A 30,000-square-foot mixed-use building to be occupied by the YWCA and Build Baton Rouge is among the plans unveiled Tuesday morning as part of the Plank Road master plan.
The $8.5 million facility will be located along Plank Road, at Calumet Street, and feature commercial tenants on the ground floor and residential units above. Eight thousand square feet will be occupied by a YWCA early childhood center.
Build Baton Rouge CEO Chris Tyson says the organization will move its offices into the development and that it is working to raise funds for the project.
“Plank Road gives us a window into the past and the future to rebuild the density that great neighborhoods have,” he says.
Another property, at the corner of Plank and Duke Street, near Choctaw Road, is planned for redevelopment in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul, converting the site into a mixed-use facility with retail and commercial tenants, along with emergency housing.
“We want to ensure services like emergency housing can stay in the corridor and be part of the revitalization process,” Tyson says.
Other described “catalyst” projects being considered:
• Community land trust to maintain and protect affordable housing in the corridor.
• An EcoPark, developed in partnership with ExxonMobil, LSU’s landscape architecture students and Southern’s Urban Forestry Program.
• The Plank Road Food Hub, planned near Mohican Street, will be a mixed-use site with grocery, pharmacy, residential units and space for other food-related tenants.
• A 22,000-square-foot civic center.
An important piece of the master plan is the Bus Rapid Transit route planned to run along the corridor. Engineering on the project is expected to start next year, with construction planned for the third quarter of 2021 and operations planned to start in 2023.
There’s also a slew of new programs and policies proposed to help reinvigorate the corridor, including a public art plan, expanded access to broadband internet, a business alliance and incentivizing installation of green infrastructure.
Tyson doesn’t have an estimate on how much the total plan is worth, but says the plan is achievable in the next five years and will be financed through a combination of federal dollars, new market tax credits and opportunity zone investments.
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome said Tuesday morning that she remembers her father walking along Plank Road when she was a child and that it will take the realignment of resources and real action to reinvigorate the corridor.
“Everyone deserves to live in a safe and prosperous community,” Broome says. “The neglect must be addressed and investments must be made.”
