New Urbanism

[Antrell Williams]

lol. It's the same thing. Urban areas took people for granted and now those people are gone. For once try asking "what drove people away?" without blaming the people for merely leaving.

Those people and their money are NOT coming back until urban areas change. It's just that simple.

I advise you to pick up a book like buckett suggests.

[buckett5425]

The voucher program in Louisiana could be the best thing to happen to urban centers ever. It

Could also fail miserably. Lots of special interest out there protecting the current system. I'll add that this is an initiative supported by a moderate-right governor...supported in overwhelming numbers in suburban areas.

Not to have a political discussion, but who is our Governor again? Grover Norquist, right?

Lets be honest here, nothing about Bobby is moderate.

Putting that aside, I don't disagree with you, but its clear we see other-sides of the same argument. But you are correct when you suggest that current urban trends only cater to young professionals. But I've seen several studies that suggest these young professionals will remain in urban areas when starting their family and even if they choose to retreat to the suburbs it would be to areas like Mid-City that offer city like amenities and (future) walkable neighborhoods in a single family housing area. Which is very different and much more culturally rich than the cookie cutter neighborhoods of south BR, Livingston and Ascension. I think that kind of investment over the next 15 years is what will really begin to change these areas and the inner city school system.

I see it here at my job everyday. Sure, we do build and design lots of suburban buildings, but the number of projects coming through the doors lately looking to invest in OSBR and Mid-City has tripled since I started working here 2.5 years ago. Some of these projects are key and crucial projects, that if followed through, will spur a lot of development around them. Time will tell.

[itsjustme3]

I never called anyone who left the cities "vile." I said they were hard working talented people. Yes, they did desire the bourgeois lifestyle of the time. In the 50's cities weren't crime infested, they were simply overcrowded from all the GI's returning from WWII starting families. The government however chose to only subsidize single family housing and turned its back on multi-family residential, which gave rise to the suburb, etc etc etc. When people left for this new way of living, they took with them their money and ideas. At the same time big box retail began to spring up as well as the rise of the shopping mall. Both of which directed local dollars to multi national corporations further reducing the amount of capital and cash flow circulating in local economies(this problem still occurs to this day). By the 1960's the majority of commercial activity had relocated to their customer base... out in the suburbs. This final act left downtown's empty and full of, as you put it, "crime, garbage schools, high taxes, litter, lack of values, etc."

Please pick up a book.

http://www.amazon.com/Bourgeois-Utopias-Rise-Fall-Suburbia/dp/0465007473

ROTFLOL. Some people just prefer to have their heads in the sand and blame GI's and department stores for urban Americas decline. lol

[buckett5425]

ROTFLOL. Some people just prefer to have their heads in the sand and blame GI's and department stores for urban Americas decline. lol

Like I said, pick up a book. Your understanding of history is very limited and your comprehension abilities are adolescent at best.

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Read-The-Starfall-Team/dp/1595770003

[cajun]

ROTFLOL. Some people just prefer to have their heads in the sand and blame GI's and department stores for urban Americas decline. lol

Partial victory, IMO. You got a liberal thinker to admit that government policy screwed the country up....which he's 100% right on.

[cajun]

Lets be honest here, nothing about Bobby is moderate.

Standard issue Louisiana politican, IMO...albeit with a fancier degree than most and less corrupt than some of his predecessors.

20 years ago he's be a John Breaux - style democrat. Modern trends have pushed those views into republicanism.....which is not the same as conservatism.

Edited June 15, 2012 by cajun

[dan326]

I think some of y'all are giving (all) people too much credit. I suppose we should always strive for the best result, but I don't feel some things are worth getting too heated about...people are just selfish..which is to say i guess, that in a way everything is everybody's fault.

[buckett5425]

Partial victory, IMO. You got a liberal thinker to admit that government policy screwed the country up....which he's 100% right on.

So you're admitting suburbanization is screwy, regardless of the policies that allowed for its quick creation? Partial victory IMO, I got a conservative thinker to admit that suburbanization isn't good for the country.

But to be fair, private industry and social trends led to this government policy. One example being GM buying up all privately owned trolly lines and shutting them down and then lobbying the government to build more roads.

[cajun]

http://theadvocate.com/home/2969295-125/ag-cats-tax-is-homestead

CATS tax is homestead exempt.....which means that nearly the entire burden of the tax will now fall on those least likely to benefit from the service.

Of course, this was the plan all along.

Edited June 18, 2012 by cajun

[cajun]

http://theadvocate.com/news/3125062-123/bus-labor-to-protest-conditions

And naturally, the public union that performed their job so badly that they cost CATS the LSU contract want a pay raise and a pension boost at the expense of service quality.....even going so far as hinting at the big "S-word".

Yet another reason why transit funding is too important to have been entrusted to CATS.

This will produce 0 improvement on the quality of life of those who are on the hook for this tax. Of course, you can always move out of the city limits and avoid it.

Edited June 18, 2012 by cajun

[itsjustme3]

Louisiana is a right to work state so they can huff and puff and whine all they want.

[cajun]

Louisiana is a right to work state so they can huff and puff and whine all they want.

Right....but I still think the timing it is interesting, and taxpayers should keep a close eye on actual quality of service improvements, executive pay, and union complaining. Definitely a red flag.

Edited June 18, 2012 by cajun

[richyb83]

New Woman's campus may feature mixed-use development

Now that Woman's Hospital has moved from a 24-acre tract to a 225-acre site at the former Briarwood Golf Course, it's hard not to ask: What are they going to do with all that land? The hospital itself and related facilities only occupy about 85 acres, leaving about 140 acres vacant for the time being. "The remainder of it will be used, when we're told the economy supports it, for a mixed-use development," CEO Teri Fontenot says. She says the development could feature physicians' offices, professional services, retail, restaurants and residences, including a senior living center. So one day, a person could perhaps live out nearly the entire circle of life—including birth, retirement, and much of what comes in between—all on one site.

http://www.businessreport.com/article/20120814/BUSINESSREPORT0112/120819936/-1/daily-reportAM

[Antrell Williams]

They sure could have got rid of that massive parking lot for a connected parking garage.

[richyb83]

Mentioned in yesterday in Rouse's thread...should be a nice anchor for the Long Farm TND...went way back to POST #124 to get pics

 

Rouses Market has agreement for first BR store

 

Rouses Market has a purchase agreement with developer Russell Mosely for a five-acre parcel in the Long Farm Village development and is planning to open a 55,000-square-foot supermarket fronting Airline Highway in 2014. Mosely said Rouses will be the anchor for the 35-acre retail portion of the development, which is on 237 acres of farmland bounded by Barringer Foreman Road, Jefferson Highway and Airline Highway.

The property was once owned by Mosely’s grandfather, former U.S. Sen. Russell Long. “I think they’re a perfect fit,” Mosely said. “It’s a Louisiana-based grocery store and they offer a lot of the best Louisiana products. Anybody who has been to a Rouses store will say it’s a very well-run operation. It will be a great draw for Baton Rouge and the Long Farm project.”

 

Rest of article...

http://theadvocate.com/home/5117952-125/rouses-market-has-agreement-for

 

 
 

Edited February 8, 2013 by richyb83

[Antrell Williams]

I suspect the final development will looking nothing like this proposal.

[garrett_225]

Looks pretty ambitious! Hope they can pull it together. 

[MykD]

D.R. Horton buys first two filings of Long Farm

 

By Stephanie Riegel

Published Jan 23, 2013 at 3:00 pm (Updated Jan 23, 2013) 

 

National homebuilder D.R. Horton has signed a purchase agreement for an undisclosed price to acquire all 65 lots in the first filing of The Long Farm as well as the undeveloped lots in the second filing. The Long Farm is a TND on Barringer Foreman Road that Russell Mosely is developing on a 237-acre tract of land that once belonged to his legendary grandfather, the late U.S. Sen. Russell Long.

 

Mosely had previously signed purchase agreements with 10 local builders to develop the project—which is trying to establish itself as a quintessentially south Louisiana community with a strong sense of place and history—but gave them the option to bow out once Horton made an offer that was too good to refuse.

 

"I exempted the local builders' lots from my agreement with Horton and gave them all the opportunity to stay in, but Horton can acquire product in bulk and offer a house for less, and I understand it is hard for a local builder to compete," Mosely says. "This was a business decision that I think will help us move the product, and it just makes sense."

 

Mosely will retain architectural control over the project and says Horton shares his vision for the kind of amenities and design elements that will be available in The Long Farm.

 

"This is different from anything else Horton has done in this area," Mosely says, adding that homes will feature wraparound porches, wood-clad windows, high ceilings and granite countertops.

 

While Horton has agreed to build homes in the development with the same level of amenities as other local builders had promised, houses will be offered at slightly lower price points, Mosely says.

 

"I think we'll be able to lower the price for the end product," he says.

 

At the low end of the spectrum, that price point will be in the $300,000 range, he says, adding that the size of the homes will remain unchanged at between 1,800 and 3,500 square feet.

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.225batonrouge.com/article/20130123/BUSINESSREPORT0112/130129905/DR-Horton-buys-first-two-filings-of-Long-Farm#ixzz2KJuuQSg6

Edited February 8, 2013 by MykD

[itsjustme3]

Horton homes? No thanks

[richyb83]

 

Commercial construction under way at Willow Grove

Baton Rouge's first TND, The Settlement at Willow Grove, broke ground today on its commercial section: The Village at Willow Grove. The Village has two buildings under construction that will include space for retail, office and residential developments. "Our parking lots are all in," says developer Richard Carmouche. "Hopefully we can make it before the end of the year." The three-story buildings will measure 15,000 and 20,000 square feet, respectively. They front The Settlement off Perkins Road—between Bluebonnet Boulevard and Siegen Lane—and are the first of six buildings in the plan for The Village, Carmouche says. While he says it's too early to reveal any tenants, Carmouche says at least one restaurant has orally committed, which indicates that businesses are exploring new locations in Baton Rouge. "We started this before the recession," Carmouche says of The Settlement, adding that speculative building in the Capital Region is getting back to where it was before the downturn. "The banks are back on board." At the same time, The Settlement made a new filing last week and has already sold 38 of the 48 lots that were available. "And these are high-end lots," says Carmouche, with entry points starting at more than $500,000 and going up to about $1 million. About 150 homes are currently occupied in The Settlement

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/section/daily-reportAM#ixzz2MEarCjBR

 

Edited February 28, 2013 by richyb83

[itsjustme3]

Willow Grove is a gorgeous neighborhood.

There was/is supposedly a popular upscale Nola restaurant that was looking at the land, but I don't know if they are/have taken it.

Edit: just found out the owners from Nola declined. The feeling is they were hung up on being 2-2.5 miles away from the interstate.

Edited February 28, 2013 by itsjustme3

[richyb83]

Bistro Byronz, 100 new homes coming to Willow Grove

Developer Richard Carmouche is planning to build 100 new homes in The Settlement at Willow Grove and has lined up his first commercial tenant for the development—Bistro Byronz, which will open its second Baton Rouge restaurant some time next year. "Our concept has really gelled, and it's really taking off," says Carmouche, who began the project in 2007 shortly before the real estate collapse and has persisted with the project over the past six years despite challenges. The need for the latest residential filing—which, when completed, will fill out the 350-home development—came much more quickly than Carmouche anticipated. "We're just finishing up construction on a group of 49 houses that I thought would last me all year," he says. "In the first quarter we sold all but six, so we need more inventory." The new homes, which will be located in the rear and on the east side of the development, will range from 2,500 square feet to more than 5,000 square feet, in keeping with the project's mixture of properties. Prices will average $215 per square foot. Carmouche attributes the increased demand at Willow Grove to improvements in the economy, the now-visible critical mass of residential units, and the efforts of C.J. Brown Realtors, which recently took over marketing the properties. As for Bistro Byronz, it will be located in the so-called Village at Willow Grove and is slated to open about 10 months after construction begins, which should be in late spring or early summer. —Stephanie Riegel

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/section/daily-reportAM#ixzz2QGrouZdb

[richyb83]

True...very nice looking neighborhood!

 

The Village section has started going up...driving by there a few weeks ago was impressed how it fronts Perkins Road just to the east of Perkins Rowe...this is what it will look like....pic posted above previously had disappeared.

 

[richyb83]

This is going to be huge when it's all said & done! Antioch Rd extension, Rouse's Supermarket, possible YMCA, etc...

 

It's been a long road to the Long Farm....After years of planning and development, new subdivision beginning to take shape

 

http://theadvocate.com/news/business/8984313-123/its-been-a-long-road

Edited April 27, 2014 by richyb83

[Mr. Burnham]

This looks like something that will really complement this area and create a unified style.