North Boulevard Town Square

[richyb83]

Linking the riverfront to the heart of downtown, Hargreaves and Associates are developing a concept for the North Boulevard Town Square. The area is adjacent to several civic buildings ; the Governmental Bldg.(City Hall); the Municipal Bldg; Shaw Center for the Arts and soon to be under construction 19th Judicial Courthouse. The proposed plan is to increase and complement the existing Oak Tree Canopies as well as introduce a unique decking system which will incorporate lighting representing the river and the area's rich agricultural history.

The town square will coincide with the update of Repentence Park at the Old State Capitol; this project will reconfigure the gated-in greenspace (and water features too??) to encourage in and out of the park area and better link it to the surrounding area.(patterned similar to Jackson Square in New Orleans).

Other NEW Development PROJECTS that surround Town Square and the(Front Lawn) Old State Capitol that will begin in 2007 include:

*renovation and expansion of the Baton Rouge River Center

*new 19th Judicial Courthouse(10-12 stories??)-surface parking lot of Municipal Bldg. (March)

*new 17-story II City Plaza (April)

* 2nd phase of the Shaw Center for the Arts- conversion of old Stroube's site into a mix of residential , retail, office space along the pedestrian corridor of Third Street.

*redevelopment of the EBR Arts & Technology School.

*renovation of the 7-story 94 room Old King Hotel with rooftop terrace.(next to Hilton Capitol Center across street from Shaw Ctr.)

The conversion of North Blvd. will make it a destination point and place to be for festivals and other functions. And a wayfinding signage program throughout downtown.

Lights embedded into the ground would light the area at night.

Edited January 12, 2007 by richyb83

[richyb83]

I just felt like replying to my own thread to see the #1 on replies Seeing no replies kind of sucked.

This is a really cool looking area of downtown IMO The promenade along the wide tree lined median on North Boulevard is like no other in the capital city! The streetscape will be changing too with the Courthouse, Two City Plaza, and the next phase of the Shaw Center for the Arts. And with added loft living nearby.

The decking system will definetly improve the look too.

Edited January 16, 2007 by richyb83

[byrde]

When will they start working on North Blvd town square?

[richyb83]

Sorry Bryde, no I sure don't. I wrote DDD tonight..hopefully they will reply. But I won't hold my breath. I would hope sometime this year; it's supposed to be billed as the 1st step in the Riverfront Master Plan.

[bluff2085]

Sorry Bryde, no I sure don't. I wrote DDD tonight..hopefully they will reply. But I won't hold my breath. I would hope sometime this year; it's supposed to be billed as the 1st step in the Riverfront Master Plan.

Didn't the great Kip Holden propose that North Blvd be used as a trolley/streetcar route as well?

[richyb83]

^ The Trolley route on North Blvd comes from Fourth Street and goes to River Road

$4.5million set for square on North Blvd.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/7931312.h...hid=-2054303794

The

[richyb83]

DDD timeline for downtown square

Planning and design work is under way by the city on the $4.5 million project, he said, but completion of the square will take until 2009 to coordinate the project with construction of the 19th Judicial District Courthouse on North Boulevard.

The North Boulevard Town Square would become home to public events, such as the holiday Festival of Lights, and generate interest in plans for an arts and entertainment corridor on Third and Lafayette streets, he said.

Meanwhile, a nearby expansion of the Shaw Center for the Arts should be finished before 2008 is over, Rhorer said, with a chop house opening in the former Stroube

[twstdndmntd]

Ya know considering the fact that the courthouse is being built right now that really isn't a bad timeline for this project. I think it will do alot for the area and will look great.

[richyb83]

When viewing maps of the U.S. or state a black dot indicates the location of that city. If a black dot is to be placed anywhere in BR; it would be in the area of the Noth Blvd. Square. Something about that area of downtown is special as the elevation begins to slope down to the river. Surrounded by the (old)State Capitol ; (new)Shaw Arts Center near Third Street with the big,old, pretty Oak trees.

The new Couthouse, II City Plaza and next phase of the Shaw Arts Center will really change the look around the square

Looking forward to seeing what will become of the Onyxx Bldg. in Shaw Arts Block next phase??

[richyb83]

Landscape architectural firms sought for town square plan

Landscape architects hoping to design the North Boulevard Town Square have until Feb. 28 to put their name in the proverbial hat. The city-parish has issued a

[twstdndmntd]

I am really ready for this project to get started. I really hope they do something drastic and make it stand out.

[buckett5425]

I am kind of apathetic towards the project. Obviously North Blvd has been landscaped before and turned into a park space all the way up to I-110 maybe in the 70's or 80's?. But no one uses the space at all. Whats going to make this any different? Are people going to flock to it because its new? I would doubt it, but, as long as it creates a better environment for outdoor events and looks more apealing, i guess its a positive step.

[yis2003yis]

I am kind of apathetic towards the project. Obviously North Blvd has been landscaped before and turned into a park space all the way up to I-110 maybe in the 70's or 80's?. But no one uses the space at all. Whats going to make this any different? Are people going to flock to it because its new? I would doubt it, but, as long as it creates a better environment for outdoor events and looks more apealing, i guess its a positive step.

well it's like a store even here in baton rouge..like when new things open up...they start getting a crowd because it's new they've never seen it......town center has some of the same things perkins rowe has..but people still go to perkins rowe because it's new

[richyb83]

Downtown design team to meet with public

Brown+Danos Landdesign Inc. and Joseph Furr Design Studio will lead the team designing the project, which has been touted as downtown

[richyb83]

North Boulevard Town Square committee to meet

The North Boulevard Town Square Design Oversight Committee meets for the first time at 1 p.m. today in the Manship Conference Room at the Shaw Center for the Arts. Agenda items include an introduction of the project design team, discussions of the project scope and work schedule, and a discussion of the sponsorship potential for some of the town square components. Construction on the town square, which will link downtown with the riverfront and serve as a gateway to the arts and entertainment district, is set to begin in May.

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/latest/

[richyb83]

This will be a great link to the riverfront and nice gateway to the Arts & Entertainment District

Planners to show 3 town square designs

The design oversight committee for the creation of the North Boulevard town square will meet 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Sept. 17 in the Manship conference room on the second floor of the Shaw Center for the Arts.

The planning team will submit three conceptual designs for the park.

The meeting was rescheduled because of Hurricane Gustav.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/28153909.html

[richyb83]

North Boulevard Town Square meeting postponed

The public open house for the North Boulevard Town Square project, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed. Downtown Development District Executive Director Davis Rhorer says the meeting will probably be held in "a couple weeks." Rhorer says the delay allows for more time for the consultants to meet with all the property owners in the area and make sure everyone is up to speed. The area to be redesigned includes all of North Boulevard from River Road to Fifth Street, including Galvez Plaza; construction is expected to begin within a year. -David Jacobs

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/latest/

[richyb83]

Public input for the North Boulevard Town Square project

From 3:30- 4:30 p.m., the DDD will hold an open house at its office on Florida Street. From 5:30-7:30 p.m., consultants will present the concepts and allow for public input for the North Boulevard Town Square project at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. The project is a redesign of North Boulevard from River Road to Fifth Street, including Galvez Plaza.

[richyb83]

Looking forward to what this will look like!

4

[nquint1]

The concepts from Brown + Danos are listed on the Riverfront Masterplan website. I'm EXTREMELY pleased with them! The Arpents and Currents concepts are a really interesting way of looking at the space. Placing a smaller stage at the end of Lafayette St. is a great idea! The library will certainly be more noticeable when everything is finished. It'll be interesting to see what the plans are for that building.

The best part about this is the team who is working on the Town Square is made up of people who work downtown. It's great to see what the talent in downtown Baton Rouge can produce!

http://www.batonrougeriverfront.com/

[richyb83]

I am very impressed with these plans too nquint1 Can't wait to see how the lighting looks at night! What a nice focal point for Downtown BR! All the new development/construction adjacent to North Blvd. is even more impressive.

Arpents

Currents

Outdoor rooms

Waterwall

[richyb83]

Part of Phase II of Plan Baton Rouge; this should tie-in well with the future North Blvd Town Square

*Photo: Center for Planning Excellence

The Central Green

Includes part of the future site of the North Boulevard Town Square [artist rendering of how it might look, that project

[richyb83]

Thanks for posting this nquint1..no doubt it will be an interesting event...just wanted to move it to this thread with the renderings posted above Looking forward to seeing BR's new revamped "living room"!

North Boulevard Town Square:

Public Open House

When: Thursday, May 28, 2009

Where: Old State Capitol

Time: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Design Team: BROWN + DANOS landdesign / Joseph Furr Design Studio Joint Venture

The design team will present a PowerPoint presentation then transition into an open house forum; where the team will be available to address individual feedback.

I'll definitely be there to see what the design looks like.

Edited May 14, 2009 by richyb83

[nquint1]

The design looks really good. They are leaving most of Galvez plaza out of the plans. They didn't say exactly why but I think it's because some of the money for this project was tied into the bond proposal. They said they've got a plan for Galvez Plaza although they didn't show it.

They're adding about an acre of land to this area just by reconfiguring the streets and expanding some sidewalks! North Blvd from River Rd to Fith will only have one lane of traffic each way. The Hebe sculpture will be moved closer to Forth St and a plaza will be created there. The other side of Forth will feature an information booth where the left turn lane is now. The confederate soldier statue will be moved to the old state capitol grounds. There will be a new beacon plaza created where the confederate soldier was. The beacon will have 2 TV screens to show various events (they mentioned lsu and southern sporting events). The beacon will have a light on the top of it that they'll turn on whenever there's an event downtown in the space. There will be some water around the fountain like what's at the shaw center. On the west side of the beacon will be seating. On the east side they're creating a sunken lawn with a pavilion at the end. It'll have some cafe seating around the edge and a "light canopy". It looks like a really neat feature.

A big thing they talked about with Galvez plaza is how right now there are a lot of obstacles when getting around the space. They're removing the retaining wall behind the bus stop and putting in grass so people can walk through that space. The bus stop will be redesigned so that people can walk through there easier too. They're also making the whole space curbless so it will be easier to get from the plaza to Third St.

There's a lot more to talk about, but I'll leave it at that for now. They have some info on downtownbatonrouge.org. I'd be happy to answer any questions I can.

[richyb83]

^Thanks for the rundown at the meeting nquint1! Cool that not only did you get to attend the meeting...you even got mentioned in the newspaper article

Nice to see some great idea floating around for BR's Living Room...posted in Plan BR (pdf) and above to get some kind of idea! Much more pedestrain friendly and easier flow! River Road is gonna look crazy! The idea of this "Beacon" element sounds really exciting with the 2 large TV screens...can't wait to see that!

Here it is in today's paper......

Downtown square ideas elaborated

A consultant for the proposed town square in downtown Baton Rouge aims to preserve the atmosphere provided by the oaks along North Boulevard. Furr and Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District, said the square was designed with the budget in mind and should be doable within those constraints.

The West Promenade of the square serves as a corridor down to the Mississippi River and surrounding attractions, while the East Promenade is a quiet, passive space.

The spotlight on the Beacon element of the design, Furr said, which is designed to create excitement and send a signal