Written by the Daily Report Staff for the Baton Rouge Business Report | January 16, 2017
Ground is expected to break soon on Ichiban Square, a roughly 21,450-square-foot shopping center planned near the corner of Essen Lane and Perkins Road.
Permits were pulled Friday for the $2.5 million project, with construction expected to be completed in August. Carmen Austin, an associate broker for Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate and the shopping center’s leasing agent, says Ichiban Square is approximately 27% preleased.
The shopping center’s tenants will include a high end nail salon and spa, an ice cream parlor, a Smoothie King, a drive-thru pharmacy and several quick service restaurants, she adds.
“We’re really excited about the project,” says Austin. “It’s in a very good location—near the new medical development—and it’s a high traffic area between Essen and Bluebonnet.”
Chris Shaheen is developing Ichiban Square for the owner of Ichiban Sushi Bar and Japanese Grill at 5741 Essen Lane., Austin says. The center will be built on a vacant 2.7-acre parcel on Perkins Road, just south of the Essen Lane intersection, next to The Royal Treatment pet spa. At one point the restaurant owner had considered relocating the restaurant to the site, but eventually decided to renovate the existing restaurant instead. Cangelosi Ward General Contractors is listed as the contractor for the project.
Carmen R. Austin, MBA, CCIM has been a practicing commercial real estate broker since 2001. She is a graduate of the Louisiana State University (LSU) E.J Ourso College of Business and the LSU Flores Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Program with a specialization in Entrepreneurship and Real Estate Finance. Her experience includes past employment as Regional Director of Leasing at Commercial Properties Realty Trust the for-profit arm of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Carmen’s affiliations include Louisiana REALTORS, Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Commercial Investment Division, International Council of Shopping Centers, Commercial Real Estate Women,Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute, National Association of REALTORS, and Urban Land Institute. She is also an active volunteer on the Board of Directors for the Baton Rouge Gallery, LSU MBA Alumni Association, Junior Achievement of Baton Rouge, and the Junior League of Baton Rouge. Carmen is a graduate of the Jay W. Levine Leadership Development Academy Class of 2011 and served as the 2010 President of the Louisiana CCIM Chapter. Carmen currently serves on the National CCIM Institute Board of Directors and the CCIM Institute Education Foundation Board of Directors.
Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate is a member of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce (BRAC); the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce; the Baton Rouge Better Business Bureau; the Louisiana Commercial Data Base (LACDB); and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Several agents, on an individual basis, are members of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors® (SIOR), the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute (CCIM); the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR); and the Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS® Commercial Investment Division (CID).
