Over his 12 years in office, term-limited Mayor Kip Holden has been a steadfast supporter of downtown Baton Rouge and the area’s comeback during his time in office will likely be among his greatest legacies.
But as he stood in one of the downtown hotels built early in his tenure, Holden this morning told the Downtown Development District the work to revitalize the area is far from over.
At this morning’s meeting, held at the Hilton Capitol Center, the DDD recognized Holden for his dedication to downtown and as a champion of the group’s work.
“He has been a supporter and a steward of downtown development,” said DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer, who ticked off a long list of projects the mayor has supported. “The mayor’s leadership has catalyzed the renewed development.”
Rhorer played a video that recapped events, projects and disaster recoveries Holden has overseen since he took office in 2005. Holden was shown in pictures with former President George W. Bush following Hurricane Katrina, and at ribbon cuttings and groundbreaking events for new projects like the downtown library and a slew of hotels, among other developments.
Holden recalled sitting on the scaffolding of the Hilton Capitol Center when it was under construction, drinking a beer as he began his foray into the remake of a downtown that had for years been neglected by investors and developers.
“We were here with a sleeping giant,” Holden said. “Don’t drop the baton on this. The race is not won. We can never get to the point where we have personal satisfaction when we know we have so many things we have to do downtown.”
Holden now hands off the reins of downtown development to Mayor-elect Sharon Weston Broome, who won the runoff election to become the city-parish’s first African-American female mayor. She will oversee a host of projects currently in the works, including ZipCar, a car-sharing service that already operates on the LSU campus and is hosting a ceremony Wednesday at North Boulevard Town Square to mark its expansion into downtown.
—Sam Karlin
