Downtown develops a new district

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By Rachael Lundy

As Baton Rouge’s new entertainment hub for art, nightlife, food and theatre, downtown Baton Rouge is flourishing with brand new businesses and the wealth of fresh investors. This business district’s progress is evident by the number of cranes lining this city center’s skyline – cranes that are actively building many commercial and residential properties.

“Seeing the three cranes in the air is a positive sign that things are happening here,” said Davis Rhorer, Executive Director for the Downtown Development District.

Among the leaders of this expansion are city officials, the Downtown Development District and private investors who have spent countless hours designing and implementing these ventures.

“The growth in downtown signals a positive sign of healthiness for this city and this region,” said Rhorer. “We sit in an active six to seven parish area that is coming to grow, and we [downtown] are the focal point of that growth. When people look to invest in this city, they look to downtown for this.”

One of the many advances that is being phased into implementation is the Baton Rouge Riverfront property, a $600 million development that will be located on 36 acres next to the Hollywood Casino.

According to BatonRougeRiverFront.com, the Riverfront Master Plan states that it is “an integrated conceptual design encompassing both public and private sectors, in a unified long-term vision focused on the River Center portion of the Riverfront, for consolidating public open space and coordinating public or private investment and development.”

The Riverfront proposals consist of the many following downtown enhancing amenities: a ballpark, a transit station, pedestrian bridges, River Road Towers, River Front Plaza Park, North Boulevard Town Square, the River Terraces, an amphitheater and more, as said by Baton Rouge’s Riverfront Web site.

“The Riverfront Plan is holistic and includes everything,” said Rhorer. “Forty percent [of the plan] includes economic development that has been put into place and it [the plan] is also going to double or triple the size of our residential area.”

Because of this tremendous addition of residential properties, making the roads more accessible for crossing on foot has become imperative for this changing district’s plan.

Improvements will be made to River Road as calming pavers and medians are added, in order to create a more pedestrian friendly atmosphere, explains the Riverfront plan.

The addition of two residential and commercial properties has further urbanized this downtown district as a built-up area, which are currently undergoing leasing agreements. Kress, an $18 million development located on the corner of Third and Main, offers rental spaces for retail businesses, offices and condominiums.

According to KressThirdMain.com, “This landmark structure is located in the heart of downtown Baton Rouge amidst its growing business, governmental, arts, restaurant and entertainment community, which is quickly making this city center one of the hottest in the South.”

Kress’ Web site discloses some of the potential clients that are being considered for leasing its commercial property. These considerations include the following: women’s and men’s specialty stores, neighborhood grocery and pharmacy, a medical urgent care facility and a 75-seat movie theater.

A second upscale development, which is also currently leasing its units, is the $3.5 million OneEleven structure, which is located near the Shaw Center for the Arts, as said by Baton Rouge Business Report. The cost for leasing one of these units ranges from $1,350 to $2,400 per month.

“OneEleven’s upper-floor apartments range from 736 square feet to 1,190 square feet,” The Advocate informs.

Rhorer expressed his interest in “coming up with an incentive plan for creating affordable housing in downtown Baton Rouge,” especially for those who are artists. These incentives are meant to assist those artists, who have been drawn to the downtown area because of its innovative, growing Art District.

Insightful entrepreneurs who, before now, have realized downtown Baton Rouge’s potential to grow into a thriving community, have been outspoken contributors in favor of the development of this vicinity. Jack Warner, co-owner of the Roux House, Happy’s Irish Pub and Schlitz & Giggles is one of those insightful, private investors, who has been known to be forthright with his opinions on growing this downtown area.

“I just hope the people of Baton Rouge step up to themselves,” said Warner. “They deserve a downtown. They deserve the best. They deserve better than what certain people [city officials] are willing to give them.”

In further attempts to create a “better” downtown Baton Rouge, Warner has plans in place for expanding his growing downtown enterprise.

“I’ve got two or three more [developments] specifically for downtown,” said Warner. “We [Jack Warner and Brandon Landry] already have one of our locations already. I’ve had it for a year now, and it’s going to be kind of higher-end – for the 30- to 40-year-old crowd. We’ll probably do it in about nine months to a year.”

Because of the attempts that various entrepreneurs and developers made for creating an improved city center, downtown Baton Rouge has progressed into a venue that attracts a diverse group of people, making this area accessible and enjoyable to all, from students and artists to legislators and state workers.

“We want people to take ownership in downtown,” said Rhorer. “Creating such a diverse group of people is what makes downtown so interesting. The more people involved the better.”

In order for downtown Baton Rouge to successfully grow into the epicenter that many of these city leaders have dreamed of, it is imperative that Baton Rouge citizens support these efforts and take advantage of the many assets that only this capital city can offer.

Originally Published: Issue 690 - June 25, 2008

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