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A rendering of the 61 North distribution warehouse Ratcliff Development plans to build. The Alexandria company purchased a tract of land near the former Cortana Mall site for $2.6 million and plans to develop the 240,000-square-foot facility on the property.
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save An Alexandria company has acquired a 186-acre tract of land in Ascension Parish for $10.9 million and plans to develop distribution, office-warehouse and manufacturing space to support the local petrochemical industry. The Magnolia Ridge Logistics Park, located at the intersection of Industriplex Avenue and La.
30 just outside of Gonzales, could eventually include 2 million square feet of mixed industrial use space, said Gregg Thompson, president of Ratcliff Development. The property will be developed in phases. Plans are to start site work on the property at the start of next year, then begin infrastructure work.
Lots in the development should be up for sale at the end of 2025. Magnolia Ridge will target potential tenants such as bulk distribution companies, light manufacturers and plant services businesses, Thompson said. Metro Baton Rouge has been held back by a lack of industrial space for the past few years, due to a lack of speculative developments.
Evan Scroggs, of Lee & Associates, who tracks the industrial market and is working to market Magnolia Ridge, said the local vacancy rate for warehouse space is below 2.5%. That has kept companies from moving into the market and local businesses from expanding.
“There are a lot of local businesses already in the market that are busting at the seams, that need to expand and don’t have anywhere to go,” said Trey Williams, managing partner of JRE Capital. Baton Rouge-based JRE Capital, a local private equity firm that focuses on real estate investments, is teaming up with Ratcliff for the development. Even without a formal marketing campaign, Williams said some companies have already have signed letters of intent to move into Magnolia Ridge.
“If we had lots to sell today, we would have a significant portion of the development pre-sold,” he said. This is the second distribution-warehouse project Ratcliff has announced locally this year. In January, the company said it would build 61 North, a 240,000-square-foot distribution warehouse near the former Cortana Mall site.
While the original plan was for 61 North to be speculative space, Ratcliff is currently negotiating with a single tenant to take up the property. That has led to a delay in construction, Thompson said..
