The LSU Board of Supervisors reviewed a master plan Friday for the Nicholson Gateway, a 28-acre site located across from Tiger Stadium that will include mixed-use retail housing, a student residential district and retail space, according to the project’s executive summary.
To pay for the project, Board of Supervisors Chairman Hank Danos said the Board is exploring private partnerships. It is possible that a developer will come in and assume some of the risk and reward. The timeline for the construction of the project is to be determined.
The mixed-use center is designed to attract students, sports fans and the surrounding community. It will offer shopping, restaurants and entertainment, according to the summary.
The new residential housing will include 1,239 student housing beds and new “market-rate” housing for LSU employees, such as coaches, visiting professors and others, according to the project’s master plan. It will also feature additional housing for upperclass and graduate students above the retail space.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity … This district will be a place that is great for game day and every day. It will embody the best aspects of the city and the campus,” said Steve Wilson, senior associate with AECOM, the firm helping to plan the project. “It is not an extension of the campus or the city — it is a crossroads that brings the best of both.”
The mixed-use section of the project will also include office space that will house the LSU Foundation, Communications and University Relations and the LSU Press, according to the plan.
Communications and University Relations and the LSU Press are currently located in old Greek houses on Sorority Row. Moving these to the Nicholson area will allow more sororities to open on campus, according to the plan.
“This will tremendously affect our ability to recruit and retain students,” said Lee Griffin, president and CEO of the LSU Foundation. “Student housing and learning together is a trend. If we can do that, we can attract better students.”
There will also be more than 130,000 square feet of retail space for students, residents, faculty, staff and the neighboring community.
Additionally, the plan calls for a major plaza similar to Champions Square near the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to “enhance the gameday experience, particularly for fans who come on campus but do not attend football games.” The plaza will also be available for music performances, according to the plan.
“This should be a source of revenue for LSU, and it should be a source of promoting our image and our brand so that we become more attractive,” Danos said.
“This should be a source of revenue for LSU, and it should be a source of promoting our image and our brand so that we become more attractive.”
