A long-vacant shell space at Baton Rouge mixed-use development Square 46 has been leased, bringing the Government Street space to full occupancy for the first time since it opened. NFP Corporate Services recently moved into roughly 3,200 square feet of shell space at the development after relocatin g from a garden office complex on Jefferson Highway, according to Chris Flood of Lee Associates. The space had remained vacant since the development was built in 2018. Lee Associates took over leasing for the project about two years ago. Flood says shell space can be particularly difficult to lease because tenants often must commit to longer-term leases and invest heavily in build-outs before occupying the space. Branden Barker of Barker Property Management represented NFP Corporate Services. “With shell space, it takes a decisive tenant who’s typically willing to sign between a five and a seven-year lease, sometimes even 10, because companies don’t want to invest that much money to build out their space if they’re not certain they will be there for a while,” Flood says. NFP Corporate’s arrival followed another recent move-in by Sparkhound, which relocated to second-generation office space at Square 46 after relocating from its former building on Proverbs Avenue that the city of St. George purchased last year for its new city hall. Square 46, a roughly 25,000-square-foot mixed-use development, now includes tenants Brasserie Byronz, Edward Jones, Tap 65, Focus and Flow, Sparkhound, NFP Corporate Services, Alberstadt Lambert Design and Frameworks Gallery, along with residential spaces. Flood says fully leasing the project is notable because Government Street has historically been more retail- and restaurant-oriented than office focused. “Mixed-use developments are not super common in Baton Rouge,” he adds. “To have this one fully leased up is exciting.” ...read more read less