DENHAM SPRINGS, LA (AP) — A flurry of development south of Interstate 12 is poised to bring acres of new shopping, hotels, apartments, restaurants and professional services to Denham Springs.
Multiple projects are in the works in and near the burgeoning Denham Springs Development District around the intersection of Bass Pro Boulevard and South Range Road.
Last month, crews broke ground on a new 15,500-square-foot shopping center across from Rotolo's Pizzeria. Building owner Ricky Heroman tells The Advocate’s Steve Hardy it will house a Heroman's Florist shop, Firehouse Subs and Red Wing Shoes, among others, and should open in the spring.
"It's a good development. A lot of people are attracted that way, toward Denham. A lot of people have moved in that direction," he said. "I think it's going to be a very good area. It's kind of a happening place."
The I-12 corridor is drawing new development throughout the parish. Juban Crossing lies just one exit to the east, and its first store held a grand opening earlier in October. Additional openings are slated through the end of the year, with more businesses and hundreds of residences planned for the future.
The growth off South Range Road is evident in the Development District's sales tax figures. It contributed more than $4 million to parish coffers through sales taxes in fiscal year 2014, according to school system documents.
In fiscal year 2010, the district generated $1,719,883 in sales tax. In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the district generated $988,371, with Black Friday still on the horizon.
Looking forward, a five-story hotel in the Marriott group of hotels is on the way, said Joe Moore, division director of Re/Max First Commercial. It is expected to break ground just west of Sam's Club next summer.
There are talks of another hotel at the northwest corner of Bass Pro and South Range, but the specifics have yet to be ironed out. Moore said the hotel likely would be several floors and include a restaurant.
