Mayor Kip Holden, Baton Rouge Area Foundation Executive Vice President John Spain and and the leaders of area hospitals on Thursday unveiled a 158-page master plan for the planned Baton Rouge Health District.
The ambitious plan for the district includes a new LSU medical school, as well as new streets to address traffic congestion and a center dedicated to treating obesity and diabetes.
Holden says $23 million has been secured, primarily in local dollars and with help from the state, for an extension of Dijon Drive as part of the plan. Design work has begun, and construction bids are expected to go out next year. But beyond that, funding has not been identified for health district projects. Spain says it is possible that the medical district also will be made a taxing district to provide a funding stream.
FuturEBR, the parish comprehensive plan approved unanimously by the Metro Council in 2011, calls for a medical district that promotes collaboration among the health care providers and researchers on Essen Lane, Bluebonnet Boulevard and Perkins Road. The FuturEBR implementation team asked BRAF to take the lead on the health district project. The foundation held public input meetings and spent $700,000 hiring consultants to develop the plan.
Also this week, BRAF President and CEO John Davies told the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will push for full funding of Baton Rouge’s proposed Nicholson Drive streetcar project in the 2016-17 federal budget. Davies was among a number of city and civic leaders who met with Foxx last month when the secretary visited the city to deliver the keynote address at the Center for Planning Excellence’s Smart Growth Summit.
The city-parish must first submit a detailed proposal to the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration, which will evaluate the proposal and grade it. Provided the proposal receives high enough marks, however, Foxx will recommend it for inclusion in 2016-17 budget, city-parish Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel says.
In restaurant news this week, Dave Remmetter announced he has put his popular Perkins Road overpass area eatery and live music venue Chelsea’s Cafe on the market due to problems dealing with his landlord. Remmetter says he is negotiating with a potential buyer, but if the deal falls through he will close Chelsea’s at the end of the year.
Here’s a rundown of some of the other top stories making headlines in Daily Report this week:
- Half of the 12 Metro Council members are asking Baton Rouge City Court officials to hold night or Saturday hours once a month to give people who cannot go to court during normal business hours an opportunity to pay their fines. The request comes after about 1,500 people showed up for an outstanding misdemeanor warrant amnesty day on Saturday, overwhelming a staff of officials that were only able to address about 250 cases. Judicial Administrator and Clerk of Court Lynn Maloy says officials would have been able to process more cases if they had an updated case management system for which they’ve requested funding.
- The owner of a Baton Rouge IT firm has struck a deal to purchase Thinkstream—a law enforcement software firm headed for the auction block in federal bankruptcy court—provided it is the highest bidder.
- After months of often-contentious negotiations, the Capital Area Transit System and the union that represents some 200 system employees have reached an agreement on a new two-year contract.
- In an attempt to speed up the permitting process in Baton Rouge, the Department of Development is finalizing a contract to farm out building plan reviews to a third-party firm. Interim Director of Development Carey Chauvin says the contract should be signed later this month or in early January.
- BREC officials are exploring the possibility of developing a 400-meter public track in conjunction with a badly needed renovation of Olympia Stadium at the Perkins Road Community Park. As envisioned, the regulation-length track would ring the interior of the stadium, which would get a facelift.
- Nearly three years after acquiring the Richoux Building at the intersection of Florida and Third streets downtown, businessman Mike Crouch has completed a $1.6 million renovation of the historic property to create 4,300 square feet of office space.
- CC’s Coffee House will be moving out of its downtown location at 327 North Blvd. next week after exercising the opt-out clause in its lease.
- Artist and art patron Mark Biletnikoff is opening a new 1,200-square-foot gallery at his art education complex, N the Art Space, in the Settlement at Bocage on Jefferson Highway. Biletnikoff’s Gallery will open on March 19.
- Spring Valley, New York-based Capital Realty Group purchased the Alexander-Harvey Homes complex at 5222 Hollywood St. in north Baton Rouge for $9.55 million.
—Steve Sanoski
