One of the first 200’ tall buildings in St. Tammany Parish will find its home at the interchange of I-12 and 1088 in Mandeville, Louisiana according to the St. Tammany Zoning Commission in a meeting on November 11, 2013.  The 161-acre plot of land owned jointly by the Azby Fund and Wadsworth Estates LLC originally received permit approval for a mixed-use Planned Unit Development which was going to include both business and commercial structures as well as a residential community.

Issues after Hurricane Katrina and the Recession delayed the development’s timeline multiple times, but both development companies are now ready to move forward with their construction.  Some of the proposed buildings will be 200’ tall (which is about 20 stories) amongst commercial and industrial venues as well as light retail that will front I-12.  Nothing in St. Tammany Parish comes close to this height at present but members of the zoning board felt that the I-12 / 1088 location would be the best possible location for such a structure because of its visibility from the Interstate.  The presence of such a prominent building right on the highway would literally “put St. Tammany Parish on the map.”

“Among the possibilities is a warehouse distribution center, such as Federal Express,” said Patrick Fitzmorris, assistant managing director for the Azby Fund. “The total build-out would take at least 10 to 15 years,” he said.  Other industrial components would include corporate headquarters from manufacturing businesses similar to the Folgers corporate location and warehouse that is being built in Lacombe.  The developers hope to attract the same type of industrial warehouse business  at their development.

One of the detractors of the project brought up the position that the development was not built to accommodate the large amount of parking needed for industrial warehouse locations.  However, Warren Treme, one of the principals of Wadsworth Estates, said work would begin right away to make changes to the residential infrastructure that was put in so that it can accommodate commercial uses including the parking needed for the complex.

With the installation of the interstate exit at 1088, traffic on Highway 59 has been reduced because of the “back door” access to all of the new homes and rentals available on Highway 1088.  With the inclusion of light retail at this commercial and industrial development, there may now be places for homeowners to shop as well as new jobs served up by those businesses that will lease commercially.

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