Shreveport/Bossier City Development

[bigboyz05]

Is Foreman bigger than Ashdown?

Also, isn't the country singer Tracy Lawrence from Foreman?

[NCB]

Is Foreman bigger than Ashdown?

Also, isn't the country singer Tracy Lawrence from Foreman?

Ashdown is bigger as it has around 4000 people and Foreman has around 1000. Yep, Tracy Lawrence is from Foreman, and the town and its residents are very proud of that. He donates money and supplies to Foreman High School, his alma-mater, frequently.

[bigboyz05]

That's nice that he donates to the school. It's always good to give back to the community.

[NCB]

^Yea, it really is nice to see, especially in a small town like Foreman, which I know puts the money to great use.

[dimebag1980]

Guys, this is SO my thread. I'd love to join you guys here, since I'm a lifelong resident of the Shreveport area. I was born and raised in Bossier, then lived the last 2 years in Shreveport before settling in the suburban east Bossier town of Haughton just a few months ago.

I am very active in the Shreveport development scene, and have many ways to access information about almost any project in the entire metro area.

One thing you guys might have mentioned and I missed is, the hotel market has not slowed down at all. The new convention center's 12-story Hilton hotel is currently under construction as are new hotels in east Bossier, south Shreveport, and west Shreveport.

In east Bossier, only about 5 miles from my home, Harrah's Louisiana Downs is building a new 6-story hotel on its property. TIn addition to the new hotel, the improvements to this property are supposed to also include a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill.

West Shreveport's growth just recently began again. After years of falling behind other areas of the city, a new Home Depot has opened in the area and a new Target store may not be far behind. Also rumored to be coming to the west Shreveport area is another multiplex movie theater, but I have yet to have anyone confirm this. For now, the multiplex stands as a rumor. Also, the small suburban town of Greenwood, which touches the city limits on the west side of Shreveport, is experiencing a lot of growth. A recent article in one of the Shreveport area lifestyle magazines outlined numerous new and large-scale residential and commercial developments for this once sleepy west Shreveport suburb.

North and east Bossier City and south Shreveport are pretty much where the bulk of the area's growth is occuring. In south Shreveport, the Youree Drive area is where almost every major national retailer or restaurant can be found. SuperTarget, Belk, Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, Linens N Things, Ross Dress for Less, Petco, PetSmart, Cost Plus World Market, and Marshall's are just a few of the national retailers in this area. Among the national restaurants located in this area are Romano's Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Moe's Southwest Grill, Smokey Bones BBQ, Krispy Kreme, Chick-Fil-A, McAlister's Deli, Chili's, On the Border, Roadhouse Grill, Golden Corral, and many more. The Youree Drive growth is only going to continue, as a new chunk of land has recently become available. SDI Realty of Houston has acquired this land and is planning more large-scale developments in this area. When purchased, this piece of land became the most expensive piece of property, per square foot, ever sold in Shreveport. Not far from this location, another empty area of land is about to be developed into the area's first Kohl's-anchored shopping area.

Down the road, the suburban areas south of Shreveport just continue to grow at a rapid pace. This growth has been so rapid recently that a new interchange had to be added to I-49 at its intersection with Southern Loop. This interchange was built to accomodate the heavy traffic coming into the city from these suburban areas. With the new Provenance TND under construction and the constant expansion of subdivisions in this area south of Shreveport, there is no doubt this new interchange is proving necessary.

Even further south, across the DeSoto Parish line, the areas of Mansfield and Stonewall (particularly Stonewall) are also growing rapidly. A recent article also outlined the growth in this area, collectively known as north DeSoto. Many more commercial and residential developments are planned for this area over the next few years. No doubt, north DeSoto is solidifying its place in the Shreveport-Bossier MSA.

Finally, onto north and east Bossier City. Once you exit off I-20 at Airline Drive in Bossier City you immediately realize you've driven into an obstacle course. It is nothing for multiple cars to cross 3-5 lanes of traffic at one time in order to make a turn into one of the businesses in this heavy retail area. Keep driving and you begin to realize that there seems to be no end to Airline Drive. Businesses are literally butted up to one another, and the few pieces of available land in this area will resemble the rest of Airline Drive within the next few years. Driving beyond I-220 on Airline Drive, a local would notice that the farm land which once separated Bossier City from its neighboring suburban town of Benton are nearly all developed. Aside from a sign displaying the Bossier City limits, there really isn't another way for an outsider to know that they are crossing from Bossier City into Benton.

This area of north Bossier City has seen tremendous growth within the last few years, and since the bustling south Shreveport area is more than a 30-minute drive from this area, there is a high demand for more retail and dining in this area. A new Target-anchored shopping center will be built in this area beginning this year. This center will include a SuperTarget, Belk, Kohl's, a new multiplex movie theater, Ross Dress for Less, Petco, and many others. This area will also include many of the national eateries already found in south Shreveport as well as the second Walgreen's store within 2 miles of the same stretch of road. This is going to be an enormous shopping center which will rival any other large shopping center in the Shreveport-Bossier area.

There are really too many things to mention, but I'm sure you get the gist. I know coming from another area, it would be hard for you to find information on all these projects, but since I have "connections," I can usually find information on just about any project in the Shreveport-Bossier area.

Edited March 2, 2006 by supkof

[NCB]

^Thank you very much for the information, supkof!

It looks like metro Shreveport-Bossier in havingsome serious growth right now!

I was also wondering about development in the downtown areas of Shreveport and Bossier City. Other than casinos and tourist-related developments, what's going on in those two areas?

[dimebag1980]

^Thank you very much for the information, supkof!

It looks like metro Shreveport-Bossier in havingsome serious growth right now!

I was also wondering about development in the downtown areas of Shreveport and Bossier City. Other than casinos and tourist-related developments, what's going on in those two areas?

Honestly, there aren't many tourism-related projects going on in the downtown areas. There are a few, though, and I'll list them:

1. Louisiana Boardwalk is constantly expanding, and will be the major draw in the downtown area for a long while. Boardwalk (www.louisianaboardwalk.com) is a large-scale retail/dining/entertainment complex along the Red River in Bossier's riverfront district across from downtown Shreveport. This project contains stores like Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Reebok, Adidas, Eddie Bauer, and many others combined with restaurants like Joe's Crab Shack, Hooters, and Buffalo Wild Wings as well as entertainment options such as Regal Cinemas Stadium Multiplex, Island Fun Arcade, King Pinz Bowling alley, Saddle Ridge Saloon, a carousel and a trolley. Saltgrass Steakhouse just opened in the Boardwalk, and coming soon are a Nike store, a Build-A-Bear Workshop store, and Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro.

2. Sci-Port Discovery Center, in downtown Shreveport, is expanding. This year, the museum's space center/planetarium expansion will be complete much to the delight of the 250,000+ visitors who visit this museum each year.

3. The Red River Waterway Visitor's Center just opened next to Sci-Port. This center includes a river overlook on the second floor and numerous displays related to Shreveport/Bossier and the Red River.

4. Barnwell Center, a downtown botanical garden/art museum will finally be remodeled. I can't seem to get a definite time frame from anyone on this, but I know they'd like to begin this year on that. Believe me, this building is in desperate need of remodeling... it's truly in bad shape. I want to show off my city's botanical garden to out-of-towners but I'm always embarrassed when they make mention of its state of disrepair.

5. Shreveport is looking into downtown trolleys. Hopefully this will happen, because that would be a nice throwback to Shreveport's past.

6. The city's new convention center just opened to RAVE reviews. I had the opportunity to tour this facility and I must say, it is gorgeous and it's more than twice the size of the old convention center. This new center offers really nice, expansive views of downtown from the northern end, and fills a development void on the north side of downtown.

-Related side note: the city's old convention center is now being run by a group led by retired NBA player Karl Malone (The Mailman,) who resides in the Shreveport area, and they are using it as a movie production facility for use by Disney and FX Networks.

Edited March 2, 2006 by supkof

[dimebag1980]

Speaking of the congested Airline Drive corridor, here's a related article:

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...EWS01/603020324

[opionated rant]

Not only does Viking Drive need to be widened, but I honestly believe that, between I-20 and I-220, Airline Drive needs to be a 5-lane one-way street and Benton Road needs to also be a 5-lane one-way street. There is just no way around that, it needs to be done.

[/opinionated rant]

[dimebag1980]

On the subject of the increased post-Katrina movie production in the area, here's an article about Kevin Costner:

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...306/1004/LIVING

And the last few lines of this article show just how much he likes it around here:

"Costner has been enjoying himself in Shreveport since "The Guardian" began shooting in December. When off the set -- which is not often -- he has duck-hunted and bow-fished.

"I go to that Bass Pro Shop all the time. I love that place," he said.

"I like this kind of country. I'm coming back here with a movie right after this, so I might as well get my mail here."

That next movie is the contemporary thriller "Mr. Brooks," which he will star in and produce with producing partner Jim Wilson. It likely will begin production in Shreveport three or four weeks after "The Guardian" finishes shooting in March."

[dimebag1980]

Thought I'd share a couple of plans I managed to get my hands on.

This is the site plan for the new Shreveport Kohl's store and surrounding retail developments:

And this is the site for the Provenance TND's first phase:

Sorry they're so small... I sized them down for my picture trail gallery.

[dimebag1980]

Here's one link most people don't know about, but it's an information package for parties interested in developing in the new SuperTarget-anchored shopping center in north Bossier. Neither Kohl's, nor the multiplex, are shown in this ePackage, because those projects haven't been fully worked out. The area in the top left corner which says "Future Development" is likely where these will be situated.

http://www.stirlingprop.com/shared/public/...er_ePackage.pdf

[NCB]

Wow!

Great info, supkof! I'm interested in the possibility of Shreveport bringing back downtown streetcars, I think that would be fantastic.

From what I've heard, the new convention center in Shreveport is beautiful, and I was able to see it in person(well the outside of the building) a few weeks ago when I was up in NW Louisiana.

[dimebag1980]

I'm not sure if anyone here knew this, but back in '03 downtown Shreveport was the only picture featured on the cover of Southern Business and Development as one of the country's best and most-improved downtowns. See sources below for more info:

City of Shreveport 2004 press release:

http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/mayorpr/pr2...owntownlist.htm

Southern Business and Development online archives:

http://www.sb-d.com/issues/fall2002/featur...stdowntowns.asp

Here's a jpeg image of the magazine cover mentioned above. I apologize for this being so small, but I'm linking to it right off their website and this is the size they have it at. I tried to resize it, but it comes out way too pixelated.

Then again, in 2005, Shreveport's downtown riverfront was listed as one of Southern Business and Development's 'Ten Great Downtown Waterfront Districts.' Again, see sources below for more info:

City of Shreveport 2005 press release:

http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/mayorpr/050...waterfronts.htm

Southern Business and Development online archives:

http://www.sb-d.com/issues/winter2005/feat...nWaterfront.asp

[dimebag1980]

Downtown Shreveport's West Edge is an up-and-coming arts district. Two new theaters are coming soon to this area, and there are already restaurants, concert venues, and artists' spaces open in this area. More information below:

http://www.downtownshreveport.com/west-edge.html

[dimebag1980]

The Shoppes at Bellemead

This, in my opinion, is the most impressive shopping center within a 100-mile radius of the Shreveport/Bossier MSA. Not because of its size or anything (it's fairly small,) and not because of the number of high-end national retailers it has attracted, but because of the way it looks.

Below is a link to the company who built this shopping center, and they have some really cool pictures of this awesome-looking south Shreveport shopping center. This center, by the way, is a constant work in progress. There are still 1-2 phases currently under construction while some portions of it have been open for probably two years now.

http://www.ccdbuilding.com/projects/images.../bellemead1.htm

And here is a link to the developer's website with some images of the project:

http://www.vintagerealty.com/contents.php?...outus&page=News

Edited March 2, 2006 by supkof

[bigboyz05]

Hi supkof! Thank you for all the info you've provided. I lived for a short time in Shreveport back in 2002. I lived on Park Ave. which is not far from downtown. Are you familiar with that street?

[dimebag1980]

Hi supkof! Thank you for all the info you've provided. I lived for a short time in Shreveport back in 2002. I lived on Park Ave. which is not far from downtown. Are you familiar with that street?

I was wondering how you were as familiar with Shreveport as you are, aside from the obvious... you live only 75 miles north. And you seem to be pretty fond of Shreveport, which I think is great.

As for Park Ave, I've never heard of it. You said it's not far from downtown, but do you know which neighborhood?

Anyway, it's great to meet you and all the rest of these fine folks on this website.

[bigboyz05]

Me and my mother will be coming down there on March 9th to do a little gambling. If you come to the Arkansas forum you'll see that I have a development thread for Texarkana, which has been exploding with growth. Park Ave. is close to the Allendale neighborhood and near where I-49 intersects with I-20.

[dimebag1980]

Me and my mother will be coming down there on March 9th to do a little gambling. If you come to the Arkansas forum you'll see that I have a development thread for Texarkana, which has been exploding with growth. Park Ave. is close to the Allendale neighborhood and near where I-49 intersects with I-20.

Okay, I know the area you're talking about now. There's a LOT of history over that way... lots of old buildings and great downtown views! Do you know where those red brick Jackson Square projects right near that interchange? They're getting ready to tear those down, next week I believe. I know they had a lot of crime and all, but the buildings have some weird kind of charm to them. They're pre-WWI buildings, so that may have something to do with the charm.

As for Texarkana, I'm VERY familiar with that place. My mother-in-law and my wife's best friends still live there. My wife spent her high school days in Texarkana, TX, and when we got married I actually lived on Arkansas Blvd. in Texarkana, AR for about 5 months... and commuted to south Shreveport 5 days a week. I'm so glad that's over, but it was nice living there. The rent was only $385/month for a pretty nice apartment, and the cheapest thing I could find here for a similar apartment was $600/month. Now with apartment prices in the newer complexes here in Shreveport pushing $1200/month I think I've made the right decision in buying a house.

Edited March 3, 2006 by supkof

[bigboyz05]

The house that I lived in was old with very high ceilings. Unfortunately that area does have a crime problem and that was one of the reasons we came back here. Hopefully the crime rate will fall soon. With all the growth mushrooming in the Texarkana area I'm afraid that we will see a spike in rental rates. I've also lived in the Cedar Grove area which is a lot safer than Allendale.

[dimebag1980]

bigboyz - I was curious, so I looked up Park St. on the map, and it's showing to be way out near the I-20/I-220 interchange opposite the airport. Is that correct, or did I locate the wrong Park St?

[bigboyz05]

The name of the street is actually Park Avenue.

[dimebag1980]

The name of the street is actually Park Avenue.

No wonder! I was wondering why the map showed it so far out in the city, nowhere near Allendale or downtown.

[dimebag1980]

Well, on Sunday as I was out on my latest photographic journey of my area, I noticed stakes out in the field where SDI Realty has big plans for its next large-scale south Shreveport shopping center. So I managed to get a couple of photos of the northern portion of the field as well as a few shots of some of the current developments in that area. I wanted to get a shot of both sides of the road, as they're both heavily developed, but for that I would have had to stand in the median and take pictures.

Anyway, here are my pictures...

[dimebag1980]

Proposed Kohl's site relocation

The Kohl's store proposed for southeast Shreveport will now be built on Youree Drive along with other new businesses, rather than being built near the intersection of 70th St and Fern Ave. This is a story that just broke yesterday and the Shreveport Times reported on it this morning. I'm really not surprised to hear about this, and I'm actually kind of glad because of the traffic situation. Keep it confined to Youree/Kings and keep it off the neighborhood streets.

The property where the new Kohl's is being relocated to is shown in the first 2 pictures in the post preceding this one.

Edited March 9, 2006 by supkof