High-tech conversion

Baton Rouge mall transformed into technology park

By Karla Wall

Baton Rouge's 45-year-old Bon Marche retail mall is beginning a new life as a home for high-tech businesses and manufacturers.

Now called Bon Carre Tech Park, the complex sports a Mediterranean-inspired facade and drastic interior renovations involving miles of fiber-optic cable, state-of-the-art alarm and access systems, thousands of data ports, modern plumbing and HVAC systems.

Mike Barrios, director of construction for owner Commercial Properties Development Corp. of Baton Rouge, said the tech park is already at 60 to 70 percent occupancy even though the $32 million project won't be completed until this summer.

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Tenants include a cable provider, two phone databank companies, technology manufacturing companies, a large engineering firm and a finance company. Negotiations are underway with several potential tenants, Barrios said.

The transition actually involves several projects. Renovation of the main concourse, the Solo retail building - formerly a Maison Blanche retail store - and the "tech park" section of the complex are being done in three phases by prime contractor Buquet & LeBlanc Inc. of Baton Rouge.

Percy Matherne Construction of Baton Rouge has refurbished an old Montgomery Ward retail area to house the headquarters for cable television provider Cox Communications.

Demolition for the project involved the removal of several kinds of hazardous materials commonly found in older structures.

"There was asbestos flooring tiles and wall panels, and some PCB ballasts in the lighting fixtures," Barrios said. American Construction & Demolishing Co. and Wesley Construction Co. Inc., both of Baton Rouge, performed demolition.

Owner Guy Pickering said American removed more than 300 cu. yds. of debris as well as 300 cu. yds. of concrete. All materials were recycled in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas.

David Faulk, project manager with Buquet & LeBlanc, said work began on the project's first phase, the tech park, in June 2003. The roof was replaced entirely with new decking and 60-mm, single-ply TPO rubber-enforced roofing.

The facade of the building was also completely remodeled. The stucco plaster was removed and the old studs were replaced with new 6- and 8-in. metal studs installed in 12-ft. lengths. New exterior sheeting was installed and Thornco Inc. of Baton Rouge applied a cement plaster with an acrylic finish.

Faulk said the end result is a blend of vibrant color, a limestone texture, intricate molding, tiled pitched roofs and stone balcony railings that give the building a Mediterranean look "unique to this area."

The second phase of the project required the renovation of the old Solo retail store. The entire infrastructure of the three-story building was replaced and four sets of escalators had to be removed.

"We took apart the escalators by hand -- the tracks, the motors, everything," Faulk said. American Demolition handled the escalator removal and a 22-ton crane was used to remove the steel. The steel was eventually recycled at American's recycling yard in Baton Rouge.

Schindler Elevator of New Orleans replaced the escalators with two glass elevators that are exposed to the atrium and serve all three floors.

Buquet & Leblanc took special care while working in the Solo building because a tenant was still on the second floor while construction was under way.

"We had to selectively demo the electrical and mechanical systems, while still maintaining the HVAC system operations," Faulk said.

The third phase of work involved renovating the concourse, or main corridor. The major component of this project is the installation of eight 20- by 20-ft. pyramid-shaped skylights. The sprinkler system was also replaced and decorative acoustic ceiling tile installed.

Jay Miller with Corporate Mechanical Inc. of Baton Rouge said all the existing HVAC systems were removed and replaced with about 50 5- to 40-ton rooftop air-handler units as well as two 250-ton chillers, located in a central plant in back of the facility.

"It's easy to air condition a (large retail area)," he said. "It's a big box. When you start chopping it up into partitions and taking into account the different functions of each tenant, different loads needed by each tenant and the type of equipment they're working with, it becomes more difficult."

The foremost concern is zone control.

"In the top floor of the old Solo building alone, there are 80 to 85 thermostats," Miller said. "In a big retail area, you might have one or two."

Variable Air Volume boxes are used for zone control throughout the project. Rather than control temperature, the devices control airflow.

"The temperature stays constant," Miller said. "The air flow changes through use of a damper box on the ceiling. As the temperature of the room changes, the volume of air changes."

The systems have been in use for about 70 years but were banned in the United States until about 20 years ago because smoking was allowed in buildings.

"You can't dampen the air flow when there's smoke in the building," Miller added. "You end up with a cloud of smoke about halfway up the room."

He said that given the climate-sensitive nature of most of the businesses in the park, entire backup HVAC systems have been installed.

Plumbing throughout the complex is cast iron. Existing lines were used but reconfigured to accommodate new locations in the building and more facilities than had existed. Lewis Mechanical of Baton Rouge installed new drain and water lines.

The interior of the new building is "your typical office space, with carpeting, acoustic tile and drywall," Faulk said.

Renovating the old Montgomery Ward building to house the Baton Rouge headquarters of Cox Communications involved adding a new facade, removing the roof down to the base layer and replacing it with new decking and insulation board and rolled rubber roofing. The facade was torn down and cement plaster applied.

Matherne project manager Bill Gieger said the interior of the building was gutted and metal studs were installed as part of the $10 million project.

James Higginbothom of H & H Fabricators & Erectors Inc. of Port Allen, who handled the interior steel work, said more than 200 tons of 24- and 30-in. beams were used. A mezzanine was added and the look is open, spare and high-tech, with exposed double-deck cable trays, steel structure beams and sheetrock.

Offices are enclosed and feature drop-in acoustical ceilings and metallic decorative plaster on interior walls. A 2,000-sq.-ft. television studio is also housed in the building, which required soundproof walls.

The renovation requires extensive rewiring and electrical renovation.

Frank Brian, executive vice president of SAIA Electric in Baton Rouge, said the new system involves nearly 2.5 million lin. ft. of cabling.

Wiring was set up for complex audio-visual systems in each of 13 conference rooms as well as an executive conference room housing a 60-in. plasma screen television with touch screen overlay, a video projector and screen.

Cabling is laid throughout the building using two 18- to 24-in.-wide double-deck cable trays, with electrical cables running on the upper deck and lower-voltage audio/visual cables routed on the bottom deck. The video cabling system was laid out to a single hub. There are several hubs for the entire system, all routed to a distribution center located across Lobdell Drive from the headquarters building.

Geiger said a backup generator in the central plant guarantees power for all systems and will allow Cox to stay on line in case of public utility failure.

Climate control for the new building includes 23 air handler units and two 360-ton chillers, said Kevin Middleton of R. E. Jenkins in Baton Rouge, responsible for the HVAC work on the project.

The system utilizes a Trane Tracer System, in which one central computer, located in the mechanical room work station on the mezzanine controls lighting, signage and climate systems.

"From the computer, you can pull up any reading you need to - chillers, start/stop time and lighting," Middleton said.