Cell phones and video games will soon replace movie rentals on College Drive.
The former Blockbuster location on College was sold and is slated to house Verizon Wireless and Gameware stores, with a possible addition of Panda Express.
Walter Salek, senior vice president of brokerage for The Retail Connection, said he purchased the Blockbuster building about a year and a half ago after it went out of business.
The existing building will be divided into a Verizon Wireless and Gameware, and pending clearance, there will be an expansion to include a Panda Express franchise, Salek said.
“We certainly want that to happen to have Panda Express, a national Chinese food chain. It’s the largest in the world, so obviously we would want to have them in that location,” he said.
The only other Panda Express in Baton Rouge is in the University’s Student Union.
Gameware will make a two-block move from its current location in the College Creek Shopping Center.
Gameware store owner Steve Bernhard said the reason for the move is better visibility and greater accessibility.
“Where I am now, it’s hard to get in and out, and I’m not facing College Drive, so it’s not as visible,” Bernhard said.
The result of the variance request should be determined by the first week of February, Salek said.
Salek paid about $1.2 million for the building in a brokered deal, said Austin Earhart, a Beau Box Commercial Real Estate agent who consulted on the deal.
Salek said he was interested in the property because “it’s a great piece of real estate.”
The new Gameware store will open Feb. 14 or 15, and its current location will close one or two days prior for moving, Bernhard said.
“We don’t want to be closed for more than two days,” he said.
Verizon Wireless will open in April, Salek said.
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Contact Emily Herrington at [email protected]