Supporting Central’s Population :

What’s Going to Happen When
All Those People Get to Central?

By Emily Holden

It’s no secret that the population of Central is growing. But the boom in the residential sector leaves many wondering what other developments will be necessary to sustain the expanding city. Now local developers have begun to respond to the need for more retail businesses and office buildings in Louisiana’s newest city.

Health Care Business Consulting purchased a three-acre lot near the corner of Greenwell Springs and Magnolia Bridge roads about three years ago. Now plans are in line for a medical office park to be called North Point Crossing. The main occupant will be Greenwell Medical Clinic, a family practice. The practice will include three physicians, a physician’s assistant and a nurse practitioner. It will be located in the 13,400 square foot main building.

Two other buildings of 5,820 square feet and 4,550 square feet will be open for other tenants practicing specialty medicine. The firm has looked into agreements with general surgeons, orthopedists, cardiologists, oncologists and pharmacists. The other tenants have not yet been determined. HCB Consulting is on hold temporarily because they want to consult their new tenants before building. There are plans for plenty of parking space for each tenant.

Guy Jenkins Was Seller
The lot was purchased from Guy Jenkins. The home that was previously on the property was bought and relocated. The land is now being developed with Chris Town Construction while HCB Consulting works with the architecture firm Cockfield- Jackson.

The office park will sit on top of a small hill behind its landmark live oak tree. While many trees were cleared for the development, the live oak was kept intact for its aesthetic appeal.

Phillip Rees, with HCB Consulting, said the physicians are moving to the new location because they have outgrown their existing office.

“I think a great deal is now with the growth in Central,” Rees said. He said that by locating the business .5 miles up the road from its current location, the medical clinic will be moving toward most of its customers. He said Livingston and Central are connected by this intersection, and the clinic wishes to serve customers in both areas.

Jeff Couvillion, of Acadiana Development Company, also developed land at the intersection Greenwell Springs and Magnolia Bridge roads. Couvillion’s other company, Acadiana Construction, built an 18,000 square-foot retail development on the corner. The development, City Market, is now at 90 percent capacity.

Central Commons
Couvillion and his son Daniel are now constructing office buildings next to City Market. They recently decided that part of the 5,000 square-foot Central Commons will be the location of their new office. The Couvillions are also planning a 65-lot gated garden home community on Old Wax Road and a traditional neighborhood development at the end of Magnolia Bridge Road.

The traditional neighborhood, Central Square, will include 35,000 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of office space and 150 residential units.

Most people in the construction business know Acadiana Development for its work with Bellingrath Lakes, a neighborhood on Greenwell Springs Road.

Daniel Couvillion said Central is a newly formed city in need of things Acadiana Development can provide. His father said the city will need a mix of office and retail space to support the growing population.

Central Underserved
“We’re expecting to do very well because it’s in an area that’s underserved from the physician’s stand point,” Rees said.

The elder Couvillion said property values are going up as the area grows. He said there is a lot of appeal for landowners to sell their properties to developers.

“People call us everyday proposing [projects],” he said.

Rees said he is expecting more families to move to Central from Baton Rouge to take advantage of the new neighborhoods with better schools.

Jimmy Nunnally, Principal of Nunnally-Pollard Development, said he was drawn to develop in Central for three reasons: the independent school district, the newly incorporated city and the throughway link from O’Neal Lane to Sullivan Road.

Central’s Master Plan
“In Central, they have a vision, they have a master plan and they’re passionate about their city,” Nunnally said.

Nunnally-Pollard Development is developing a traditional neighborhood development on Lovett Road Sullivan Road. The Village at Magnolia Square will eventually hold 510 homes planned around a village center with retail shops, a corner market, a small café and maybe eventually a health club, day care center and pharmacy. The village center should be within a five minute walk of each residence, although some homes on edge lots could be a bit farther away. about half a mile from

The first phase of development will include 79 lots. Lots will be ready for building in April, 2009. In addition to houses of different sizes and layouts, the neighborhood will include large “mansion” condominiums. Nunnally-Pollard has selected its own builders in order to maintain the quality of construction and general development of the neighborhood.

Everyone is excited about all of the new homes coming to Central, but from talks with three prominent builder-developers it seems that a careful balance is being maintained between commercial and residential construction.

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