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Derek Fitch walks out of his condo in the Kress at Third and Main building with Blue, his Scottie, in tow. Fitch heads to the State Capitol for an early morning stroll, then to the Red Stick Farmers Market at Fifth and Main streets, where he loads up on groceries for the week. He picks up some field-grown tomatoes, an assortment of lettuce and cartons of locally grown strawberries.

To top it off, Fitch treats himself to what he considers to be the breakfast of champions—a miniature chocolate chip pecan pie washed down with a cold bottle of Smith’s Creamery chocolate milk. After going home to drop off the groceries and Blue, he walks the few blocks to the YMCA and hops on an elliptical machine to work off the pie and milk.

From there, Fitch walks to the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum to catch Mystery on the Nile. Then it’s back home to freshen up for the evening. He and his wife have planned a date night, which kicks off at his favorite neighborhood restaurant, Stroube’s Chop House at Third Street and North Boulevard. All day his mouth has been watering at the thought of Chef Justin Ferguson’s signature dish, seared duck with sage grits.

After dinner, Fitch and his wife meet up with friends and hit the town, starting at The Roux House on Third Street and ending at his favorite watering hole, Happy’s Irish Pub, also on Third Street. When it’s time to call it a night, they walk the short distance home and turn in.

The Fitches, who also work downtown, are living the urban lifestyle of which they’ve always dreamed. But 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have been possible to live out that dream in downtown Baton Rouge.

“It’s a good life,” Fitch says. “I spend about 95% of my life downtown—minus going to the movies and an occasional trip to the grocery store. There’s no reason for me to leave. There’s so much going on.”

Only in the last half of the past decade has downtown experienced its biggest growth spurt, which has culminated in the beginning of its final stage: the ability to accommodate a thriving residential population. Because of the economy, planners involved in this stage now are facing some major growing pains.

Before the revitalization of downtown took hold, the rallying cry was, “If you build it, they will come.” But now that downtown is arguably becoming a Mecca of arts and entertainment, that’s no longer the perfect slogan. Now the question is: How do you persuade developers to invest in building downtown residential units when building a parking lot is much more profitable?

Downtown living

Today, downtown Baton Rouge’s residential population is primarily confined to two historic neighborhoods that extend just east of the Mississippi River. Spanish Town, the city’s oldest neighborhood, is located just south and east of the State Capitol and is anchored by Spanish Town Road. Beauregard Town is bordered to the west by the river, to the north by Government Street, to the east by Interstate 110 and to the south by I-10. Combined, more than 2,100 residents live within what’s considered the downtown ring.

These neighborhoods are considered prime real estate for prospective homeowners and renters who long for the feeling of community that comes with living in an urban center. The major effect of the decades-long downtown revitalization effort has been the reassembling of old homes, which over time were hacked into multiple rental units, into single-family homes. For the most part, the demographic that has been attracted to this effort has been young professionals who have the resources for what can often turn out to be a costly renovation.

Darryl Gissell, a downtown resident, property owner and Realtor, recently had three clients undertake renovations on Spanish Town homes. Before buying a fixer-upper, one of the clients lived in what Gissell considers to be one of the “finest homes in Baton Rouge.” The client sold that home and bought a home in Spanish Town because he was strongly drawn to Spanish Town. “It’s a real tribute to what is here,” Gissell says. “And it’s not a façade. It really is what’s here in downtown Baton Rouge in every way. There is a huge sense of community.”

As Spanish Town and Beauregard Town have gained in popularity with Realtors, homebuyers and renters, the real frontier for growing and nurturing a downtown residential population is the business district, which includes the mixed-use entertainment district bordered by the State Capitol, North Boulevard and the Mississippi River. It’s this initiative that’s posing some major financial challenges.

There are currently about 75 units in the business district, including 31 that have become available in the past year—19 residential condominiums in the Kress at Third and Main and 12 in One Eleven, which is tucked into the alley adjacent The Roux House and Shaw Center for the Arts. Those housing units join a lineup of sought-after residential units in the 200 and 300 blocks of Third Street, which include eight units in the Mayer Building, four units in the Chenevert Building and four units in the Fuqua Building.

“The good news,” says Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District, “is that the majority of those are pretty much leased or bought. But it’s still the beginning, and I am looking at other opportunities where we can get 50 units here, 25 units there, another 100 there, and really start building that base.”

UNITS OF MEASURE: Thirty-one downtown residential units recently became available, including 12 in One Eleven (pictured) and 19 in Kress at Third and Main.

Building the base

For the past decade, planners have worked to lay the foundation necessary to attract a residential population to downtown Baton Rouge. This effort has been spearheaded by Rhorer and Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas, who is the executive director and CEO of the Center for Planning Excellence. Thomas facilitated Plan Baton Rouge, the official master plan of the city that made the revitalization of downtown a major focus.

Much of what was set down in the plan’s first phase has come to fruition. The once-sleepy downtown is now a vital, beating heart with new bars, restaurants, businesses and attractions.

“The rebirth is still in the nascent stages if you were to compare it to a larger city,” says Michael Lang, a downtown resident and property owner who started Happy’s Running Club. “But to me, it’s at that real exciting stage because there are constantly new restaurants and other businesses opening and new activities to do downtown.”

Indeed, downtown’s revitalization seems to be continuing despite the economic downturn. To keep the momentum going, planners say it’s time for more residential housing. Only this time, they have a specific wish list. They hope this phase will consist of more available housing in the arts and entertainment district as well as the business district as well as one or more large developments with 100 to 500 units. Also on the list is the hope for residential housing that will include units with a price tag aimed at mid-level professionals—many of whom currently can’t afford to live downtown.

The major challenge for planners in their efforts to attract developers who will grant their wishes is that the recession, coupled with the high cost of land, acts as a deterrent. Right now, Rhorer says, the numbers just don’t work. With the cost of the property and the cost of the renovation necessary to make the existing space livable, or the cost to build a new property, the return on investment isn’t there, he says.

“When developers start putting the pencil to paper, there is a gap,” Rhorer says, “and so we are trying to figure out what type of incentive we need to put in place to cover the gap financing.

Kress at Third and Main

“We’re working to figure out what types of policies or economic incentives we need to put in place to get housing for middle-income residents. Some of the housing right now is pretty pricey. We want to make sure to try and put some of the future housing in the mid-level kind of price range.”

Not one to run from a downtown development challenge, Rhorer says there are a few potential solutions already on the table. For example, programs exist that might involve tax abatements or pools of funds.

The next phase of Plan Baton Rouge will contain specific details for the current financing gap. For example, it will detail what the low-interest rate that loans would be through mezzanine financing.

“Some possibilities exist where we might be able to tap into some dedicated funds to help fill the gap,” he says. “I have some ideas that might be finalized at the end [of this month].”

Another potential solution would stretch the boundaries of downtown south of I-10 or east of I-110 to build mixed-use housing developments.

Earlier this year, the city-parish planning commission approved plans for the River House development on the Nicholson Drive site of the former Prince Murat Inn. A Dallas firm plans to build a 224-unit apartment complex consisting of efficiency, one- and two-bedroom apartments, along with a clubhouse, 15,000 square feet of retail and 34,000 square feet of office space.

“I’m aware of developers buying large chunks of property for housing and/or mixed-use development in those areas right now,” Rhorer says.

In addition, developer David Slaughter has unveiled his third evolution of Capitol Lofts, an apartment building planned for the end of North Sixth Street across from Arsenal Park. The new proposal calls for 76 units; the first version called for 115 units and met with resistance from Spanish Town residents, and the second version called for 67 units.

The new design can still be accomplished within the existing A4 [general residential] zoning. Of the 10 historic homes on the block, Slaughter plans to save three in place and has offered the other seven for donation to anyone who is willing to move and preserve the houses.

Rhorer believes for downtown’s revitalization to move forward, the impediments standing in the way of getting that next phase of residents settled in must be dealt with.

“In order to achieve the success of a 24-hour downtown, you need additional residents down here,” he says. “We are very fortunate to have what we have. But in order to affect the market to get some additional types of businesses downtown, like a grocery store or a drugstore, we need more people living down here or within the downtown ring.”

TEN-STEP PROGRAM

Ten steps to living downtown, according to a 1999 report from The Brookings Institute:

Housing must be downtown’s political and business priority: The city’s goal of investment-quality downtown residential neighborhoods, and the logical ripple effect of downtown reinvestment, must be clearly articulated.

Downtown must be legible: Comprehensive plans, common streetscape furniture or good signage can give a neighborhood definition and cohesion.

Downtown must be accessible: The better the access points—such as entrances and exits—into downtown, the higher the quality of the streetscape, the more effective and efficient the water/sewer services, the more attractive to prospective residents.

Downtown must have new and improved regional amenities: If regional amenities are located within or close to downtown, legions of newcomers in the will be exposed to the diversity of downtown’s choices.

Downtown must be clean and safe: The density of a downtown neighborhood means that downtown housing backers must pay more attention to safety and cleanliness than their suburban counterparts.

Downtown must preserve and reuse old buildings: The obsolescence of old Class C buildings forced vacancy up and market value down. These very buildings, however, have created the skeleton for affordable residential development in center cities.

Downtown regulations must be streamlines and support regional growth: Support for residential uses must be evident in a city’s land use regulations, especially where little market housing exists.

City resources should be devoted to housing: Leadership, good information for the private sector and financial resources must be leveraged in order to boost the production of downtown housing.

The edge of downtown should be surrounded by viable neighborhoods: Like empty buildings downtown, these next-to-downtown neighborhoods are substantive assets to a city’s downtown housing and revitalization strategies.

Downtown is never done: A city must not believe that its downtown revitalization momentum is inexhaustible when housing finally arrives.