Wampold Reveals Name of New Baton Rouge Hotel

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Mike Wampold’s new hotel in downtown Baton Rouge will be a Marriott Autograph. The developer has recently revealed more details about the project, which broke ground earlier this year, at Convention and Third Streets. The new hotel will be called the Watermark Baton Rouge.

The Baton Rouge developer’s plans call for the redevelopment of the 88-year-old State Office Building at 150 Third Street into a 148-room hotel. Wampold purchased the property in late 2013, from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, for $10.25 million. He applied for state incentives last year, and started work last month.

At first, Wampold wanted to convert the old property into a limited service Marriott Courtyard, but Marriott’s limited service division chose to award the franchise to a ground up project, planned one block away, at Florida and Third Streets. Luckily, he was contacted soon after by Marriott’s full service division. They offered the Autograph franchise to him, explaining that, unlike Marriott limited service, which prefers new construction, the full service division prefers adaptive reuse of iconic, historic structures. Wampold finalized the franchise agreement with Marriott on Monday, May 13.

The new hotel’s name recognizes its 1924 origins, as the former Louisiana National bank building, as well as its proximity to the Mississippi River. WATERMARK Baton Rouge is scheduled to open in August 2016. According to Wampold, the hotel will also include an upscale restaurant.

Photo credit: Downtown Development District