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Plan Baton Rouge


richyb83

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Props to Tiger Weekly for sending a shout-out to Urban Planet on last sentence of article! :thumbsup:

This is part of the OSBR revitalization implemented by Plan BR....so many componets...could take a while to manifest itself with the financial market...

Baton Rouge corridor utilizes Nicholson

Whether you are a lifelong resident of Baton Rouge, an out-of-state student attending LSU or just a person visiting friends and family, you cannot help but notice the scenic beauty the city has to offer. Gargantuan oak trees along Nicholson Drive shading the convenient bike path connecting the suburbs to the downtown area makes it no wonder why this gateway is now among the hottest properties in the city.

Some of south Louisiana's biggest developers have quietly acquired land along the corridor and are waiting for the financial markets to ease up in hopes of remaking the historic Old South Baton Rouge neighborhood into a thriving residential, commercial and entertainment district. If they succeed, they would build a bridge between two of the city's biggest economic drivers and destinations - Downtown and LSU.

The prospect is a dream for smart-growth disciples - mixed-use construction, not in the distant suburbs but in the urban core, redeveloping what already is developed. The 1.8-mile stretch from I-10 south to the intersection of Nicholson and Skip Bertman Drive is also being studied as a possible incubator for mass transit, involving light rail or New Orleans-type streetcars.

If the Nicholson corridor makeover proves lucrative for investors, it's predicted to set off a domino effect in the neighborhood, with subsequent revitalization along Highland and River Roads

This new infrastructure displays how the Baton Rouge community continues to work together to expand the economy in an inventive and sustainable way, which shows great promise for the future of our city. Learn more about the plans and actions being made regarding the corridor at www.urbanplanet.org.

*entire article

http://tigerweekly.com/print/10-13-2010/16178/baton-rouge-corridor-utilizes-nicholson

Edited by richyb83
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  • 2 months later...

^Sounds good to me :thumbsup:

Another 2010 run-down in the Sunday Advocate....everything coverd here on UP....New Courthouse; New Library; Greenway; River Park; Repentance Park; Main Street Apts; new hotel....looks like the funding for the two-way streets was almost lost, but wasn't; is key to the North Blvd Town Square...all mentioned in article..

Library,Greenspace Anchor Downtown Projects

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/112686499.html

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  • 2 months later...

Are TIF's the only way things will ever get done?? Otherwise...

DDD talks expanded borders and TIFs

A committee of the Downtown Development District today discussed the possibility of expanding the district’s borders and creating a tax increment financing district to aid development throughout the DDD. Both moves would require legal changes and are purely at the discussion stage. Expanding the scope of what the city considers downtown was a recommendation of Plan Baton Rouge Phase Two. The current official downtown, which is bordered by Interstate 10, Interstate 110, the Mississippi River and Hollywood Casino, is tiny and has few residents compared to peer cities. One possibility is expanding the district’s legal boundaries south to Terrace Avenue, north to Choctaw Drive and east to 19th Street and, north of I-110, over to Scenic Highway to include Pete Goldsby Field. The DDD is funded by property taxes, so support from property owners would be necessary. Board member Van Mayhall says a vibrant downtown should include cultural assets, businesses including retail, residents, a commercial/warehouse district, and a sport complex, and he says those criteria should drive the discussion. A TIF that allowed for sales taxes to be diverted into the cost of a project would help to offset the high cost of development downtown, commissioners say. Business owners outside the district, as well as downtown property owners that already have TIFs attached to their properties, might oppose the move. The draft vision of FuturEBR, likely the next parish master plan, suggests creating tax increment community development districts that would include core areas and surrounding neighborhoods.

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/2011/mar/16/2146/

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Several tenative residential projects in the works along the periphery of downtown; maybe that's why the DDD wants to expand it boundries include them?? The DDD knows they can't reach it their critical mass with the current smaller footprint....Especially with Associations from Spanish Town shooting down projects like the Capitol Lofts & vertical riverfront projects stalled. And still no word on anything new for the proposed Victory Park adjacent to the Post Office.

Here's more from the Advocate

DDD Considering Expanding Boundries

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/District-expansion-pondered.html

They claim there is 5 componets that make a sucessful Downtown

* Cultural; Arts & Entertainment

* commercial & retail development

* a residential base

* a sports complex area

* a warehouse & industrial sector

downtownmap031711.jpg

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I've always wanted to see new residential on the east side of 110. Also, it's gonna have to be easier to access Memorial from downtown without using the greenway or the freeway.

have you BEEN to that side? No one would buy residental property there unless you want to deal with break-ins, homeless, druggies and blight. There's a reason there aren't any condos or apartments there.

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I feel like with those larger boundries, DDD should have some elected authority.

Itsjustwhatever is right on the money with the crime. If funding for vast expansion of police can't be secured, that area is going to remain blighted. I wouldn't want to live there or invest in that area until Baton Rouge gets serious about crime.

Edited by cajun
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have you BEEN to that side? No one would buy residental property there unless you want to deal with break-ins, homeless, druggies and blight. There's a reason there aren't any condos or apartments there.

Developers have already begun to snatch up large swaths of land on the east side of 110 with plans to develop it within the next decade...

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I feel like with those larger boundries, DDD should have some elected authority.

Itsjustwhatever is right on the money with the crime. If funding for vast expansion of police can't be secured, that area is going to remain blighted. I wouldn't want to live there or invest in that area until Baton Rouge gets serious about crime.

I agree, this is all a pipe dream until crime is under control.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Good question..wondered if the plans were scrapped along with the Alive project?? Have always wanted a nice sleek 20+story convention center hotel for BR...

Well if I remembered right, they were supposed to vote on it again on the bond proposal April 30th. Hopefully it will be on it and go through -_-

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  • 2 months later...

^ Hope I'm wrong, but have a hard time seeing a legit convention center-style hotel ever going up.

A lot going on at Tuesday's DDD Meeting...

* Proposed Theatre as an "alternative cultural anchor" downtown for independent films; interesting about a modular building that could be expanded vertically when other preformance spaces need to be created

*Viking Cooking School Outdoors of BR glass enclosed area shaped like a ship on the 3rd floor of the pool deck at Hilton Hotel overlooking the river

*Entreprenuership Center 12,000 sq ft of space on 2nd floor of the Kress @ Third

*Restaurants Zolia at II City Plaza(mentioned here before) & Dearman's in the New Courthouse

*Shaw Center for the Arts Renovation renovating one of it's black-box theatres/new stage & marquee entrance facing town square

* City Club Renovation, Greenway Grants, Buses

+ the multi-media beacon for the new North Blvd Town Square is in Germany...

Board hears Project Updates

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/Board-hears-project-updates.html

Would like to post the DDD Aerial map with these projects when I get the chance to figure it out...

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