Hotel Indigo Will Build in State Capital

BATON ROUGE, LA-The former Hotel King property downtown will be renovated and turned into a 93-room Hotel Indigo. The 48,000-square-foot building is scheduled to reopen late next year.

Developers Brace Godfrey Jr. and John Schneider plan to turn the property into an upscale boutique hotel at the corner of Convention and Lafayette Streets. Locally inspired murals will be added to the seven-story hotel, highlighting Baton Rouge’s cultural, art and entertainment history.

Acquisition and construction financing for the $25-million project will come from private equity sources combined with funds from federal and state Historic Tax Credits and federal New Market Tax Credits. US Bancorp Community Development Corp. and locally based Stonehenge Capital Co. are participating in financing the HTCs and NMTCs.

Pam Breaux, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, stated in a release that the Hotel King renovation is important to the growth potential of Downtown Baton Rouge. “It’s another great example of the economic potential when culture and commerce meet,” Breaux said. “In this climate, I know securing the funding has been a significant challenge.”

The Hotel Indigo Downtown Baton Rouge Riverfront is owned by Project King LLC under a license agreement with InterContinetal Hotels Group. A locally based hospitality company, Nu Vieux LLC, will manage the newly reopened hotel.