Residential development, Airbnb rentals and safety are among the key issues three new Downtown Development District board appointees hope to tackle once they join the district next month.
Though new to the seven-member DDD, the three—scheduled to be approved by the Metro Council at its Wednesday meeting—are familiar faces to many in Baton Rouge: Prescott Bailey, area president and real estate developer at Southern Lifestyle Development; Madeline Devenney-Brown, a Spanish Town resident who’s also a frontline fundraiser for the LSU Foundation; and Jude Melville, CEO of Business First Bank.
“I’d love to push anything we can to get more residential projects downtown, in addition to the ones we already have,” says Bailey, who will replace Gordon LeBlanc, Jr. “If we can get developers to see the success of other projects, like 525 Lafayette, the Commerce building and the Heron Downtown, it’ll continue feeding that snowball we need to roll down the hill.”
As the Historic Spanish Town Civic Association nominee, Devenney-Brown says she plans to prioritize the neighborhood’s focus on Airbnb rentals, noting the association supports “an unlimited amount of owner-occupied, short-term rentals” where the property owner lives in the residence. She’s also interested in exploring ways to make different parts of downtown more child-friendly.
“We’re looking at opportunities to incorporate more family life downtown, so we can keep appealing to younger families,” says Devenney-Brown, who is replacing Cheryl McCormick. “There’s still room to grow.”
Meanwhile, Melville says it’s important to keep up the momentum he’s seen in recent years. Since moving Business First Bank downtown three years ago, he’s noticed the Comprehensive Master Plan come to fruition and says he’s excited to become part of overseeing its execution.
“I’m all for experimenting with more modern and millennial forms of attraction,” says Melville, who is replacing Ric Kearney. “If downtown is going to achieve its optimal level, stability and security are also important.”
DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer says he looks forward to working with the new appointees, all of whom are “young and actively invested in downtown.”
In addition to continued execution of the master plan and projects already in the works—like the Downtown Greenway and a sculpture commissioned by the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge—the DDD plans to take on more hot-button issues that pop up, says Rhorer, such as recent instances of aggressive panhandling and a national trend of downtown communities revamping its convention centers.
All three individuals will officially join the DDD board at the district’s October meeting, says Rhorer. Mayor Sharon Weston Broome is also expected to soon appoint a new member to replace Fran Gladden.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct a quote attributed to Prescott Bailey, which incorrectly listed the buildings he mentioned. Daily Report regrets the error.
