month or two. Raiford says he has already had inquiries from several developers, one from out of state, but won't name them yet.

Several local developers had no comment.

Camm Morton of Commercial Properties is a frequent participant in big public-private projects like this one, While he says he doesn't know who will take a shot, he doubts his firm will. His company prefers retail-oriented developments--the Bon Carre office park and the old Capitol House Hotel are exceptions, he notes.

According to a draft of the RFP, the city-parish intends to lease the dock out. So a developer will not have to pay for acquisition, only for the development itself, which Post estimates will run $9 million to $11 million. Lower capital costs mean lower financing costs, which make it easier for a project to create positive cash flow.

That is key because any proposed development must demonstrate it can generate revenue, and the city will evaluate proposals in part on their profitability.

In addition to the finances, the city will choose a project based on its ability to enhance nearby redevelopment efforts, the provision of some public use on the dock and design quality.

Finally, developers will be judged on their own capabilities. This may end up trumping everything else, since the RFP explains that the city is "not responsible for preserving the authorship of any one concept." So if developer A has the best resume, but developer B has a better plan, the city can hand B's project to A.

Long-term leases, $1 land sales and other sweet deals like the one Baton Rouge is offering developers have become popular in places that actively push redevelopment, including New Orleans, Shreveport and many cities across the U.S.

HAL COHEN covers real estate and legal issues. Reach him at hcohen@businessreport.com.