Business and government leaders on a tour of downtown Baton Rouge today saw firsthand how the eastern and northern parts of the area have struggled to keep up with the pace of investment closer to the Mississippi River.
But there are signs that the neighborhoods east of the interstate are beginning to attract some development.
Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District, pointed to Electric Depot, a planned mixed-use development at the old Entergy site on Government Street, as one example.
Developers for the site have an ambitious plan for a boutique entertainment venue, healthy living center and microbrewery, along with possible housing and a link to the planned commuter train from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
While the site is just outside of the DDD boundaries, Rhorer says it signals an emerging trickle of investment into Mid City and Downtown East as developers begin to run out of room in the more crowded areas surrounding City Hall.
Rhorer also points to Forte & Tablada, an engineering firm, plans for a new 30,000-square-foot headquarters at 1029 North Blvd., right next to the interstate in downtown east.
But there is still work to be done to seamlessly integrate downtown to Downtown East, Rhorer adds. One initiative, called Louisiana Connector, would connect the downtown greenway, a pedestrian walkway, with the proposed Government Street bicycle lanes and sidewalks.
Still, the northern part of downtown is facing challenges of its own when it comes to attracting investment. After tasting cheese sausages at Manda Fine Meats’ location at 2445 Sorrel Ave., those on this morning’s tour heard from plant manager Ronny Webb, who asked for help in developing the area.
“This is supposed to be the downtown improvement area,” Webb said. “As you can see, we need some improvement.”
Manda’s plant straddles the industrial corridor north of Choctaw Drive that includes plants like Honeywell and ExxonMobil. Many of the buildings nearby are vacant.
Rhorer pointed to several recent and ongoing developments in both east and north downtown, including affordable housing projects like the 100-unit Elysian II, as well as potential sites like Memorial Stadium.
Read a recent Business Report feature on some of the investments being made in Downtown East.
—Sam Karlin
