DDD talks expanded borders and TIFs

A committee of the Downtown Development District today discussed the possibility of expanding the district’s borders and creating a tax increment financing district to aid development throughout the DDD. Both moves would require legal changes and are purely at the discussion stage. Expanding the scope of what the city considers downtown was a recommendation of Plan Baton Rouge Phase Two. The current official downtown, which is bordered by Interstate 10, Interstate 110, the Mississippi River and Hollywood Casino, is tiny and has few residents compared to peer cities. One possibility is expanding the district’s legal boundaries south to Terrace Avenue, north to Choctaw Drive and east to 19th Street and, north of I-110, over to Scenic Highway to include Pete Goldsby Field. The DDD is funded by property taxes, so support from property owners would be necessary. Board member Van Mayhall says a vibrant downtown should include cultural assets, businesses including retail, residents, a commercial/warehouse district, and a sport complex, and he says those criteria should drive the discussion. A TIF that allowed for sales taxes to be diverted into the cost of a project would help to offset the high cost of development downtown, commissioners say. Business owners outside the district, as well as downtown property owners that already have TIFs attached to their properties, might oppose the move. The draft vision of FuturEBR, likely the next parish master plan, suggests creating tax increment community development districts that would include core areas and surrounding neighborhoods. —David Jacobs