A draft strategic plan presented to the Downtown Development District Commission today proposes two options for expanding the district. Option 1 picks up most of its new area to the north and east, including land east of Spanish Town that’s ripe for residential and office development, as well as an industrial park off Choctaw Drive, which DDD Director Davis Rhorer says could be an employment center for the inner city. Option 2 expands south along the Nicholson Drive corridor between LSU and downtown, which planners say can support a great deal of new housing. The DDD currently imposes a 10 mill property tax, and any expansion would require legislative and voter approval. Desired economic incentives include “synthetic TIFs,” which can provide bondholders with additional security backed by a portion of a city’s general fund, and forgivable loans for retail businesses hurt by the recession. The commission takes up the proposal next month. More information is available at here.
Also mentioned at today’s DDD meeting:
— A Halloween parade will run Oct. 29 downtown at 2 p.m. More information is at 1031consortium.com.
— Aztecas Mexican Cuisine will be opening in the next several months at Lafayette and Main streets. Butler/Snow, a law firm based in Jackson, Miss., and MJ Networking, an IT consulting business, also have moved into downtown.
—The 13th Gate haunted house opens Sept. 22. —David Jacobs
