What was declared to be the “final frontier” by Business Report nearly a decade ago has been filling up as housing developments enter their second and third phases but it’s still one of the few remaining areas with ample space for new housing and community growth.
In 2011, the southernmost portion of East Baton Rouge Parish, locked between River Road, Nicholson Drive, and South Bluebonnet Boulevard, had just opened up as newly completed road projects, including the Staring Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard extensions, allowed better access for development.
It was predicted when L’Auberge Casino and Hotel Baton Rouge opened seven years ago, that commercial development surrounding the casino would follow. But, while neighborhoods have gone up and there are hundreds of homes, there are still 2 miles of space between the casino and any commercial properties. The closest gas station is on Burbank Drive, down Gardere Lane.
However, developer Mike Wampold says it’s not the final frontier, it’s the “current frontier,” as he prepares to enter the second phase of building at Harveston, a traditional neighborhood development he’s been working on with partner John Fetzer since 2012.
Part of the delay in getting commercial projects going was the need for more houses to pull in commercial developers, and Wampold feels the area has now reached that threshold.
Wampold is seeking to create an economic development district at Harveston, which would help finance the development of the retail, commercial and multifamily units, as well as a K-12 charter school, church, health and wellness facilities and a sheriff’s substation.
The Metro Council is scheduled to vote this afternoon on the creation of the district, which would, through tax incremental financing (TIF), use 2% of any new sales taxes generated within the district to help cover the cost of the new development.
The new district would not include the hundreds of residential units that have been developed at Harveston since 2013, but would encompass a sprawling undeveloped tract across Bluebonnet Boulevard from the residential section. The development is located within the borders of the prospective city of St. George.
Wampold says the tax break is necessary because his plans for Harveston call not just for developing new retail space, including a supermarket, but for developing infrastructure and services that do not generate revenue yet but would benefit the entire community.
Read the full feature about Baton Rouge’s “last frontier” from the Dec. 3 edition of Business Report, and a Daily Report story about Wampold’s tax district here. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com
