Urban planners, city leaders and officials with the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority will gather next week at a design charette to discuss ideas for the redevelopment of 140 acres of low-income property between downtown and Mid City. The 6-acre site at 1509 Government St.—the long-abandoned former Entergy headquarters—is the catalyst for the ambitious undertaking.
The RDA acquired the site last year and has hired Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co. to come up with a plan to redevelop the property into a mixed-use development on the 6-acre site that will spawn additional retail and residential projects in the broader, 140-acre area bordered by the Interstate, North Boulevard, 19th and Government streets.
“For the past several months, the consultants have been working on a pre-development plan, which is vastly different than a master plan,” says Susannah Bing, RDA director of finance and economic development. “Now they are looking at the hard logistics of the site. What sort of connections can work? What sort of sewer capacity is there? Is there water capacity? What are the conditions of the houses in the area? Are there houses that need to be condemned? They’ll be looking at all those things during their tours and meetings.”
Among the highlights of the charette will be opening and closing presentations, both of which are open to the public. The presentations will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, and Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, 100 S. River Road. A final predevelopment plan for the area is due to be presented to the RDA in February. —Stephanie Riegel
