BusinessReport.com

Plan Baton Rouge, the downtown master plan led by Andres Duany more than a decade ago, has mostly been realized. Several new projects, and well over a billion dollars in new investment, have revived downtown to a certain extent.

But the city’s core is still nowhere near as vibrant as organizers had hoped, and the relative lack of residential development has been a particular disappointment. Organizers hope Plan Baton Rouge Phase Two will knit downtown’s pockets of life together, looking at what didn’t happen, and why it didn’t.

Consultants for Plan Baton Rouge Phase Two, led by Cambridge, Mass.-based Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, held their second public presentation Feb. 9, and plan to present a draft report of their plan March 30. That report will include specific suggested projects with price tags attached. The Arts and Entertainment District situated along Third Street would serve as a “spine” for downtown, but John Alschuler, the team’s economic planner, says it’s important the district includes several uses and is welcoming to all ages.

“This shouldn’t become a kid bar district,” he says.

Boo Thomas of the Center for Planning Excellence says the Plan Baton Rouge ideas should fit well into the next update of the parish’s Horizon Plan. Lots of taxpayer money will be called for, both to build specific projects and to leverage private investment. Ultimately, the public will have to decide where the priorities should lie. The final plan will be ready in June, the consultants say.

Broad goals include:

• Increase residential population in the downtown area, perhaps by creating a “mezzanine” fund with public or foundation money that could supplement $1 for perhaps $3 in private investment.

• Create a comprehensive plan for downtown streets and public spaces.

• Enhance downtown’s capacity to attract convention and tourism business.

• Develop and improve the capacity of existing institutions, like the Downtown Development District and the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority, and consider creating a parking authority.

• Expand downtown’s employment base.

• Develop a concentration of mixed-use anchors.

• Increase transportation access and provide better links between downtown and adjacent neighborhoods.

Below is a look at how the Plan Baton Rouge team sees downtown in terms of six “catalytic” project areas.