Plan Baton Rouge, the downtown master plan led by renowned New Urbanist Andres Duany, turns 10 years old this year. Most of the projects suggested by that plan have come to fruition, including Main Street Market and the Shaw Center for the Arts. Our downtown is far more vibrant than it was in 1998, but it still lacks the buzz found in cities like Portland, Ore., Dallas, Colorado Springs, Colo., or Boise, Idaho.

Alex Krieger of Chan Krieger Sieniewicz in Cambridge, Mass., will lead the second phase of Plan Baton Rouge, assuming the contract is signed. Krieger, the former chairman of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, believes there are about eight common values all successful downtowns embrace. When one reviews these factors in the context of downtown Baton Rouge, it’s obvious there’s a lot of work left to do.

1. Cities are for living in

First, the good news. Downtown Baton Rouge has two charming historic neighborhoods: Spanish Town and Beauregard Town. But only about 2,300 people live in the 550 or so acres that officially constitute downtown, including both neighborhoods. Fewer than 100 live in the central business district, although that number should creep past 300 if a handful of announced condo projects come to fruition. It takes 5,000 people to reach the next level of market demand to attract retail and other amenities.

“Every developer I talk to, we make a pitch about incorporating residences,” says Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District.

The high price of real estate impacts nearly everything on this list. Developing in the city’s core is far more expensive per square foot than building in the suburbs, and that cost is passed on to potential residents. Part of the problem, some argue, is that owners are pricing their properties based on what they think those properties might be worth once downtown really gets rolling, as opposed to what they’re actually worth now.
So one of the key goals for the new Plan Baton Rouge team will be coming up with some sort of incentive program that makes downtown cheaper for residential development. Meanwhile, Rhorer hints an affordable downtown residential development might be announced soon, although he can’t discuss the details yet.

Then there’s River Park. As envisioned, the massive riverfront mixed-use development could feature 1,000 condos or more, to be built out over the next 10 to 15 years. But developer Pete Clements has not yet announced the project’s outside investors, and the development exists only on paper at this point.

“Compared to 10 years ago, downtown is very attractive for development,” says Rex Cabaniss of WHL Architecture, who assembled the Plan Baton Rouge team. “Our charge is to help plan for the next 10 years, to update a collective vision, prioritize selective enhancements and promote smart growth.”


www.businessreport.com/news/2008/jul/28/eight-enough-edvl1/