Commercial Assessments Begin In Hard-Hit Areas

[IMGCAP(1)]BATON ROUGE, LA-More than 24 hours after Hurricane Gustav came ashore at Houma, LA just southwest of New Orleans, developers and brokers along the Gulf Coast have begun to assess damages to either completed or under-construction assets. The review is mixed depending on when and where the hurricane hit, but insurance companies already are predicting damages will surpass $2 billion.

David Trusty, director of commercial real estate for Gully, Phelps McKey Real Estate in Baton Rouge, says the majority of the city is still without power and many mature trees were downed in the region. “We had 94 mph gusts coming through here and sustained winds in the low 70s, which lasted for two hours,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “You can imagine the impact on the city.”

[IMGCAP(2)]Trusty adds that his project in the Nicholson Corridor, a five-mile stretch on the city’s south side slated for a new urbanism development, took a massive hit with a number of trees falling on some structures. Nearby Downtown structures also were struck. “In the coming days, we’ll take some time to look at it and see how to begin to recuperate,” he says. “Right now, we haven’t been able to really get out and assess the situation.”