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Shreveport/Bossier City Development

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shreveportguitarist
shreveportguitarist

Also, someone I know who lives in the Blanchard area was telling me recently that not only are they getting a new Wal-Mart out there at I-49/Hwy 1, but a Home Depot as well. I don't put much stock in

centraliowarising
centraliowarising

I can hear the crickets chirping in here and it's sad. This was once a pretty happening forum. Oh well. Just thought I'd pop in and mention that I've been following the Amazon development in Shrevepor

centraliowarising
centraliowarising

I'm hearing through the grapevine that the city of Shreveport, which was so proud of its large new convention center a few years back when it was built, is now letting it go to crap. The event planner

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Metlife Hamlet

Metlife

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Saw something very interesting today. Passed by through the old Linens n Things and Circuit City. Looks like some major renovations are going on in both places, possibly. There's also an 18 wheeler trailer in the parking lot that belongs to some general contractor company. I wonder what might be going in there? Whole Foods? Hmm...

 

EDIT: Look what I found while doing some digging...

http://mallsdb.com/la/kings-crossing-shopping-center

 

Well, this is a photo from today, when I passed through Kings Crossing. Looks like something major is definitely going on. Fingers crossed...

post-11229-0-38858500-1381185572_thumb.j

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Metlife Hamlet

Metlife

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It's going to be a Conn's HomeStore. They're all over Texas, especially DFW.

Yuck! I so wanna buy into the the Whole Foods narrative. Look, I've come with more positive, circumstantial evidence... Why would their twitter acct troll like that, lol?

 

EDIT: Dimebag, you're correct on the Conn's... I just saw a vid on KTBS that confirmed that. Still, I have hope, lol...

post-11229-0-12591100-1381589206_thumb.j

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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Yuck! I so wanna buy into the the Whole Foods narrative. Look, I've come with more positive, circumstantial evidence... Why would their twitter acct troll like that, lol?

 

EDIT: Dimebag, you're correct on the Conn's... I just saw a vid on KTBS that confirmed that. Still, I have hope, lol...

 

I don't think their Twitter account would troll, but there's not enough information there, to be honest. It seems like some tweets are missing, and all she's posting is that tweet in particular. Does that mean they're NOT coming? Not necessarily, but it doesn't mean they are either. I like to think they are, so like you, I'll continue to hold out hope. But just recently one of our local news agencies looked into it and the company told them that they had no plans for Shreveport in the near future.

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Metlife Hamlet

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Yeah, i'm not overly concerned with the denial... that's common practice. Their next stockholder's meeting is in November, I believe. That's when they'll officially announce the next batch of expansion cities. We'll see...

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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Yeah the article is three years old but there was a new article in The Times yesterday. I try not to link to The Times because they suck ass. I know how to surf anonymously and never pay to read their articles, but a lot of people don't know how so they can't read them. Therefore, in order to post an article, I had to find something else.

 

The thread has already been made? I can't dispute it, but I don't recall it.

 

Also, I disagree that it "simply won't happen". The city and DART officials are still meeting on the subject. And I don't follow the "with the way Shreveport is headed" comment. What way would that be? The city has lost population over the past 30 years, but a lot of that population has just moved to other cities and towns in the area. The city just gained a $1 billion steel plant addition to The Port, and BPCC is currently building a new 2-story classroom building to house studies specifically for the type of engineering such a plant would require.

 

EDIT: Here is the article from yesterday, which was the first time I'd ever heard of a venture between DART and Shreveport. I believe you were thinking of the Amtrak venture that's been thrown around for years. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310210030&nclick_check=1

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Antrell Williams Town

Antrell Williams

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Yeah the article is three years old but there was a new article in The Times yesterday. I try not to link to The Times because they suck ass. I know how to surf anonymously and never pay to read their articles, but a lot of people don't know how so they can't read them. Therefore, in order to post an article, I had to find something else.

 

The thread has already been made? I can't dispute it, but I don't recall it.

 

Also, I disagree that it "simply won't happen". The city and DART officials are still meeting on the subject. And I don't follow the "with the way Shreveport is headed" comment. What way would that be? The city has lost population over the past 30 years, but a lot of that population has just moved to other cities and towns in the area. The city just gained a $1 billion steel plant addition to The Port, and BPCC is currently building a new 2-story classroom building to house studies specifically for the type of engineering such a plant would require.

 

EDIT: Here is the article from yesterday, which was the first time I'd ever heard of a venture between DART and Shreveport. I believe you were thinking of the Amtrak venture that's been thrown around for years. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310210030&nclick_check=1

The thread I am thinking of is somewhere else.

 

Shreveport is fairly stagnant right now, I don't see a reason why this is needed over other projects in SBC and Louisiana in general. The city has still lost population for 30 years, that doesn't sound good no matter which way you spin it. I heard about the plant, that's great news but no savior in itself.

 

DART and Caddo officials have already began talking about such rail.

 

The reasons why I don't think this will happen should be fairly acceptable. Shreveport has been losing population for 30 years, this line would be equivalent to running a line from Houston to Lake Charles, and I don't see a need whatsoever. If this was purely Federal dollars I would be all for it, but it's not. We should be devoting effort to other facets of Louisiana and our issues. The rail would probably increase casino revenue but draw even more people away from SBC to Dallas. Also, what does Dallas and Texas have to gain from linking with tiny Shreveport? Why wouldn't they want to have a rail line to OKC? There's double the population on that corridor. If Louisiana wants a short "HSR", the BR-NO corridor is the most viable in my opinion.

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Metlife Hamlet

Metlife

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Yeah, i'm not overly concerned with the denial... that's common practice. Their next stockholder's meeting is in November, I believe. That's when they'll officially announce the next batch of expansion cities. We'll see...

 

BOOM! Whole Foods Market is on deck!!! Refer to page 3 of their latest (Nov 6th) invesment meeting PDF...

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/sites/default/files/media/Global/Company%20Info/PDFs/Q413financial.pdf

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

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BOOM! Whole Foods Market is on deck!!! Refer to page 3 of their latest (Nov 6th) invesment meeting PDF...

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/sites/default/files/media/Global/Company%20Info/PDFs/Q413financial.pdf

 

You beat me. I didn't have the information you had, but I just saw this article on my Facebook page...

http://www.ktbs.com/story/23898389/whole-foods-closer-to-becoming-reality-in-shreveport

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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The thread I am thinking of is somewhere else.

 

Shreveport is fairly stagnant right now, I don't see a reason why this is needed over other projects in SBC and Louisiana in general. The city has still lost population for 30 years, that doesn't sound good no matter which way you spin it. I heard about the plant, that's great news but no savior in itself.

 

DART and Caddo officials have already began talking about such rail.

 

The reasons why I don't think this will happen should be fairly acceptable. Shreveport has been losing population for 30 years, this line would be equivalent to running a line from Houston to Lake Charles, and I don't see a need whatsoever. If this was purely Federal dollars I would be all for it, but it's not. We should be devoting effort to other facets of Louisiana and our issues. The rail would probably increase casino revenue but draw even more people away from SBC to Dallas. Also, what does Dallas and Texas have to gain from linking with tiny Shreveport? Why wouldn't they want to have a rail line to OKC? There's double the population on that corridor. If Louisiana wants a short "HSR", the BR-NO corridor is the most viable in my opinion.

 

It's not about DART looking for new markets to expand into, it's about a strategic plan to expand into Shreveport and make money off the gaming industry. Our casinos receive a few million visits from DFW residents alone each year. If DART can lure a percentage of those visitors into riding their rail line, it will be profitable for them. Additionally, a lot of people from this region spend a lot of time in DFW for various reasons. They would profit off some of those people as well. If it weren't a potentially profitable situation for DART, they wouldn't even be considering stretching their line out 200 miles to reach Shreveport. In the end, someone is going to built a line between Shreveport and Dallas, whether it be DART or Amtrak. Amtrak could be up and running more quickly because they're already built out to Marshall, TX, which is about 30 miles west of Shreveport. DART isn't built out at all outside of the DFW area at this time.

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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Oh, and on the subject of Whole Foods, that Alexandrine Place location is perfect for them. It's right there in the hottest retail area of Shreveport, and in by far the nicest development over there. I can't think of a better location for them. And by the time they would be able to build out a store there, the work on East 70th Street just west of that location would likely be finished, making for better access to Whole Foods since the road is being widened from Fern Avenue on west toward Line Avenue.

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Metlife Hamlet

Metlife

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Oh, and on the subject of Whole Foods, that Alexandrine Place location is perfect for them. It's right there in the hottest retail area of Shreveport, and in by far the nicest development over there. I can't think of a better location for them. And by the time they would be able to build out a store there, the work on East 70th Street just west of that location would likely be finished, making for better access to Whole Foods since the road is being widened from Fern Avenue on west toward Line Avenue.

Yup! I wonder if there will be any additional stores/restaurants with that development?

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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Yup! I wonder if there will be any additional stores/restaurants with that development? 

 

Well, one thing is for sure. If there aren't any others planned at this point in time, they will follow soon after. As you know, Whole Foods is a huge draw in itself. It tends to draw more high-end retailers, restaurants and such. That's why the location they chose, in my opinion, is so perfect. It reminds me a lot of their location in OKC. It's right across from the campus of Chesapeake Energy and everything in that area is high-end and sexy. I used to work for Chesapeake, and I spent a lot of time up there. Their former CEO/co-founder is a true visionary and he pretty much single handedly rebuilt that part of town. It was a pretty bad, rundown part of town. He built out the extremely beautiful, sprawling Chesapeake campus, and he developed the high-end shopping center across the street. He also partnered with Whole Foods on getting them to build i that spot... and that store is so sexy.

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Antrell Williams Town

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It's not about DART looking for new markets to expand into, it's about a strategic plan to expand into Shreveport and make money off the gaming industry. Our casinos receive a few million visits from DFW residents alone each year. If DART can lure a percentage of those visitors into riding their rail line, it will be profitable for them. Additionally, a lot of people from this region spend a lot of time in DFW for various reasons. They would profit off some of those people as well. If it weren't a potentially profitable situation for DART, they wouldn't even be considering stretching their line out 200 miles to reach Shreveport. In the end, someone is going to built a line between Shreveport and Dallas, whether it be DART or Amtrak. Amtrak could be up and running more quickly because they're already built out to Marshall, TX, which is about 30 miles west of Shreveport. DART isn't built out at all outside of the DFW area at this time.

It's not about DART expanding into a new market, but yet it's about DART wanting to expand into a new market?

 

A small percentage of riders isn't going to make this venture profitable, it would lose millions if only a small percentage used it. People aren't going to want to take a rail from Dallas and have to catch a bus to a casino. They aren't going to want to walk around downtown Shreveport and the small area under the bridge. If this breaks ground, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong but I don't see this thing ever leaving the drawing board. I mean, Oklahoma has more casinos doesn't it? Higher population, higher per capita income, etc.

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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It's not about DART expanding into a new market, but yet it's about DART wanting to expand into a new market?

 

A small percentage of riders isn't going to make this venture profitable, it would lose millions if only a small percentage used it. People aren't going to want to take a rail from Dallas and have to catch a bus to a casino. They aren't going to want to walk around downtown Shreveport and the small area under the bridge. If this breaks ground, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong but I don't see this thing ever leaving the drawing board. I mean, Oklahoma has more casinos doesn't it? Higher population, higher per capita income, etc.

 

I'm not claiming to know it all, I'm trying to make sense of it myself. I was making the only arguments I could think of as to their strategy. But there has to be a reason why DART would approach Shreveport officials. Shreveport officials had been in talks with Amtrak for years, and DART wasn't even in the picture until 2 or 3 years ago. And yes, Oklahoma has more casinos but they're spread all over the state. There are only two casinos in Oklahoma that draw a lot of visitors from DFW, although one of those casinos is Winstar, which is currently the second-largest casino on Earth and is single-handedly responsible for taking away a good percentage of the DFW gambling crowd. That's the main reason Paul Alanis teamed up with Jimmy Buffett for SBC's most recent casino venture... which, while very nice, still doesn't touch Winstar. Winstar is amazing... beyond belief. That place is so freaking huge. Nothing in Las Vegas can touch it. The only casino in the world that is currently larger than it is Foxwood's in Connecticut, which is the largest casino on Earth.

 

So yeah, I'm with you on sitting back and watching where this goes... or doesn't go. It's just very easy for me to get too caught up in it and be hopeful, which is a big deal for me because I'm naturally a pessimist.

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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Some of you might recall a year or two ago, some development group proposed a rather large shopping center on Airline Drive, between Wal-Mart and Home Depot, and with Kroger as one of the anchor tenants. As far as I knew, that fell through. On the TV news, they mentioned that Kroger said they had no current plans to renovate or relocate any of their Shreveport-Bossier stores. I know I don't have to tell you what a complete dump their Benton Road store is.

 

Well, I hadn't been down that stretch of Airline in a while, so I don't know when this occurred, but when I drove down that stretch today, something immediately caught my eye. I noticed that this same large tract, which when I was a child was part of a rather large cow pasture and the old SHARKS airfield, had been mowed and staked off. And now I wonder...

 

By the way, there's something I find funny about the old SHARKS airfield. Way back when that airfield was there, up until the late 80s or very early 90s, when Wal-Mart decided to close their Haughton store and build this area's first Wal-Mart super-center in northeast Bossier, the SHARKS moved their location to their current spot out Highway 71 north, between Shreveport and Dixie. But it looks like progress might be catching up to them, as the new northern stretch of I-49 is traversing through northern Caddo Parish. If any development occurs up that way, within a few years the SHARKS could find themselves having to move once again.

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