Mid City

[Antrell Williams]

I wish I could. The private company representative told all of us directly the information was not allowed to leave the room. Just know that there are people that do believe in inner city BR!

Are they locked in cages by the people who like BR like this? Do you have the key? We can configure a plan to bust them out tha joint..

Glad to hear. Without public and private investment in mid city and old south.....I think BR is going to slip into a downward spiral.

Baton Rouge needs Mid-City and OSBR to gentrify or it can't sustain a truly successful city.

[richyb83]

More from the proposed Mid City Artist Community

'Real Estate Weekly': Mid City artists community 'about a 98% go'

Danny McGlynn, who owns the Circa 1857 property at Government and South 19th streets along with Dennis Hargroder, says an artists community proposed on land next to the Mid City complex is "about a 98% go" now that an East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority subcommittee is recommending approval of $8.1 million in New Markets Tax Credits to benefit the project. The authority's full board is expected to grant final approval to the tax credits at its meeting next month. "We just have one more bit of tax credits we need to secure, because [the RDA credit] falls a little short of what the project needs to be totally feasible," says McGlynn, adding that about $4 million worth of additional NMTC are being sought through a pair of banks. "We're told we'll know in about two weeks. … So I would like to think within a month we should be off and running; full steam ahead with the plans and final numbers." The plan calls for a mixed-use development comprising about 30 apartments—at least half of which would be rent-restricted for designated artists—studio space and about 7,000 square feet of retail space. McGlynn and Hargroder are pursuing the project in conjunction with a planned renovation of the two-story Darensbourg building, located just down Government Street across from the Westmoreland Shopping Center, and surrounding streetscape upgrades—a project that's also seeking tax credits

http://www.businessreport.com/section/daily-reportPM

[richyb83]

On the western fringes of Mid-City....what are the boundries again?? They seem to change like the weather...& mentioned later in article...The Elysian apts are not in Mid-City

Mid City Townhouses moving forward

http://theadvocate.com/home/3382853-125/mid-city-townhouses-moving-forward

The Gulf Coast Housing Partnership has filed for a building permit for Mid City Townhouses, its $4 million residential development at the site of the former Olinde’s furniture store at N. 19th and North streets.

The four-building development will consist of 32 two-story townhomes — 11 two-bedroom units and 21 three-bedroom units — according to plans filed with the city-parish. Three of the buildings will be on the west side of North 19th between North and Gayosa streets, while another and a pavilion will be on the east side.

[Antrell Williams]

I-110 serves as an effective western boundary for Mid-City as the neighborhood changes noticeably by demographic and physical makeup.

The Elysian is indeed in Mid-City, that part of Spanish Town happens to be in Mid-City. Similar to how the Garden District is in Mid-City. This area has good potential as I-110 serves as a buffer.

[richyb83]

Hmmm...thought the R.R. tracks served as the western Mid-City boundry instead of I-110...tricky; almost no-mans-land ehh.

[cajun]

I consider the RR tracks as the boundary too. DDD boundaries cross well over I-110 now.

[Antrell Williams]

What would you call the area west of the railroad tracks?

I think it's safe to call I-110 the boundary of modern-day Mid-City. It's only about one-third of a mile between the tracks and the interstate.

[richyb83]

When looking at the new construction at the Elysian...i think of Spanish Town East...more of an outer downtown than Mid City. Guess you could say it's in no-man's land?? Like Tangipahoa Parish is to BR & NOLA...

The new & improved Baton Rouge High School sure is nice!

New BR High razzles and dazzles

http://theadvocate.com/home/3704165-125/new-br-high-razzles-and

[Antrell Williams]

I think developments like that will trickle south into what I like to call "West Mid-City" which is bound by N. 22nd St to the east. There's still a good amount of empty land there and infrastructure but it has a very long way to go.

[cajun]

I think developments like that will trickle south into what I like to call "West Mid-City" which is bound by N. 22nd St to the east. There's still a good amount of empty land there and infrastructure but it has a very long way to go.

I have high hopes for that area as well. The good thing is that the DDD expanded its borders out towards N 22nd. The bad thing is that the majority of recent investment in that area is subsidized housing.

I remember a time when Florida blvd near the bus station was a safe area....and the department store nearby was packed full of holiday shoppers despite the construction of Bon Marche and Cortana. I actually bought clothes for my first formal there. It was a huge store, with a busy parking lot and a very cool Christmas exhibit.

Now, the hookers don't even bother staying off the main arteries. The neighborhood really couldn't get much worse. In the space of 20 years, it went from "okay" to terrible.

Something has to be done to bring workers and legitimate business in that area during the day. A new state office building. A factory. A distribution center. I'd take anything at this point.

And BRPD needs to start patrolling that area and enforcing the law to the same degree they do west of I-110.

[Antrell Williams]

It was a Dillards, correct? I remember going there with my mom before it closed. I would like if that building were put back into commerce.

BRPD just started actively patrolling downtown. Before the 3rd street substation it was DPS' jurisdiction.

[cajun]

I believe so. Before that, it was a Maison Blanche....before that, it was home base for Baton Rouge's own Godchaux's chain.

The building goes against everything we know about urban planning. It's probably better off demolished. I'd still like to see something there that is beneficial to the area. A state office building or something....

[richyb83]

Smokin Aces looks to put 'Louisiana-style barbecue' on the map in B.R.

Smokin Aces BBQ, which is planning an Oct. 1 opening at 2504 Government St., next to Garden District Nursery, will not be Memphis-style, or Kansas City-style, or Carolina-style, or Tennessee-style. Owner Brian Medlin says it will be a little bit of everything, with some home-style flavors thrown in. "Hopefully it will be called Louisiana-style barbecue,"

http://www.businessreport.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=daily-reportAM&date=20120918

[richyb83]

Mid City in motion

With the help of New Market Tax Credits, a pair of projects is poised to enhance the arts scene and further redevelopment efforts along Government Street in Mid City. The planned artists community next to the Circa 1857 complex, at the intersection of South 19th Street, is “good to go” now that a commitment for financing the project has been secured,

http://www.businessreport.com/article/20121001/BUSINESSREPORT0401/310019980/0/businessreport1002

[steve3n8]

Smart growth residences planned in Mid City

Where most Baton Rougeans only see an empty field at Government Street and Croydon Avenue, Michael Hogstrom sees the future of smart-growth development in Baton Rouge and eight new residences for Mid City. Last April, the developer quit his job at URS to form Onsite Design. The 35-year-old had secured three lots comprising the 1.4-acre property to begin designing a community he's calling E'tage Gardens. Each of the eight homes he envisions will measure about 5,000 square feet in size—single-family housing that the city-parish's new land-use plan says "should be permitted." "This is kind of the poster child for FuturEBR, I think," Hogstrom says. Earlier this month, Hogstrom submitted an application to the Planning Commission to rezone the residential property to infill/mixed-use, small-planned unit development, or ISPUD. "This project is designed to promote views in/out of site, pedestrian walkability, community connectivity, historic preservation, and high-quality residential housing," Hogstrom says in the application. He says he has discussed the potential development with neighbors and drummed up interest among retiring baby boomers and empty nesters. "My phone has been ringing off the hook," Hogstrom says. In about three weeks he plans to host an open house at the site. As far as Hogstrom has been able to determine, the lots have only been used as farmland in the past. "It's not often you see empty lots," he says. —Adam Pearson

[richyb83]

Goodwood association wary of planned development on Government

Read more from Business Report here: http://businessrepor...M#ixzz2C8v2fk3e

Michael Hogstrom has attractive preliminary designs for an eight-lot urban community of residential housing on the corner of Government Street and Croydon Avenue, yet the Goodwood Property Owners Association is conflicted about the proposed development. "I'm not sure what we're going to do," says Dennis Vidrine, president of the Goodwood association. "Change is a challenge." However, the city-parish Planning Commission staff is sending a recommendation to the board to approve the project's rezoning—from A1 single-family residential to infill/mixed-use, small-planned unit development, or ISPUD—at its meeting on Tuesday. On Thursday night, more than 30 people attended a meeting at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School to learn more about the project and its rezoning implications. Metro Councilwoman Alison Gary attended the meeting to note that ISPUD rezoning is consistent with the city-parish's new land-use plan, FuturEBR, and binds projects to what is exactly in their design—all the way down to landscaping. A1 zoning is very loose by comparison. "We can work with the developer to get the best-looking product," Gary says. "The ISPUD gives us more certainty. Once this is approved, this is what he has to do. He can't add another house." Vidrine says his biggest concern is that the project will tie a driveway in with South Donmoor Avenue. However, he notes, Hogstrom has tentatively agreed not to do that. Hogstrom, of Onsite Design, says the 1.4-acre property will be converted into an urban community called E'tage Gardens

Edited November 13, 2012 by richyb83

[richyb83]

This could have gone in a number of threads...should be interesting to see if this experiment works??

City eyes improvement plans for Government St.

The plans were discussed Tuesday at the Center for Planning Excellence’s Smart Growth Summit, held downtown at the Shaw Center for the Arts.

The discussion also included plans to create an urban renewal district encompassing Midcity. That could become the basis for a tax increment financing district, which would channel any additional tax revenue into improvements within its boundaries.

The “Better Block” demonstration project, which has been done in Dallas, San Antonio and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., would transform two blocks across in front of the Westmoreland Shopping Center for a weekend in March or April to show what a “complete street” would look like. It would be less focused on automobile traffic and more on open storefronts, sidewalks and bike lanes,

For over a decade, residents and businesses along Government have told planners they would like Government to resemble Magazine Street in New Orleans, not the dangerous, high-speed throughway it is today. Traffic studies haven’t ruled it out — there are other parallel roads that are underused. But moving cars has remained the city-parish’s priority over the years, and skepticism remains about whether such a project could work. “We want to be able to demonstrate (that) absolutely it can,” Manning-Broome said.

The project, between Bedford and Beverly drives, will have a budget of roughly $17,500, though a specific weekend hasn’t been selected. CPEX and the redevelopment alliance will work with the state Department of Transportation and Development on a traffic control plan to do it safely,

rest of article...

http://theadvocate.com/home/4541619-125/city-eyes-improvement-plans-for

Better Block demonstrations use temporary striping and potted plants to claim the outer lanes for pedestrian and bike use and slow down cars, bringing the street down to a more human scale.

Here is the website...

http://betterblock.org/how-to-build-a-better-block/

[Antrell Williams]

This needs to be done on Government as well as North Blvd and Florida.

[cajun]

This needs to be done on Government as well as North Blvd and Florida.

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I agree- especially with the area along Government west of Jefferson.

The only issue I have with the idea is that it doesn't involve street parking.

Pedestrian activity is encouraged with a barrier between the sidewalk and street. A line of parked cars provides this while encouraging store fronts to actually face the street and reduces the need for surface parking.

Magazine street and Prytania street both have parallel parking and often turn lanes at major intersections. Calm traffic enough, and cyclists use it safely without dedicated lanes.

You could fit parallel spaces, 3' bike lane, and two 12' travel lanes easily.....and ditch the parking and bike lanes at major intersections to establish turn lanes. Traffic would probably flow about as well as it does today. The current setup is horrible.

Edited November 29, 2012 by cajun

[buckett5425]

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I agree- especially with the area along Government west of Jefferson.

The only issue I have with the idea is that it doesn't involve street parking.

Pedestrian activity is encouraged with a barrier between the sidewalk and street. A line of parked cars provides this while encouraging store fronts to actually face the street and reduces the need for surface parking.

Magazine street and Prytania street both have parallel parking and often turn lanes at major intersections. Calm traffic enough, and cyclists use it safely without dedicated lanes.

You could fit parallel spaces, 3' bike lane, and two 12' travel lanes easily.....and ditch the parking and bike lanes at major intersections to establish turn lanes. Traffic would probably flow about as well as it does today. The current setup is horrible.

 

 

#completestreets 

[Antrell Williams]

-------

I agree- especially with the area along Government west of Jefferson.

The only issue I have with the idea is that it doesn't involve street parking.

Pedestrian activity is encouraged with a barrier between the sidewalk and street. A line of parked cars provides this while encouraging store fronts to actually face the street and reduces the need for surface parking.

Magazine street and Prytania street both have parallel parking and often turn lanes at major intersections. Calm traffic enough, and cyclists use it safely without dedicated lanes.

You could fit parallel spaces, 3' bike lane, and two 12' travel lanes easily.....and ditch the parking and bike lanes at major intersections to establish turn lanes. Traffic would probably flow about as well as it does today. The current setup is horrible.

Good post. However, looks like they want a dedicated center turn lane.

[cajun]

Center turn lane at the expense of parallel spaces undermines what they are trying to do.

[Antrell Williams]

Center turn lane at the expense of parallel spaces undermines what they are trying to do.

I agree 150%, although I'm not sure officials feel the same.

[cajun]

Well, they have to sell it to John Q.

Maybe they can fit parallel spaces with a center turn lane. The lanes there are fairly generous now....probably between 10 and 12' lanes with 3' total gutter space.

I estimate that the road bed is somewhere between 48 and 52' wide. Between 7 and 8' are needed for parking. That's probably barely enough for a 12' center turn lane.

Big rigs would have trouble in that scenario, but maybe there is more space between the curbs than I think there is. There's a trick to get an extra foot out of it that I'll have to explain later (an example is available on the LSU campus), but it requires asphalt paving top layer.

Edited November 30, 2012 by cajun

[buckett5425]

The ROW of Government is 60'.