Originally published by Greater Baton Rouge Business Report
The owners of the South Carolina real estate investment firm that recently acquired Bon Carré Business Center for an undisclosed price plan to make a major investment upgrading the 71,000-square-foot office park and turning it into the tech hub that community leaders in Baton Rouge have long envisioned.
Jim La Marche and Matt Chapdelaine, principals of EdgePWR, decline to disclose what they paid for the building or their budget for the project.
But they say their plans include making cosmetic improvements to the facility—adding natural light and green spaces to the former shopping center, for starters—as well as buildouts to the infrastructure that will enable one of Bon Carré’s key tenants, Venyu Data Center, to expand into some of the 25,000 square feet that is currently vacant.
“We’re real estate investors who partner with data center operators and provide them with the capital to expand their operations,” La Marche says. “In this case, we have Venyu, which is one of the leading data center operators in the state, and we are working with them to build out their space so they can continue to serve that market.”
Venyu’s presence in the business park initially attracted EdgePWR to the Baton Rouge market but the successful data center is not the only reason the firm sought to acquire Bon Carré, which has been owned since 2018 by out-of-state lenders, who took the property back after Commercial Properties Realty Trust defaulted on its $36 million mortgage.
Rather, it’s the potential the firm sees in the facility, which is anchored not only by Venyu but by the Louisiana Business and Technology Park.
“Bon Carré has the bones from an infrastructure perspective to be able to support tech evolution,” La Marche says. “The tech park is a great incubator and we would love to see tenants who graduate from that be able to take space in the building and have it be like a graduate program.”
The executives say they have made multiple trips to Baton Rouge and met with community leaders to get their input on what Bon Carré could be and how reimagining certain elements of the facility could better serve the market.
“It’s perfectly situated, near Government Street, very close to downtown,” La Marche says. “There are many ways we can engage the community. Perhaps we carve space for a farmer’s market. I’ve been struck when we meet with people that they remember Bon Carré from when they were a kid. They all have a story. There is a heartstring there for people. How do we pull on that heartstring? How do we reengage that heartstring?”
EdgePWR’s hope for the facility comes after two failed attempts in 2018 and 2019 by Bon Carré’s owners to sell the property at auction, the second of which had a minimum bid of just $6 million.
La Marche and Chapdelaine decline to say whether they paid less than $10 million for the property, though sources familiar with the situation say the estimated range is between $5 million and $10 million.
Sale documents have not yet been filed with the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court because of the Thanksgiving holiday. It is unclear whether the documents will record a sales price or record the transaction price for a nominal fee ‘and other valuable consideration.”
Chapdelaine does say that the price the firm paid does not reflect the significance of the investment EdgePWR plans to make in Bon Carré.
“Acquisition price is one thing but we don’t view it as just an acquisition,” he says. “We view this as a development. The acquisition price will pale in comparison to the capital dollars we plan to invest in it. We’re looking to invest heavily.”