Mid City

[caballero]

I could certainly see Government street becoming something very special if things keep clicking like they are now. Entergy site, Westmoreland, Area (where Jefferson Hwy meets Government) and Goodwood plantation site (now up for sale). Not sure if retail would be viable at the Goodwood site, but it certainly would be nice to have some high end retail at that end of Gov. St.

[greg225]

Maybe they can tear the whole thing down and  building something new.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

[Mr. Burnham]

Maybe they can tear the whole thing down and  building something new.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Catholic High owns all of that and will use it for school expansion.

I could certainly see Government street becoming something very special if things keep clicking like they are now. Entergy site, Westmoreland, Area (where Jefferson Hwy meets Government) and Goodwood plantation site (now up for sale). Not sure if retail would be viable at the Goodwood site, but it certainly would be nice to have some high end retail at that end of Gov. St.

Oh my God! Retail at Goodwood Plantation? You're bloody mad. That's a historic home, if anything should happen it should be renovated and turned into a museum. 

[Mr. Burnham]

There had been talks of redeveloping the Westmoreland shopping center...with residential units on top of retail. Can't remember it was going to be 5-floors? They had some old renderings once upon a time.

 

Still curious to see what happens at the Entergy site.

 

The emerging arts district could easily support some mid-rise lofts.

Once again. Westmoreland is owned by Catholic High School and they use it for student parking and will eventually use it for school expansion.

[dan326]

Oh my God! Retail at Goodwood Plantation? You're bloody mad. That's a historic home, if anything should happen it should be renovated and turned into a museum. 

 

Lol! That's what I was thinking, we only have a little bit of history left.

[greg225]

       Strip Malls that have been redeveloped                                                                                                                                            

[richyb83]

Cool ...esp the bottom pic!  Not sure Baton Rouge is ready to embrace something that progressive?? Though it's nice...they really dropped the ball on Acadian Village's redevelopment opportunity.

 

The Nicholson corridor is a blank canvas...the River District truly has the chance to be something special if done right!

[Mr. Burnham]

Cool ...esp the bottom pic!  Not sure Baton Rouge is ready to embrace something that progressive?? Though it's nice...they really dropped the ball on Acadian Village's redevelopment opportunity.

 

The Nicholson corridor is a blank canvas...the River District truly has the chance to be something special if done right!

TBH, Acadian Village didn't turn out that bad. They are building a fourth building right now and parking is more in the center, so I would say that's as close as we may have for now. 

 

The strip mall next to it though is ripe for the type of development gregg225 posted.

[richyb83]

Maybe should clarify...the original plan for Acadian Village had a Residential component on top of some of the retail...but it never happened...was disappointed.

 

I did say it was nice though...

 

Yes Perkins Plaza would have been ripe for that type of redevelopment.

[dan326]

Yeah, that was disappointing, I remember they proposed that during the boom before the recession, maybe if they would have waited longer, they could have taken advantage of the current one (economic expansion).

[caballero]

Catholic High owns all of that and will use it for school expansion.

Oh my God! Retail at Goodwood Plantation? You're bloody mad. That's a historic home, if anything should happen it should be renovated and turned into a museum.

 

It's 20 acres. It's for sale. Part of the property fronts Government street. The right development could be sensitive to the remaining property and "museum"...I would never advocate for any historic property to be torn down, especially with the strip mall, pre-fab crap that goes up in this town. But, it's 20 acres of soon-to-be prime real estate.  SOME Limited retail (a cafe, hair salon?) and high end town homes would be the only viable reason for a developer to purchase it for the price they are asking.   

 

I'm actually surprised at your reaction, I mean you did post a road 'build-out' map in which one of your "boulevards" appears to take out the plantation house and half of Old Goodwood in the process.   

Edited May 27, 2015 by caballero

[richyb83]

 

 

I'm actually surprised at your reaction, I mean you did post a road 'build-out' map in which one of your "boulevards" appears to take out the plantation house and half of Old Goodwood in the process.   

 

[Mr. Burnham]

It's 20 acres. It's for sale. Part of the property fronts Government street. The right development could be sensitive to the remaining property and "museum"...I would never advocate for any historic property to be torn down, especially with the strip mall, pre-fab crap that goes up in this town. But, it's 20 acres of soon-to-be prime real estate.  SOME Limited retail (a cafe, hair salon?) and high end town homes would be the only viable reason for a developer to purchase it for the price they are asking.   

 

I'm actually surprised at your reaction, I mean you did post a road 'build-out' map in which one of your "boulevards" appears to take out the plantation house and half of Old Goodwood in the process.   

16 acres if I read the listing correctly. I suppose the best plan for that area would be to create some type of TND development that put's the house in the center and have the home surrounded by Perkins Rowe like shops and apartments. Maybe a movie theater too and maybe have it connect with the townhouses being constructed along Lobdell Ave.

 

Actually the build out I posted does not touch the plantation house or damage half of Old Goodwood. It does however go through Tara. Here's a version of that map with the white roads being smaller roads that exist now. : 

[dan326]

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    Lawd forgive me  

[greg225]

Developer sells shopping center near Towne Center                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The Texas developer that bought a tract of land next to Towne Center and put a Starbucks Coffee and Newk’s Eatery on the site has sold the property for an undisclosed sum.

 

The sale price of the 1.7-acre site was omitted from the paperwork that was filed Wednesday with the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court’s Office. VRE Corporate Blvd. LLC of Southlake, Texas, sold the property to 12 companies, all controlled by members of the Adair, Boddie and Colbert families. Carleton and Elizabeth Boddie Adair live in Greenville, South Carolina, while George and Sandra Pierce Boddie live in Pass Christian, Mississippi, and John and Cala Boddie Colbert live in New Orleans.

VRE Corporate Boulevard bought the site in June 2014 for nearly $1.7 million from the former Teche Bank, which had long planned to build a branch on the land. VRE built a 6,350-square foot shopping center that Starbucks and Newk’s moved to in March.     http://theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/12550154-123/developer-sells-shopping-center-near

[greg225]

                    Plan for Entergy site wins approval

 

 

 

 

The East Baton Rouge Parish Redevelopment Authority approved a predevelopment plan for the Entergy site on Government Street on Thursday and hopes to have a developer working on the 6.2-acre site at the start of 2016.

 

The plan was developed using input from community meetings and workshops led by Duany Plater-Zyberk, the Miami-based company selected by the RDA to formulate guidelines for using the area at 1509 Government St.

“This is going to be a heck of an asset to somebody,” said John Noland, chairman of the RDA. “We’re very positive that this development is almost sure to succeed to some degree or another.”

The DPZ plan drew some criticism from nearby residents and Councilwoman Tara Wicker, who were upset that it didn’t include an affordable housing component. The plan calls for a mix of market-rate apartments and commercial space.

Noland and Planning Director Frank Duke noted the predevelopment plan doesn’t preclude affordable housing on the Entergy property and the residential units in the site could be subsidized housing.

Wicker said she was taking a “wait-and-see” approach with whatever developers want to do with the site. “If there is housing, I would love, love to see it as mixed-income,” she said. “That’s what the most successful communities have.”

Wicker said she also would support having some kind of senior component that could include a history museum.

“We want this to be beneficial to the entire community,” she said. “We believe this is an asset, not a take-away.”

RDA officials have said they want to use the Entergy property as a catalyst for redevelopment across Mid City, stretching from 19th Street to Interstate 110.

The next step is to select a consultant who will develop a request for proposals to redevelop the site, issue the RFP and screen the developers who apply. Hamilton said it will cost between $75,000 to $100,000 to handle the RFPs, and the RDA is looking for local foundations and government funds to cover the expenses. “We’re going to be looking at all available fund sources,” she said. “We hope to get this process started in the next 60 days.”

In other news, Noland said he was planning to meet with Mayor-President Kip Holden; John Spain, executive vice president of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation; and Christel Slaughter, the former chairwoman of the BRAF board of directors, to talk about funding to ensure the future of the RDA. The organization is on track to run out of money sometime in 2016, and Holden has flatly rejected calls to provide permanent funding to keep the RDA going. Holden said the city-parish can’t provide money to the RDA because it has too many obligations it must meet, such as repairing decaying infrastructure, covering the cost of anti-poverty programs and meeting the pension obligations of police officers and firefighters.

Noland said it is possible that a fee structure that the city-parish would charge for code enforcement actions would generate enough money to sustain the RDA’s operations, until it could make it to a point where it could secure dedicated funding. But Noland also said he has yet to discuss the idea with Holden.

“Citizens are aware we need a good, functioning RDA,” Noland said. “I’m not hearing anybody who cheers the weakness of the RDA.”      http://theadvocate.com/news/12931759-63/rda-approves-plans-for-entergy

[Mr. Burnham]

I'm not hearing anyone that cheers the RDA in general. Is there anything to date that they have done that served as an economic catalyst in the community? I mean I could see the reason to make permanent funding if the group actually did some meaningful stuff.

[greg225]

Catholic High moving ahead with plans for Westmoreland Village Shopping Center                                                                                               

Catholic High School is preparing to move forward with plans to redevelop the former Westmoreland Village Shopping Center on Government Street, which the school acquired in late 2010.

Westmoreland Properties, the limited liability company the school formed to acquire and redevelop the shopping center, issued a request for qualifications today for a partner developer “with whom it can explore options for the redevelopment” of roughly half the 9.2-acre site.

According to the RFQ, the redevelopment plans should include: a multipurpose design, possibly including residential, retail and office spaces; a food amenity, such as a café, catering service or restaurant; improved aesthetics through design, structures, courtyard and landscaping; and a “youthful appeal” that will make it an attractive destination for students from CHS and nearby St. Joseph’s Academy and Baton Rouge Magnet High School. The plans must also be compatible with the design and objectives of the Mid-City Overlay District, FuturEBR design guidelines, and the planned renovation of Government Street, the RFQ says.

“We think this could serve as a catalyst for further improvements in the Mid City area and will build on the momentum of other Government Street projects,” says CHS President Gene Tullier.

Under the terms of the partnership as currently envisioned, Westmoreland Properties would put up the land and the partner developer would come up with the financing to fund the design and at least the initial construction of the project. Westmoreland Properties would retain full ownership of the property, which it acquired from the Cangelosi family for $4.85 million.

The roughly 4-acre tract that would be redeveloped for mixed use is north of Cole Drive. Examples of redevelopment that won’t be considered for the site include a single, big-box retail outlet, a fast food venue that encourages only or primarily drive-thru service, and any business that has alcohol or tobacco as primary products. The rest of the property south of Cole Drive would be retained for the school’s future needs.

The RFQ asks for letters of interest to be submitted by August 31. A second, more in-depth submission process will follow, depending on the first round of responses.

“I’m not asking for a lot of investment in time, energy or assets in the first phase,” Tullier says. “What we’re looking for is a vision and expression of interest, and a rough estimate of cost and return. If we feel there are some viable options, we’ll then want a much more in-depth analysis … but right now we want to invite people who have an interest in that location to share their ideas.”      https://www.businessreport.com/article/catholic-high-moving-ahead-plans-westmoreland-village-shopping-center

[dan326]

Neat, definitely would be nice for them to develop something the community can enjoy.

[richyb83]

That's some good news for Mid-city...this could really transform the Government Street corridor! If this plan is anything like the original it should be really nice!

[Mr. Burnham]

If only this wasn't more of a longterm thing so I could enjoy it as a student...would be nice if they finished it in two years. Still very exciting and this place will be a hotspot for teens and really make Mid City more youthful.

[greg225]

                           This could work in that area

 

 

Edited July 22, 2015 by greg225

[dan326]

That last picture could definitely work.

I like that street paving for 3rd, Lafayette and River Road. But instead of light grey crosses, they could do red crosses.

[richyb83]

Looks very nice...Where is that?  Towne Center should have taken a cue from this! Then they may have been a TRUE Towne Center...instead of the fragmented thing you have now! Though a nice looking development...They really dropped the ball! Integrating the residential with the retail...with the mini-park inside the urban village...would have been great benefits!

I would be surprised if anything was over 5-stories(residential) for the Westmoreland redevelopment

Edited July 22, 2015 by richyb83

[greg225]

Looks very nice...Where is that?  Towne Center should have taken a cue from this! Then they may have been a TRUE Towne Center...instead of the fragmented thing you have now! Though a nice looking development...They really dropped the ball! Integrating the residential with the retail...with the mini-park inside the urban village...would have been great benefits!

I would be surprised if anything was over 5-stories(residential) for the Westmoreland redevelopment

Monarch at Ridge Hill in Yonkers, NY