University officials are considering annexing a chunk of land that contains two LSU properties into the city of Baton Rouge.
Innovation Park, which houses the Louisiana Business and Technology Center, and the Ben Hur Farm currently do not lie within Baton Rouge’s city limits. They do, however, fall inside proposed borders of the breakaway city of St. George.
If the land is not incorporated into Baton Rouge and St. George efforts succeed, LSU’s main campus would be forced to operate in two different cities.
Ernie Ballard, LSU Media Relations director, said the issue first came to LSU President F. King Alexander’s attention at a recent Baton Rouge Area Chamber meeting. Annexation efforts are currently “nowhere beyond the general conversation stage,” Ballard said.
The matter would have to be approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors, which does not meet again until late March. The annexation issue is not on the agenda for that meeting.
The administration is unsure what the effects of operating the main campus in two cities would be, Ballard said. He did point out that the city-parish provides water and sewage services to the University and cooperates on traffic and safety issues. Such affairs could be affected if another city government becomes involved.
While Innovation Park is part of the main LSU campus, the Ben Hur Farm is operated by the LSU AgCenter, which owns land throughout the state. The two properties are located within minutes of each other and the University.