Highway 21 Corridor | Covington, Louisiana
The What And The Why
River Chase Office 1 is the first phase of the Offices at River Chase, the Northshore’s premier office campus located in the heart of the amenity-rich River Chase master development. River Chase Office 1 is a multi-tenant, Class-A office building set on 3.5 acres at the intersection of Brewster Road and Stirling Boulevard, at the epicenter of River Chase. Previously, office space was the missing component within the development. Upon its completion in May 2017, a true mixed-use community now exists, accompanying over 945,000 SF of nationally-branded retail, 600 apartments, 300 single-family homes, and a hotel.
Our Challenge
Developing a speculative office building with no initial anchor tenants can present some risks and challenges. Timing is one of those challenges. Stirling started construction on River Chase Office 1 in June 2016. Shortly after, the oil and gas industry experienced one of the most severe downturns in decades as the price of oil fell below $30/barrel. The decline in oil prices had a negative impact on the local economy and resulted in an excess of unoccupied office space coming back to the market. Therefore, the construction and lease-up of the new building occurred at a time when demand for Class-A office space was in decline. However, with oil prices creeping back up, and with it, increased demand for office space, Stirling Properties is optimistic about the future of the building as a catalyst for attracting high-quality businesses to River Chase.
Our Strategy
River Chase Office 1 is a 45,000-square-foot, two-story office building, and although a small component of the master-planned office campus, the linchpin to creating a viable, long-term office market within the River Chase community. Additional phases will consist of a multi-building campus capable of accommodating corporations ranging from 20,000-1,000,000 SF situated on 40 acres adjacent to Interstate 12. Despite the timing, beginning construction on the first office building was a calculated risk, and a necessary one in order to spur future office development.
Stirling Properties teamed up with the highly renowned architectural firm of Wakefield, Beasley, and Associates to design an efficient base building as well as Mandeville-based Greenleaf Lawson Architects to design the interiors. The buildings’ flexible floor plates allow for a partial or full building lease opportunity for a wide range of corporate users.
Our Results
River Chase Office 1 is a best-in-class office building that has no equal in the marketplace in terms of design, efficiency, or accessibility. The building is within walking distance of numerous amenities that already exist as a part of the overall development, including Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, Zoe’s Kitchen, apartments, a hotel, restaurants, banks, a movie theater, and retail shopping.
Duplantis Design Group will move into 6,000 SF in mid-May, and we look forward to announcing additional office tenants in the near future.
