Well what do you know. Young professionals, it seems, don’t want Third Street to become Bourbon Street—or even Austin’s ever-loving Sixth Street.
Who knew?
Certainly not the more mature members of our community, who think 30-somethings + alcohol = Armageddon. Which explains these people going Simon Cowell at the mere mention of a downtown arts and entertainment district.
What this district will actually become is murkier than George Bush’s Iraq policy. But one thing is clear: Baton Rouge is inching e v e r so slowly toward creating some nebulous district around Third Street as a way to boost downtown’s social and cultural profile. Nearly a decade in the making, the only thing that’s been discussed and debated more is whether it was Les Miles’ offensive game plan or the zebras that cost LSU last year’s Auburn game. So it only made sense last week when Forum 35, as part of its continuing (re)Inventing Redstick program, asked 100 or so young and middle-aged professionals what they wanted in an arts and entertainment district.
What they want is a cultural mix of restaurants, museums, retail shops and, yes, bars. And … brace yourself … they do indeed want to walk the streets with open plastic or Styrofoam containers—an idea as popular as rabies to many in this town.
Yet what they want is less about mojitos (you can get a fabulous one at Roux House, by the way) and more about Minimalism and the other forms of art they want to see on a regular basis. Heads nodded in approval as a young woman spoke of her desire for a locally owned bookstore featuring Louisiana authors. Smiles followed the wish for more restaurants open at night—every night. Applause thundered inside the Lyceum Dean building after a plea for downtown housing that you can afford even if your last name isn’t Pennington or Manship or Bernhard.
What they want is a place where, when visitors come to town and ask the concierge what to do, the answer is, “Just head downtown and figure it out.”
What they need, however, is a lesson in economics. The creation of a special district won’t bring those dreams to life, not as long as downtown real estate and rents are priced like we’re already Kansas City or Charlotte.
What they need are more entrepreneurs willing to take the risk of opening that downtown bookstore, art gallery or clothing store.
What every downtown supporter needs is a way to show the rest of Baton Rouge why it’s OK to allow investment credits, tax waivers and other economic incentives to encourage private sector growth in an area where the free market system doesn’t justify it under the current scenario.
What those of us in the so-called “downtown crowd” desire is a place where people—young and old, singles and families, urbanites and suburbanites—can come together and interact. In other words, act like a vibrant community. Which is a tough sell in a town that embraces parochialism, sprawl and gated, single-entrance subdivisions. The concept of every day, open-air, human interaction is more foreign here than Borat.
Explain this: Why is it OK for all of the above to happen at Live at Five, Sunday in the Park and the scores of other outdoor festivals and events we host downtown, but not OK for it to be a regular way of life? Why is it OK for me to walk down a public street with a beer in hand at the St. Aloysius Fair but not going from Red Star to The Wine Loft?
What young professionals are asking for is not the end of the world, it’s just a 24-7 downtown where people can live, work and play.
Comments
Posted by lucysmom on May 10, 2007 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well said! I'm in the 40+ demo and am sick and tired of hearing people complain about our college graduates leaving Baton Rouge for other "hip" and "innovative" cities. Haven't our elected officials from time to time visited other cities like Austin and Nashville to find out their "secret"? I don't think it's really a secret as to why these areas are so attractive. They're not stifling their citizens with blue laws and archaic ways of thinking!
Posted by sutton on May 11, 2007 at 12:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm all for progress, even if it makes some people uncomfortable, but it appears that "young professionals" don't want to do the work that achieves what they want. If a vibrant downtown is what you want, make if happen. It's like that song that says "we're just waiting for things to change". Quit waiting, make it happen!
Posted by fourx5 on May 11, 2007 at 2:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well said.
Now, who can tell me whether Baton Rouge is a town that:
A. Fosters entrepreneurs with a risk-tolerant atmosphere and a "what you know" attitude toward investement.
B. Encourages development by well-entrenched families and networks of existing money-men (and women) based on "who you know".
I tried coming back to Louisiana for six months after ten years in California. At the end of those six months, I'd found that businesses in Baton Rouge seem interested in LSU games, politics, and business - in that order. Risk-averse would be a charitable way to describe some Baton Rouge businesses, who see several years of contract experience for the biggest companies in Silicon Valley as "spotty work history".
If someone thinks there's money to be made downtown by investing in a restaurant or club, they'll do it - but everyone knows you don't get rich running a bar in a college town. Right?
Chicken-and-egg is the problem here - state workers don't want to be seen boozing it up after work, refinery employees won't go near downtown, the suburbanites think downtown is infested with homeless, and college students don't have an economical and safe way to get downtown to spend their money. So who is going to move in down there? And why would they?
Baton Rouge may want to work on building a job base for all these single, young professionals to work at before throwing lots of money at a problem other cities solved with hard work and investment long ago. There's no quick fix for Baton Rouge, and city's distaste for anything remotely progressive in nature is one reason the entertainment district has such a long road ahead of it.
While fostering a casual attitude among people who choose to go out downtown is one thing, the blue laws in Baton Rouge are a symptom of the reasons people like me and my wife (both working in high tech) flee Louisiana: entrenched attitudes punted onto a largely blase public by politicians and businesses interested in preserving the status quo.
Posted by wondering on May 16, 2007 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hasn't the repeated conclusion to discussions regarding the promotion of Downtown development been a resident population in the district of at least 10,000? In this same edition of the Business Report is an article about the need for housing. Bookstores and bars, groceries and galleries all survive on regulars and thrive on the weekend extras. When parking lots rather than pastures are developed into apartments BR creatives will have an area in which to feel metropolitan and meet others who enjoy that feeling.
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