New businesses spring up across LC
Published 9:40 am Monday, March 24, 2014
Ever pass a site that’s being developed and wonder, “What’s that going to be?” To answer that question, and to feature early signs that herald change and growth for Southwest Louisiana, the Home and Real Estate section publishes photos and basic information about new real estate and commercial developments. Featured this week are the following:
The cleared lot of fresh dirt work between the new Taco Bell at 1325 N. Martin Luther King Road and the Dollar Store at 1351 N. Martin Luther King Road isn’t the site of a new business — yet. But that land will soon be on the market. It’s the parcel remaining now that the new Taco Bell is complete.
That fast food franchise served its first customers last week and replaces the old store right down the road at 1009 N. Martin Luther King Road.
Tommy Gegenheimer, director of facilities and maintenance for B & G Food Enterprises said that the 20-year lease expired on the old location – now up for grabs. That left the franchise owner with the choice of bringing the old store up to current Taco Bell brand standards on leased land or purchasing a piece of property and building new.
Also available: Right across the road from this newly worked section of land is a piece of undeveloped property.
According to Alvin Joseph, Jr., US 171 (North Martin Luther King Road) is “really booming and I wanted to take advantage of that.” (Louisiana Department of Transportation data indicates that around 30,000 vehicles travel this road daily.) So he purchased a piece of land that was previously residential to build his dump truck and tractor work business at 1841 N. Martin Luther King Rd. He’s been working as a home-based operation near that area since 1991 — another reason the location works for him.
His projected date for completion is summer of this year.
Weather plagued several construction timelines and one of those, according to Mike Sarver of Legends Development Co., is the Welome Mart Convenience Store his company is building at the corner of Lake and 18th streets.
On that location in years past were a gas station and a wrecker yard, Sarver said. He’s hoping that the new business will be complete in the next couple of months.
Subway sandwich fans near 1105 E. Prien Lake Road will be pleased to know that a new location will be opening near them soon. Hema Patel, local owner, said that the second space within the newly constructed building has not been leased at this time and she’s hoping to open for business some time in June.