Landry Serves as Lead Counsel for Memorial Park Redevelopment, One of the Largest Mixed-Use Capital Investments in State History
November 28, 2023
Charles Landry, a partner in Fishman Haygood’s Business Section who concentrates his practice in real estate development and land use and zoning, serves as Lead Counsel for the Memorial Park Redevelopment project in Baton Rouge, La. The redevelopment project will be one of the largest mixed-use capital investment projects in the state’s history.
Landry recently was interviewed by the Advocate for its article “Memorial Makeover.” As detailed in the piece, Five Points Community Capital, which finances community developments nationwide, is working with partnering agencies Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) and Sports Facilities Companies, a firm that operates recreational, entertainment, and fitness facilities across the country. The groups hope to bring the Memorial Park complex, an underutilized community asset, “back to life.” Click here to read more from the Advocate.
The goal of redevelopment is to have the complex serve as the cornerstone of the Baton Rouge community, a place for residents to live, work, and play. Beyond renovating Memorial Stadium and Goldsby Baseball Field, specifics for the 44-acre site are still being developed; however, possibilities include indoor and outdoor courts, entertainment venues, retail and commercial developments, trails, and community areas for activity, recreation, and use by professional sports teams.
In addition to creating a potential significant economic boon, at the heart of the project is its focus on making an equitable community impact. Through a partnership with Project Play, a public policy initiative led by organizations like Nike and ESPN to grow national sports participation rates and make sports more accessible to all children, the complex will provide opportunities for young athletes and families to actively participate in organized sports and fitness programs regardless of zip code or ability.
Memorial Park revitalization efforts represent one of the largest mixed-use capital investments in Louisiana history. Groundbreaking is approximately 18 months to two years away, pending BREC’s leasing of the property to a developer and finalization of a master plan.
Among the project’s key financial components will be the creation of an Economic Development District (EDD). EDD plans often include much-needed public infrastructure improvements, blight-remediation, and development projects that boost local economies. Landry has helped create more than twenty EDDs for private development throughout the State of Louisiana, and in 2019 the City of Lafayette/Parish of Lafayette Consolidated Government retained Landry to establish five real estate-based economic development districts within the city. He continues to serve as general counsel for these EDDs.
This is not the first complex public-private partnership in which Landry has been involved. He also served as lead counsel to the developer of The Water Campus, a 35-acre site along the Mississippi River adjacent to downtown Baton Rouge. The development encompasses more than 1.8 million square feet of labs, research facilities, and commercial space, providing researchers and support staff a collaborative setting through which to study coastal threats, formulate theories, exchange ideas, and arrive at innovative solutions in a manner previously not possible.
Just as The Water Campus did for the area south of Baton Rouge’s central business district, Landry hopes that the Memorial Park complex redevelopment will serve as a catalyst for future opportunities north of downtown.
Louisiana has experienced unprecedented growth over the last ten years. Billions of dollars have been invested in greenfield development and expansion, and Landry has been retained by developers for industrial, commercial, mixed-use, and residential projects throughout the state. He has represented numerous parties in a wide range of real estate transactions, which include residential developments, office buildings, shopping malls and centers, hotels, medical facilities, golf course communities, and industrial developments. Landry also is known for his deep knowledge of public-private partnerships in Louisiana, having represented groups in numerous complex projects. Read more about his practice here.