Location: Baton Rouge, LA
This project was completed as part of the corporate agreement between the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQs) Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) program and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPAs) Brownfield and Land Revitalization Program.
Background: The site contains the 1930 Roppoloville building. This site is a historic storefront building with unique architectural features. The building’s name is engraved on the facade to highlight its history. Currently, the site is listed as Catalyst Site 1 “Food Hub” in the Imagine Plank Road plan and the planned reuse will consist of a transit oriented, mixed use development.
Redevelopment: Once any hazardous material is addressed, the historic building will be reused as a Food Incubator to provide small culinary businesses with rentable commercial kitchen space, technical assistance, and business training. Additionally, Build Baton Rouge (BBR) proposes the construction of a new mixed-use development on the site including both commercial space for a new businesses and high-quality, mixed-income residential units.
Leaaf’s Role: Leaaf conducted a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) / All Appropriate Inquires (AAI) at the BR 203 Plank Food Hub for LDEQ and the Baton Rouge Brownfields Program. The assessment was conducted in accordance with ASTM Standard E 1527-13. Recognized environmental conditions (RECs) and business environmental risks (BERs) were identified and recommendations were presented.
Feature image from WHCL Architecture.