Baton Rouge City Profile

[richyb83]

Things are really looking up for BR as our city begins to flex it's muscles! Growing business like Shaw, Albemarle, Amedysis; retail explosion with Towne Center and Perkins Rowe; construction downtown and the emergence of the Shaw Arts Center. But growing pains are evident, including the public school situation.

Baton Rouge: A changing city

Baton Rouge has emerged as the state

[richyb83]

BR Realtors: What mortgage crisis?

Mayor-President Kip Holden and a group of real estate agents, lenders and title attorneys showed a united front in a morning press conference, saying Baton Rouge

[richyb83]

A new Lincoln Drive in BR?? Between the Pentagon Barracks(where Pres. Lincoln once stayed) and Capitol Annex; connecting River Road to Third Street next to the State Capitol. What about "street" or "avenue"?? Why "Drive"??

Group wants to name street after Lincoln

After his research found no Lincoln streets within the city.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/35667009.html

Edited December 8, 2008 by richyb83

[richyb83]

Year in review in Sunday's Advocate.... Very looooong read!! Many things talked about here on UP......From jobs; chemical industry; housing chill; Shaw; Nucor; Coca-Cola; Gustav; growing pains for film; Downtown(RiverPark, II City Plaza, Greenlight Plan, Live After Five,etc); Rouzan; new Woman's Hospital; Perkins Rowe; The Boulevard; Raising Cane's; Pinnacle; etc....

Weathering the storm

Baton Rouge felt the effects of a sluggish national economy in 2008, but seemed to fare better than many cities in the country

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/37016644.html

[richyb83]

BRAC begins back-to-BR campaign

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber has launched a

[cajun]

Anyone else think that it's odd that this "Back to BR" campaign starts just as the recession finally starts affecting Louisiana?

[drew6974]

I just discovered this fascinating blog on historic BR. One of the best sites for historic BR buildings and events I've come across. Check it out and comment. The blogger says it's been up for a year and he's not gotten much comment. I'm sure the BR experts on UP will have a lot to comment on and contribute.

http://historicalbatonrouge.blogspot.com/

[richyb83]

^That's a neat website Drew; enjoyed the downtown video and historic pics; how do you respond to this person's blog??

Baton Rouge makes list of hottest real estate markets

Housing Predictor ranks Baton Rouge in its top 10 markets for homebuyers. The city ranked No. 9 on the annual list of places where buyers are most likely to see an investment from buying a house. Housing Predictor looks as factors such as prospects for growth and strong employment. McAllen, Texas, topped the list, and two other cities from the Lone Star State-Austin and Corpus Christi-were among the top 10.

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/dai...009/jan/26/784/

And here's the LIST....

http://www.housingpredictor.com/hot.html

[byrde]

I just discovered this fascinating blog on historic BR. One of the best sites for historic BR buildings and events I've come across. Check it out and comment. The blogger says it's been up for a year and he's not gotten much comment. I'm sure the BR experts on UP will have a lot to comment on and contribute.

http://historicalbatonrouge.blogspot.com/

Cool blog!

[richyb83]

Is this a suprise???

Survey: BR traffic congestion up 6 percent

In a survey of the 100 largest U.S. cities, only the Baton Rouge metro area saw its traffic congestion increase in 2008, making the region the 33rd worst in the country, according to Inrix, a firm that tracks traffic patterns.

The Baton Rouge area

[southeastBR]

Yes, I've noticed that more people are using Florida Blvd. and Flannery. The congestion is getting worse on Greenwell Springs as more people are utilizing more options to get to Livingston Parish. With the construction down here on Coursey at Sherwood, its total gridlock!

[richyb83]

^ Once completed, the Central Thruway should take the traffic strain off of Flannery Rd. But that's still a ways off. I have often thought their should be another connection with EBR and Livingston beside just Hwy 190 & I-12. Just like the Magnolia Bridge to the north connecting Central/Watson; their should be a south alternative; So Harrell's Ferry Road or even Tiger Bend Rd should have a bridge into southern Denham Springs.

Much of rush hour rraffic is one big headache with the Coursey/Sherwood Forest construction; my question is what took so long to get it right with additional turn lanes?? Airline Hwy is something avoid during peak hours til this is finished. Airline Hwy(like Cajun & I have been saying) should have extra-lanes to the parish southern border near the State Fairgrounds!

Many roads would flow better with simple additional turn lanes for "flow." Not widening every road is necessary; though nice!

Edited February 26, 2009 by richyb83

[southeastBR]

That's ironic you would say that about So. Harrell's Ferry! That used to be an actual ferry back in the day, they could easily build a bridge across that same route. That's if the land owners back there want to give up their dead end road? But that would relieve a lot of traffic off of I-12.

[cajun]

Well, I was talking to a friend of my from college who's still in BR. He said that he's fed up with the crime...apparently his wife's car was stolen out of their driveway!

Is there any talk or push to increase police protection?

[southeastBR]

The thing that sucks about beefing up the police protection and other law enforcement projects, is that they were in Kip's $989million proposal. Beyond that, I haven't heard of anything else. But crime, the majority of it, is confined to certain areas, of course you have an occasional car jacking in an nice neighborhood. And theft,burglary, but really, I feel the the city is pretty safe, as long as your stay away from those area's that are high in crime. Cajun, when are y'all moving back?

Edited March 11, 2009 by southeastBR

[cajun]

Cajun, when are y'all moving back?

I transfer (unless I get layed off) this summer to Baton Rouge regardless of if I want to or not. My wife is enthusiastic about the move, and we are going go through with it.

Probably too late to register to vote for the tax proposal.

And I think that "not that bad" is "not good enough" when it comes to crime.

Edited March 11, 2009 by cajun

[southeastBR]

I agree with you! Yeah they already voted on it back in Nov.. But I think if he could maybe put together something a little less costly, but include the River Center expansion,and a smaller Audubon alive , and a hotel on top of the River Center garage, that would be great! He proposed the $989 billion back in July I believe, and after the economy collapsed, people were turned off by by the proposal. Just bad timing that wasn't Kip's fault. If we still had the robust economy ,I believe it would have passed.

[cajun]

Anyone been to one of the Masterwork's series of the Baton Rouge symphony?

I need the skinny.

The low down.

Edited March 13, 2009 by cajun

[cajun]

Baton Rouge needs that riverfront to be developed into some kind of venue for concerts. Not saying that BR needs it's own Voodoo fest and a massive concert area, but at least something like Piedmont Park in Atlanta...and of course they need to book the bands.

If they want to cut cost, then they could pull something like that instead of the Alive thing. All they would need is to build it up and put a park with an area flat and wide enough for temporary stages...maybe a large amphitheater facing the river.

Edited March 27, 2009 by cajun

[southeastBR]

Downtown just needs something that would separate it from the norm. I feel like the best avenue for right now is focusing on more renovations on 3rd st. If they could beef up the entire street with more entertainment such as putting in a theater, more food venues, and family oriented establishments,just have a super mix, then that would be best for Downtown at this time. Seems like every other city has some kind area downtown that sets them apart from other cities,maybe beefing up 3rd could be BR's.

[richyb83]

^I like yall's ideas; no doubt Third Street & the Riverfront are staples to downtown's sucess in Phase II of Plan BR!

Kip Holden really does want to make Baton Rouge a "Great City"; can't say it's for a lack of trying anyway; on his trip to China he will be missing Easter Sunday with his family...

Holden to visit China to promote BR ties

At a time when the rest of the world is reeling from a global recession, China

[richyb83]

Nothin' like the Dirty South...ouucchh!!!

N.O. U.S. murder capital, BR No. 7

New Orleans is once again the U.S. murder capital after briefly losing the title.

Fresh FBI statistics show that with 64 killings per 100,000 people in 2008, New Orleans had the highest per capita murder rate in the United States, well ahead of second-place St. Louis, which had 47 murders per 100,000 people.

Baton Rouge, which gained population after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, came in No. 7 with 30 murders per 100,000.

The FBI's report bases its per capita number on a New Orleans population of 281,440 for July 1, 2008. The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center put the city's population for the first half of 2008 at 324,357. But even using the higher estimate, the city recorded 55 murders per 100,000 to still lead the nation.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/46749392.html

[richyb83]

On the flip side....nice to see this!

BR economy rated among best in U.S..... Study cites area

[byrde]

We must be doing something right.

Jackson group to check out downtown

A contingent of about 70 people from Jackson, Miss., will be in Baton Rouge next week to learn about the progress the city has made in downtown redevelopment, Mayor Kip Holden says. The group will be in Baton Rouge on July 9-10, looking at a things such as the consolidation of state government buildings and how city initiatives spurred developments such as the Shaw Center for the Arts, the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center and Kress at Third and Main, says Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District.

[byrde]

Baton Rouge needs that riverfront to be developed into some kind of venue for concerts. Not saying that BR needs it's own Voodoo fest and a massive concert area, but at least something like Piedmont Park in Atlanta...and of course they need to book the bands.

If they want to cut cost, then they could pull something like that instead of the Alive thing. All they would need is to build it up and put a park with an area flat and wide enough for temporary stages...maybe a large amphitheater facing the river.

The site of the old AZ Young building is supposed to be developed into an amphitheater by the state. My guess is state budget issues has that project on hold.