The Water Campus

Developing over the next decade, The Water Campus will rise on 35 acres along the Mississippi, adjacent to downtown Baton Rouge. In that time, the number of researchers and support staff employed at the facility will expand to over 4,000. More than 1.6 million square feet of labs, research facilities and commercial space will enable them to carry out their vital work in a collaborative environment – studying coastal threats, formulating theories, exchanging ideas, and cooperating to arrive at innovative solutions that might never be possible working alone.

The Water Campus will be for more than science and engineering. Other types of firms are expected to occupy the Campus, taking advantage of its riverfront location next to existing employment centers, alternative transportation and unburdened road network.

The evolution of the campus will be guided by a blueprint created by Dover, Kohl, & Partners and Urban Design Associates, preeminent among the nation’s urban planning firms. The site and design of the destination were selected to further enrich our cityscape by stimulating new growth downtown, which has already seen more than $2 billion in comeback investments, as well as sparking development along Nicholson Drive, a key link between the city center and Louisiana State University. Urban Design Associates designed the campus to balance ample room for supporting work, public spaces and parkland – an attractive mix of different uses, all connected in a shared space along the banks of one of the world’s most powerful and important rivers.

THE WATER CAMPUS