Baton Rouge Development

[fla_tiger]

EA Games Test Center

Electronic Arts Inc., one of the world’s leading video game companies with $4 billion in annual sales, will bring a global test center and 220 employees to LSU’s South Campus in Baton Rouge, Gov. Bobby Jindal and state economic development officials announced this morning.

About 200 of the jobs will be part time, employing LSU students and others in testing the roll-out of new EA Sports games.

The EA annual payroll initially will be about $6 million a year, the state is committing $800,000 to renovate facilities at the South Campus on GSRI Avenue, and EA will tap a 20 percent state tax credit available to digital media companies. EA could begin moving in by September.

link: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/27176469.html

[10101000]

Commercial Properties Realty Trust has filed to rezone the former Acadian Village Shopping Center to allow for its redevelopment into a mixed-use center with shops, restaurants and apartments.

Commercial Properties, which manages and develops real estate for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, said the 11-acre development will have 102,630 square feet of retail and 53 apartments, but released little other information.

Commercial Properties said it is working with the owner of the small building at the corner of Acadian and Perkins to incorporate the parcel into the development. It does not own the Shell gas station at the front of the lot.

The development plan submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission indicates the non-residential space will be 72,620 square feet of retail and 30,200 square feet of restaurant. It shows two commercial buildings on either side of the main entrance from Perkins Road with a new traffic signal.

The first phase puts a strip of adjoined buildings for commercial use along the back of the development, with a second level consisting of 14 residential units. A second phase shows a four-story building on the west side — behind the Acme Oyster House that opened Wednesday — that would have commercial space on the first floor and residential units on the second, third and fourth floors.

Other than Acme, Commercial Properties has been mum on other potential tenants, saying only that negotiations are under way and it will reveal tenants as they are signed. It added Wednesday only that marketing will rev up when zoning is approved and construction will not begin until the project is substantially pre-leased

“We are not setting a target for beginning construction, but plan to move as quickly as possible on the project,” the company said, noting also it has no cost projections.

Commercial Properties remains mum on an application for GoZone bonds by New Orleans-based upscale grocery chain Robért Fresh Market that indicated it would go in at Acadian Village.

Rents on the apartments have not been set.

Spokesman Mukul Verma noted the nearby redevelopment of the former Perkins Road Hardware, new residential construction, the transformation of Southdowns Shopping Center, plans for Rouzan and the ongoing build-out of Perkins Rowe.

“We know that Perkins is quickly transforming,” he said. “I think Perkins Road is going to become the new corridor to locate, like Jefferson Highway was a while back and our goal for the development is to fit into the neighborhood.”

Verma could not say if working with the owner of the building at the corner of Perkins and Acadian could include buying it.

Acadian Village’s redevelopment has been on the drawing board for years, but plans had to be overhauled because of construction cost increases after Hurricane Katrina. It was last outlined in early 2007 as a $15 million to $20 million project to include 30 townhouses.

The center, last home to a Wal-Mart and a Books-a-Million, is zoned commercial and seeks to be rezoned as a small planned unit development, which Commercial Properties says will allow its redevelopment along smart growth principles, which “promote walkability and reduce vehicle use.”

The development exceeds the open-space requirements in the Unified Development Code and will include a promenade, a fountain, red oaks, live oaks and star magnolias.

The city-parish’s Green Light Plan is expected to improve the appearance of the streetscape and make it more pedestrian friendly.
Commercial Properties said the demolition of the Wal-Mart should be completed within a month.

The Planning Commission is expected to hear the project at its October meeting.

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Australia-themed restaurant to open on Coursey
Dingo's, an Australia-themed restaurant, is scheduled to open at the end of November in the former Semolina location on Coursey Boulevard just west of South Sherwood Forest Boulevard. Patrick Muller, who operated a restaurant in Perth, Australia, before moving to Baton Rouge, is the owner. Although the Dingo's menu is still being developed, Muller says it will feature dishes such as fish tacos and paninis, including one with turkey, brie and fig spread. Coursey has turned into a restaurant draw recently, with The Chimes East and Walk-On's bringing in good crowds. Muller says he wants to tap into nearby businesses for the lunch crowd and families and couples for dinner. And he's not worried about a better-known Australian-themed casual dining restaurant. "We want to keep it very, very real with a funky feel," he says. "If you see something up on the wall, then you know there will be a story behind it."—Timothy Boone

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Public to get first look at North Boulevard Town Square next week
The public will get its first chance to see and comment on the ideas for the North Boulevard Town Square at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 25, at a workshop in the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. The project oversight committee got its first look today at the design concepts by Brown + Danos landdesign and Joseph Furr Design Studio. Possible elements include a stage in Galvez Plaza that could be viewed by up to 4,000 people, smaller performance areas where the audiences might be less than 100, a pedestrian walkway over River Road, overhead lighting and interactive fountains. The area to be redesigned includes all of North Boulevard from River Road to Fifth Street; construction is expected to begin within a year.—David Jacobs

[10101000]

Uncle O's moving downtown
Uncle O's Café, a popular South Harrell's Ferry Road restaurant, is moving into Boudreaux & Thibodeaux's. Beginning Monday, the restaurant will be serving lunches out on Boudreaux & Thibodeaux's balcony bar. Karen Dean, who handles promotions for the Third Street bar, says Uncle O's will be open for lunches on weekdays, serving gumbo, salads and sandwiches. "It will be a very simple menu so the lunch crowd can move in and get out," Dean says. Boudreaux & Thibodeaux had been serving lunches out of its downstairs bar, but Dean says the business decided to take advantage of its natural resources. "We've got the only balcony in downtown Baton Rouge, and the weather has been nice," she says.—Timothy Boone

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Woman's Hospital plans large mixed-use development next to new facility
Woman's Hospital is scheduled to go before the city-parish Planning Commission next week to receive approval for a 76-acre mixed-use development it wants to build next to its $299 million hospital campus. Woman's is proposing a development with a mix of housing, office and commercial space at what is currently the Briarwood Golf Course. Plans are to build 307 single-family homes and townhomes and 544 multi-family units on the property, along with a hotel, 1.7 million square feet of commercial and office space and 54,600 square feet of restaurants. Although the development isn’t classified as a TND, it will feature some of the same concepts, such as a pedestrian-friendly design and a town center. Attorney Charles Landry of Jones Walker and Lafayette architect Steve Oubre, two of the leading figures in south Louisiana TND design, were involved in helping Woman's develop the plans.—Timothy Boone

[10101000]

Condos, boutiques coming

For 19 years, banker Lori Mitchell watched barges and ships ply the Mississippi River several blocks away and wondered when, if ever, the stagnant Third Street landscape beneath her office window would change.

On Tuesday, the unthinkable happened.

Mayor-President Kip Holden and developers Brace Godfrey and John Schneider snipped a red ribbon on Kress at Third and Main, for an $18 million redevelopment of more-than-century-old structures with 65,000 square feet of residential, retail and office space.

Mitchell beamed in a Kress lobby bedecked with crown molding, cove lighting, marble flooring and concierge services worthy of a Manhattan residential tower.

“I’d watched this thing for 19 years be a dump,” said Mitchell, a Capitol One Bank commercial lending manager, referring to the former state of the Kress, Knox and Welsh & Levy buildings that nearly fell prey to demolition earlier this decade. “And now, what downtown has turned into is unbelievable. We used to be afraid to walk to our cars. Now, we’ve got restaurants and places to go for lunch.

“It’s a wonderful place for people to go to work. And young professionals who work down here: Now, they’ve got a place to live.”

That’s what Godfrey and Schneider envisioned in 2005, when they acquired the property from businessman Bob Dean and salvaged pillars of history in danger of becoming another downtown surface parking lot. Not only did the architecture date back to the Victorian and Edwardian eras, customers in the Kress store on March 28, 1960, witnessed a lunch counter sit-in by seven black students who demanded service, were arrested and suspended from Southern University, but who precipitated civil rights change that made the previously unthinkable possible.

On Tuesday, Godfrey — a black attorney and former Downtown Development District chairman — and his business partner, Schneider — a white business consultant who returned from Atlanta to work with Godfrey — embraced in an emotional moment at a DDD meeting held in their Cyntreniks LLC redevelopment project.

In addition to 19 upper-floor residential units, Kress at Third and Main will house 12,500 square feet of second-floor office space and 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail space that will include an art gallery/museum with an exhibit paying homage to the 1960 Southern students. A gala in the coming months will mark their contributions to history and the formal opening of Kress at Third and Main.

“At that grand event will be the survivors of that group from Southern University,” Godfrey said, noting that the sit-in group produced, among other vocations, a judge, lawyer and doctor. “They’re itching to get here.”

Condos are available now in Kress at Third and Main, with retail and office space slated to open by Feb. 1, the Cyntreniks partners said. Stores planned include the previously announced Little Village Fish Market restaurant; a bakery with a wine and cordials bar; a men’s clothing store, two women’s clothing and accessories boutiques; and a credit union office.

“It’s a beautiful facility and a great addition to downtown Baton Rouge,” DDD Chairman Derrell Cohoon said. Chenevert Architects LLC designed the renovation, with financing by Chase Bank.

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Board approves plans, design for Pinnacle’s BR boat



The Gaming Control Board on Tuesday approved the plans and design elements for Baton Rouge’s third riverboat casino.

But officials from Pinnacle Entertainment and the state refused to reveal the details on the $250 million project to the public.

State Assistant Attorney General Leonce Gautreaux said the board’s approval means Pinnacle now has 120 days — or until Feb. 18 — to submit construction contracts for the board’s review.

Pinnacle refused to publicly release the blueprints, citing confidentiality laws.

The state Attorney General‘s Office agreed with Pinnacle saying the blueprints are exempt from the state’s public records law.

The blueprints will not become available to the public unless a court orders that they be released, Gautreaux said.

Gautreaux cited a part of state law that exempts a record that “consists of proprietary architectural construction, schematic or engineering plans, blueprints, specifications, computer programs or software.”

Jack Godfrey, general counsel for Pinnacle, reiterated that the plans are confidential under Louisiana law. He said the company considers the plans to be a trade secret.

However, he said the plans are similar to what Pinnacle presented to voters earlier this year.

The new casino will include a restaurant and a hotel with at least 100 rooms. It will be built on more than 550 acres along the Mississippi River south of the LSU campus near Gardere Lane and River Road.

Pinnacle’s Web site describes the project as “a modern, single-deck riverboat casino with approximately 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games.”

The artist’s rendering shows a sprawling complex on the river.

The original timeline called for the casino to open in 2010. The schedule laid out Tuesday during the meeting suggested it could be 2011 before the casino is open for business.

Gaming Control Board member Ayres Bradford complained that he has seen very little on the project.

He said the artist’s rendering is the only construction-related document he has seen.

Bradford wanted to know whether Gautreaux has seen “actual construction documents.”

Gautreaux assured Bradford that he has.

Voters in East Baton Rouge Parish agreed to the project in February. Pinnacle would be the third riverboat casino in Baton Rouge.
Godfrey estimated it will take 18 months to complete construction.

He said the company is keeping an eye on the national financial crisis.

Last month, Pinnacle dropped plans to build a casino resort and hotel in Kansas because of the financial markets. Plans for a $2 billion casino on the Atlantic City boardwalk also are on hold.

The company said it would focus on the Baton Rouge project instead.

Pinnacle also owns L’Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles. Another casino, Sugarcane Bay, is under construction there.

The Baton Rouge riverboat was supposed to be called Rivière, but the company may still drop the name in favor of something else.

[10101000]

It’s ALIVE




A third of Mayor Kip Holden’s $1 billion bond proposal will fund a brand-new, nature-themed tourist attraction on the river in downtown Baton Rouge.

A bold educational and entertainment destination to be managed by the respected Audubon Nature Institute, ALIVE is expected to attract a half-million visitors a year.

Here’s a closer look at the purpose, details, projections and impacts—both good and bad—of this landmark plan.

What exactly is it?

The vision for ALIVE is a roughly 220,000-square-foot riverfront attraction located between the Pentagon Barracks near the State Capitol and River Road.

It would include hands-on exhibits, educational centers and entertainment venues.

It’s the brainchild of the Audubon Nature Institute, which will manage and operate ALIVE. You’re probably already familiar with Audubon’s work in New Orleans, where it owns and operates the Aquarium of the Americas, Audubon Zoo, Entergy IMAX Theatre and the new Audubon Insectarium.

What’s the theme?

ALIVE will revolve around the four elements of life: earth, wind, fire and water.

What can visitors expect?

Things are still in the early planning stages, but ALIVE may include:

• Animal Adventures: Waterfalls, tigers, jaguars, monkeys and butterflies

• Beyond Turtle Reef and Migration Tales: An exhibit with sea creatures featuring live experiences for visitors

• Experience Soaring: A 270-degree glider simulation, an interactive experience similar to an attraction at Disney’s Epcot Center

• Thrill to the Chase: An audio and video exhibit where participants learn about predators by winding their way through a jungle

• Stormy Weather: An interactive theater that will feature experiences of hurricanes, the wetlands and global warming

• Swamp Tales: An indoor walk-through swamp

• Rhythms & Blues: A 900-seat theatre with the capabilities of electronic interactive seats, smells, water sensations and movement

What will it cost, and who’s going to pay for it?

The overall investment in ALIVE: $305 million. The spending will roughly unfold this way:

* $55 million for elevation and preparation of DeSoto Park, the elevated walkover and dock pier. The site for ALIVE lies outside the Mississippi River levee, so the area will have be built up significantly to support development.

• $5 million for site development and land improvement.

• $96 million for the facility and structure.

• $146.5 million for the interior exhibits.

• $2.5 million in various other expenses.

East Baton Rouge Parish taxpayers will shoulder 81% of the cost of ALIVE, or $250 million. The money will come from taxes, most of which will be collected as part of the bond issue that will appear on the ballot in November 2008.

State government—and state taxpayers—will put up $55 million to prepare the land.

How will the site be prepared?

One of the largest expenses associated with bringing ALIVE to Baton Rouge is making the land attraction-ready. According to John Spain, executive director of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, a rock levee will be built around the entire park. Then river sand will be pumped into and around it, and then water will be pumped off. The soil will be packed. “After 18 months we can build on it,” Spain says. Add a boat dock and elevated walkways, and the site will be ready for

construction.

How does ALIVE stack up in Baton Rouge?

Supporters of ALIVE promise a destination to enhance our quality of life. At a total cost of $305 million, ALIVE dwarfs any recent quality-of-life improvements in Baton Rouge:

• Extending the levee bike path from downtown to LSU cost $1 million.

• Renovations at the Baton Rouge Zoo, including a habitat for big cats, cost $5.25 million.

• The Shaw Center for the Arts cost $65 million.

• The new Knock Knock Children’s Museum under design for City Park will cost $15 million.


Baton Rouge’s Sydney Opera House?

The vision for ALIVE is that it become an iconic building that’s forever synonymous with Baton Rouge.

Think Sydney Opera House, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the St. Louis Arch and Seattle’s Space Needle.

Architecture critic Charles Jencks, author of The Iconic Building, says iconic buildings stand out dramatically from the city around them.


ALIVE would be built just south of Hollywood Casino.
If ALIVE achieves iconic status, it won’t resemble any of the buildings now standing downtown.

“There is an impossible contradiction between iconic building and city,” Jencks said in an interview last year with the California Literary Review. “Rather, they tend to be opposites, and so need conscious reconciliation.” Whether or not such a building adds to quality of life or attracts visitors depends on its quality. The best ones call on a deeper sense of place and personality, rather than being trendy.

ALIVE’s designer is St. Louis-based PGAV Destination Consulting. Its portfolio includes:

• Seaworld’s Journey to Atlantis

• St. Louis Science Center

• Georgia Aquarium

• The Moroccan Palace, Busch Gardens, Fla.

• Ameristar Blackhawk Casino, Blackhawk, Colo.

A success story in Chattanooga

Credited with helping ignite what locals called the Renaissance on the River, the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga was completed in 1992. The building features six distinctive peaks that punctuate the city’s skyline and, within the first six months, drew a million visitors.

More than 100 stores and restaurants have opened around the Aquarium since its debut.

Proponents hope ALIVE would have a similar impact in Baton Rouge.

If you build it, where will they come from?

Beginning in 2012, ALIVE is predicted to attract 578,500 visitors a year, according to an economic study. Here’s where they’re expected to come from:

92,500: East Baton Rouge Parish

44,000: Baton Rouge Metro Area

47,300: Area schools

51,600: A 45-minute drive from the Metro Area

100,000: A 90-minute drive from the Metro Area

243,100: Other visitors

Howdy, neighbor

What’s the closest neighbor to this family-friendly, nature-based attraction? Hollywood Casino, which will border ALIVE to the north, with a proposed commercial multi-use development planned north of the casino.

The challenge: Canadian National Railway trains carrying supplies to and from the plants routinely cut off the casino from River Road. The proposed solution is to build an underpass beneath the existing railroad tracks that would allow a free flow of people and vehicles even while trains move through.

Economists predict that in 2012 only 2% of Hollywood Casino’s gaming visitors will also visit ALIVE.

Kicked out?

Right now, the south end of DeSoto Park is in use by Capital Fleeting Inc., a firm that provides river parking for barges. The company recently opened new offices at the site, and officials say they haven’t been brought to the table as part of the planning effort for ALIVE. According to the economic study associated with ALIVE, the company will have to be relocated if the attraction is built.

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Ground work is set to begin in the first three months of 2009 on Rouzan, the traditional neighborhood development on Perkins Road near College Drive.

Developer Tommy Spinosa said Thursday that, though some final details still must be worked out, the first phase of construction will include 30,000 square feet of commercial, retail and multi-family residential among three buildings, as well as a new public library branch and 46 residential units.

No retail tenants have been signed yet, but Spinosa said at least three “fairly significant” names have shown interest.

He declined to name them, citing ongoing negotiations but reiterated his goal to put small groceries, restaurants and smaller companies there.

Spinosa provided some of the most specific details for Rouzan since proposing the project one year ago.

He said, for example, the residential units will be 2,500 to 3,500 square feet.

Prices will begin in the lower $300,000 range.

Spinosa contrasted the Rouzan design from his other mixed-use project, Perkins Rowe on Perkins Road and Bluebonnet Boulevard.

Where Perkins Rowe has a more urban feel, he said, Rouzan is designed to feel more like a village.

“We’ve got to keep it in the context of what our culture’s all about, and that’s our challenge here,” Spinosa said.

The connection between the more commercial town center at Rouzan and the residential area will be a rustic, arched bridge.

Spinosa said the design is based on a photograph of a bridge in France that served as the larger architectural inspiration for Rouzan.

As Spinosa originally planned, Rouzan will be built on a mainly French Creole style.

The town houses and cottages will feature smaller footprints and serviceable alleys to preserve street appearances.

Mediterranean and Federal styles will be blended in.

Some of the first commercial buildings could open by late 2010 or early 2011, he said.

Rouzan is designed on the New Urbanism concept, which blends residential, retail and office space.

The idea is to cut down on car traffic by putting commercial services within walking distance of residents’ homes.

The city-parish Planning Commission gave final approval in September for Spinosa to begin the neighborhood’s initial phase: 179 residential units and 40,000 square feet of commercial space on 19 acres.

Eventually, Spinosa plans to develop 750 residential units and at least 100,000 square feet of commercial space on 119 acres previously known as the Ford Pasture.

The project sparked opposition from some residents of nearby neighborhoods.

Critics say a new neighborhood would create even more problems for the area’s already stressed infrastructure.

Last week he backed off a move to double the commercial space to 200,000 square feet.

At the time, Jeff Wright, a spokesman for Spinosa’s JTS Interests, said Spinosa wanted to concentrate instead on completing some of the work he already has.

The proposal also drew quick criticism from some neighbors who said the 100,000-square-foot figure for commercial space was a crucial compromise in getting Rouzan approved.

Spinosa acknowledged the opponents Thursday, but construction will take several years, he said, and Rouzan’s impact won’t come all at once.

“Our goal is to get this first phase in the ground,” Spinosa said. “Let them see it, let them touch it, let them feel it.

“Let them understand what it is we were trying to do. And I believe a substantial majority of our concerned citizens, their feelings will change.”

Meanwhile, he also acknowledged that financing for construction, which is still being finalized, has been made more challenging by the sagging U.S. economy and credit crisis.

Three lenders have expressed interest in the first phase of multi-family residential construction.

Moreover, some of the financing would come by taking advantage of legislation to create a community development district, a taxing district that could levy taxes and float bonds to pay for Rouzan’s roads and other infrastructure.

The Metro Council has deferred a decision on the measure until its Dec. 10 meeting, though Spinosa expressed confidence it would be passed and generate interest among investors.

“We’ve got strong interest on that,” Spinosa said.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/344...ml?index=1&c=y

[LouisianaRush]

I love the ALIVE park!

[buckett5425]

[10101000]

It was awesome to watch.

[Port_of_Bama]

Mobile always miss out on all the fun .

[10101000]

Mobile gets it more than Baton Rouge from time to time.

[fla_tiger]

Pennington breaks ground on research facility



Gov. Bobby Jindal and Pennington Biomedical Research Center officials broke ground on the center’s new $50 million clinical trial building and other renovations this morning at the Perkins Road campus.

Slated to open in July 2010, the four-story structure on the northwest side of the Pennington site will ease a lab and office-space crunch for scientists engaged in nutrition research. Baton Rouge chamber and political leaders successfully lobbied the Legislature in 2007 and 2008 to raise the priority for state capital outlay bonds that will pay for the project, which is forecast to have a $110 million annual economic impact, Jindal said.

The 403,000-square-foot Pennington campus, which opened in 1988 with a $125 million gift that decade from oil magnate C.B. “Doc” Pennington, now houses 53 research labs and is home to 80 faculty members and more than 600 scientists, physicians and support staff doing research in 10 major areas, from cancer, diabetes and obesity prevention to molecular genetics and stem cell biology.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/37581874.html
http://www.pbrc.edu/News/News_Story.asp?id=85

[richyb83]

The new Courthouse under construction and new II City Plaza(far left) nearing completion on the southern end of Fourth Street



II City Plaza(left); new Courthouse(right) will add over 600,000' sq ft. to the southern CBD



The new II City Plaza from Convention Street at Third; wish it could have been taller; but still a nice addition to the southern CBD


II City Plaza from North Blvd.

[10101000]

Nice

[richyb83]

Yeah, the new Courthouse is even more massive than first thought!

*a few more recent pics; the new Courthouse going up fast!


*New Courthouse(right); new II City Plaza(left); eventhough BOTH buildings are 12-stories; being a civic building with taller height per floor; the new Courthouse is taller




One Eleven at the Shaw Center for the Arts; 12-residential units on floors 2-4; new digs for the Arts Council of Greater BR set to move in at ground-level by mid-May

[LouisianaRush]

Downtown plan urges trees, parks

By CHAD CALDER
Advocate business writer
Published: Mar 31, 2009



Baton Rouge needs to work toward a greener downtown with more residents, parks and one more major attraction, preferably on the north end of Third Street. Downtown also needs to be better connected to Mid-city and Old South Baton Rouge, friendlier to pedestrians but have more parking for its visitors, and should be more strongly connected to the Mississippi River.

Those are the recommendations from a near-final draft of Plan Baton Rouge Phase Two, the second part of a planning process that created the first plan in 2000.

A team of consultants presented the draft Monday evening at the Old State Capitol and will finalize the plan in June for approval by the Metro Council.

The consultants’ ideas on parks include one near the Capitol, possibly one much like dormant plans for DeSoto Park, on the batture side of the levee that would connect Spanish Town and the Capitol Park to the river with a wide, landscaped overpass. On downtown’s southern end, they encouraged the city to consider creating a large “Central Green” by pulling together and connecting with green space the cultural landmarks there, such as the Shaw Center for the Arts, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, the Old State Capitol and Repentence Park and the planned town center at Third Street and North Boulevard.

A third park, dubbed Victory Park, would be in the central portion of downtown and several blocks from the riverfront. The park would be used to pull people from Spanish Town and Beauregard Town into the central business district and possibly spur some residential development, said economic development consultant John Alschuler.

Alan Mountjoy, a principal with consulting firm Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, said the consultants and the city have held talks with the U.S. Postal Service, which he said has “indicated a willingness to talk” about a deal involving the downtown branch.

Alschuler said that while downtown’s nine-to-five work force has provided fuel for development, downtown needs residential development to energize the area after hours. Residential development, he said, will likely need to be supported by a loan fund. Urban, vertical development is simply more expensive, just as parking lots are more expensive than driveways, and a loan fund that makes debt cheaper, called a mezzanine loan fund, is often a way to spur urban development.

Consultant Doug Reed, of landscape architecture firm Reed Hildebrand, talked about how cities, notably Charleston, S.C., have used tree canopies to make their streetscapes more pleasant. With the proper techniques, trees can live as long as 50 years in an urban environment, though he pointed out this will take money.

So, too, will keeping up the parks, which brought the consultants to the issue of increasing the budget and responsibilities of the Downtown Development District. They said Baton Rouge’s DDD, with a $573,000 budget, is underfunded, comparing it to the annual budgets of corresponding downtown developments districts in New Orleans, at $10 million, and Shreveport, at $3 million.

People will not embrace downtown parks and public spaces unless they are clean and safe, and “you need a financing system in order to do that,” Alschuler said.

The team also recommended creating a parking authority to increase parking options and better manage the ones there now. Alschuler said just over half of downtown’s parking is not available to the public, creating “a shortage of parking amidst an abundance of parking.”

As for retail development, Alschuler said downtowns’ days of being retail centers are behind them, but he said residential development will inevitably bring in the support retail it needs. He said some type of major attraction is needed on the north end of downtown, like a jazz club or theater, pointing out it is no accident that shopping malls are built with anchors on each end.

Downtown today has much to offer on the south end, but only the State Capitol on the north. While government is a good employment anchor, “unless you have an odd sense of humor, it’s not a source of entertainment,” Alschuler said.

In the long term, downtown should prepare itself to be “transit ready” and keep an eye on opportunities to connect with Southern University and LSU, and possibly to New Orleans with light rail, the consultants said.

In the short term, there are streets that can be converted from one-way to two-way, most crucially Laurel, St. Louis and St. Ferdinand streets, they said. The latter two streets are currently under consideration as part of the creation of Galvez Plaza, the town square at Third and North Boulevard. Longer-term street changes would include making Fifth and Sixth streets two-way, as well as Convention and St. Charles.

Mountjoy said South Boulevard should once again become an east/west boulevard, preferably tree-lined.