Since 2010, $1.27 billion has flowed into downtown Baton Rouge, according to a report presented during Thursday’s Downtown Development District Commission meeting. And the lion’s share of the investment—73%—is via private dollars.
DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer says the high share of private investment indicates stability downtown.
“The most important thing is to see that downtown is growing. It’s getting stronger and stronger from a lot of different fronts,” Rhorer says.
The data-heavy report, called the Downtown Baton Rouge Toolkit, chronicles the economic redevelopment of downtown Baton Rouge and how it has transformed from an area stifled by sprawl to one of the most desirable places to live in the city.
The document also details investments that have taken place there since DDD’s creation in 1987.
Total investment in the area tops $2.12 billion since the DDD was created, the document says. Since DDD’s creation nearly 30 years ago, private investment dollars account for 63%, or $1.34 billion, of total investment in the area. Public investment totals $786 million since that time.
Often it takes public dollars to spur additional private economic development activities, Rhorer says. One of the outcomes of downtown’s economic growth is a steady increase in commercial and residential property values, the report says.
“Demand for office space and residential real estate has increased recent sale prices, as investors respond to the growing attractiveness of downtown,” the report says.
Within the DDD’s boundaries, assessed real property was valued at approximately $98.3 million in 2014, up from about $65.1 million in 2009. Appraised real property, meanwhile, valued roughly $747.1 million in 2014, up from about $521.4 million in 2009.
The area has also seen an uptick in construction and commercial activity.
“Demand for downtown living is on the upswing and the private sector is responding with 319 units currently under construction or in planning,” according to the report, which notes residential investment alone has totaled $34.2 million since 2010.
While the report shows public funds have helped finance many of the projects already completed in downtown since 1987—about $638.5 million, compared to $566.5 million in projects by private investors—the projects under construction or in the planning stage now are primarily being paid for with monies from the private sector. A total of $776.2 million in private funds are financing projects in development, as opposed to $147.9 million in public dollars for projects underway.
Major completed projects include: Belle of Baton Rouge Parking Garage/Expansion, II City Plaza, 525 Lafayette, the River Center Expansion, North Boulevard Town Square, Hotel Indigo, 440 on Third and the Shaw Center of Arts among others. Meanwhile, projects such as the Downtown Greenway, River Center Library, and the Water Campus are either under construction or being planned.
The DDD plans to release the full report online next week.
—Alexandria Burris
