Project to create South Baton Rouge Medical District beginning soon

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is close to hiring a consultant team that would help East Baton Rouge Parish create a South Baton Rouge Medical District. As first laid out in broad strokes in FuturEBR, the city-parish master plan, officials hope to leverage the Bluebonnet/Perkins/Essen medical corridor as an economic driver and an important part of the city’s brand. A consultant would create a plan for “attracting and retaining top-tier healthcare professionals, providing a dynamic community in which all may live and work, expanding and improving transit options serving the area, and coordinating diverse stakeholders around a shared vision of growth and economic development,” according to the request for proposals. While each health care institution has its own internal plans and structure, the RFP says, they could benefit from a governance mechanism that identifies opportunities to collaborate and access tax incentives. Three finalists were interviewed last week, and representatives of the top choice will fly in Monday for a follow-up discussion, says John Spain, BRAF’s executive vice president. He declined to identify the firms. Spain says two finalists “blew us away,” meaning another strong option is available if a deal can’t be reached with the first choice. The plan is to be delivered after 12 to 15 months at a cost of $700,000, the RFP says. —David Jacobs