Public input meeting set on master plan for BR Health District

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is asking the public for its input on the master plan for a Heath District in south Baton Rouge, and it has set a meeting later this month to begin collecting ideas. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Perkins Road Community Park. Officials are hoping to turn the congested medical corridor bordered by Essen Lane, Bluebonnet Boulevard, Perkins Road and Interstate 10 into a Health District that can support the overall wellness of people across the Capital Region. FuturEBR, the city-parish’s master plan, identifies the corridor as an essential growth area in need of a master plan. The FuturEBR Implementation Team has asked BRAF to oversee a master plan for the area, and it has in turn hired a planning team led by Perkins+Will to create a blueprint for organizing a Health District. More than $500 million in new medical facilities are expected in this unofficial medical corridor in the next decade, BRAF says. “Ideas and feedback from residents will help us sharpen the working draft, particularly the transportation and land use plan that will target traffic bottlenecks and guide the creation of a unique, and great space,” says BRAF Executive President John Spain in a prepared statement. Learn more about the Health District and RSVP for the public input meeting. —Steve Sanoski