Shreveport/Bossier City Development

[NCB]

Thanks for the photos and the info, Brian!

It's definately great to see Shreveport on that list!

[bigboyz05]

Yeah, that's great! I'm just wondering but, is the city's booming growth have anything to do with Mayor Keith Hightower or is the city just in the ight place at the right time?

[dimebag1980]

Yeah, that's great! I'm just wondering but, is the city's booming growth have anything to do with Mayor Keith Hightower or is the city just in the ight place at the right time?

Very little. He is responsible for the convention center and a few other things, but the boom began when Mayor Bo Williams was in office. And I think for Mr. Williams, it was being in the right place at the right time. However, Mayor Hightower's economic development leader, Alrena Acree, has done a lot to recruit new businesses to the area. Acree is now one of the cadidates to be Shreveport's next mayor, and if I could still vote in Shreveport, I'd vote for her.

[dimebag1980]

Hotel/motel revenues in Shreveport-Bossier are up 22.5% so far this year.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d.../604170330/1064

[NCB]

^That's great news!

Northwest Louisiana has become more of a Louisiana travel destination as a result of the increased retail shopping opportunities. The new convention center in Shreveport should also enhance the area as a travel destination. Increased airline service through Shreveport Regional Airport, which the local Airport Authority is constantly seeking, facilitates travel to this destination.

Have there been any plans or idea's for expanding the Shreveport Regional Airport that you know of? I'm just curious.

[dimebag1980]

^That's great news!

Have there been any plans or idea's for expanding the Shreveport Regional Airport that you know of? I'm just curious.

Actually it was just expanded a couple of years ago. A newer, larger terminal was built and the entire terminal/parking arrangement was redone. It's much nicer now and can accomodate more airlines. The most recent airline to be added is Allegiant Air, which offers nonstop service to Vegas. We also have nonstop to Detroit on Northwest and Cincinnati on ASA (not too familiar with this one.) I'd love to see Southwest come back, but with my wife's boss being the former head of the Shreveport Airport Authority, he mentioned we lost Southwest over our landing fees and fuel prices. Stupid, if you ask me. Losing business over inflated costs.

[bigboyz05]

Hotel/motel revenues in Shreveport-Bossier are up 22.5% so far this year.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d.../604170330/1064

Wow! That's good.

[NCB]

Stupid, if you ask me. Losing business over inflated costs.

Yea, I would definately have to agree with that.

[dimebag1980]

Here's a little information on the most recent expansion/renovation of the Shreveport Regional Airport. I said it was a couple of years ago, but it was actually in '98. I didn't remember it being that far back, but I suppose it was.

http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/DEPT/airpor...history.htm#new

On the TV series Thief, Shreveport Regional was used in place of the New Orleans Int'l and if someone didn't really know the difference they never would have realized it. I've flown out of both, so I knew immediately. Shreveport Regional has a very modern, all-glass look now.

[dimebag1980]

The old Dillard's building in Shreve City is being demolished to make way for the newest Wal-Mart Supercenter. Last time I was over there, they had knocked a hole in the side of the building, but now it's finally coming down.

The news of the Supercenter is making Shreve City buzz with activity once again and the store isn't even under construction yet. Older businesses are remodeling their stores to make them more appealing and I've even hear that more restaurants are looking into the area already.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d.../604190310/1064

[bigboyz05]

The old Dillard's building in Shreve City is being demolished to make way for the newest Wal-Mart Supercenter. Last time I was over there, they had knocked a hole in the side of the building, but now it's finally coming down.

The news of the Supercenter is making Shreve City buzz with activity once again and the store isn't even under construction yet. Older businesses are remodeling their stores to make them more appealing and I've even hear that more restaurants are looking into the area already.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d.../604190310/1064

That's very good! I wish Texarkana did more to keep business in the central city.

[dimebag1980]

On the subject of Wal-Mart, zoning for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in the small suburban town of Mansfield was approved yesterday. Residents mainly has concerns over traffic, but as this article mentions, having a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the town will keep those people from having to drive 30 minutes north to the south Shreveport Supercenters in the Bert Kouns/Youree area and the Mansfield Road area.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...00336/1002/NEWS

[dimebag1980]

Raising Canes' second Shreveport location is getting close to being open. I love this place, so I hope they continue to expand in this area. In my opinion, Bossier City is next... I'd love to see one in the new SuperTarget Airline Drive shopping center. Just got to remember to go across the street to the gym if I decide to eat there.

Baton Rouge's Todd Graves really has a good thing going with this chain.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d.../604200308/1064

[richyb83]

Yeah SBC, Cane's is some good eatin'...but that specialty sauce of theirs is pretty rich. I do not make a habit of eating there too much. But those fresh chicken strips are hard to beat.

Nobody,including Todd would have imagined this. It was just a college thing at first. I played baseball with him when we were kids.

[dimebag1980]

Yeah SBC, Cane's is some good eatin'...but that specialty sauce of theirs is pretty rich. I do not make a habit of eating there too much. But those fresh chicken strips are hard to beat.

Nobody,including Todd would have imagined this. It was just a college thing at first. I played baseball with him when we were kids.

Knowing college students love cheap food, and chicken fingers are pretty cheap, he has a great thing going there. I can imagine being him and starting out small, just trying your luck, and ending up with a chain that's expanding rapidly. This chain is very similar to Ruby Tuesday in two ways: (1) it was started as a college "experiment," and (2) it's expanding rapidly and is becoming highly successful. Kudos to Mr. Graves, and hey that's cool that you actually knew him as a child as well.

[bigboyz05]

On the subject of Wal-Mart, zoning for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in the small suburban town of Mansfield was approved yesterday. Residents mainly has concerns over traffic, but as this article mentions, having a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the town will keep those people from having to drive 30 minutes north to the south Shreveport Supercenters in the Bert Kouns/Youree area and the Mansfield Road area.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...00336/1002/NEWS

How big is Mansfield? Do you know if it's growing north as Shreveport is growing south? Also, I always wondered why so many small towns are against Wal-Mart. Is it because they think a large store like Wal-Mart would shut down some of the smaller stores?

[dimebag1980]

How big is Mansfield? Do you know if it's growing north as Shreveport is growing south? Also, I always wondered why so many small towns are against Wal-Mart. Is it because they think a large store like Wal-Mart would shut down some of the smaller stores?

Yes, Mansfield's growth is to the north. Developers in that area typically consider proximity to Shreveport when building things like subdivisions. But for Mansfield and Shreveport to officially touch, Shreveport will have to continue to push south to meet Mansfield, because Mansfield's growth is much slower than that of Shreveport. Right now, Mansfield sits about 25 miles south of Shreveport, but little areas south of Shreveport, which people still call "Shreveport," are pushing further south toward DeSoto Parish and the town of Mansfield.

And you have it right... small towns typically do fight Wal-Mart on the basis that it would hurt the mom-and-pop stores. And they're right, it does... but the town has got to grow and if the stores in the town won't expand, the big chains will come show them how it's done.

In Mansfield the problem is more with the location than anything. Wal-Mart is planning to plop this big store down on a 2-lane rural road. I'd venture to guess that, within 5 years, that will no longer be a 2-lane road or a rural road.

One thing really that's stifling Mansfield's growth, though, is that it's got a reputation of being "Shreveport south" because of its crime rate. For such a small town, it's got a very high crime rate. I don't think it's going to be too long before even that small town becomes a victim of sprawl, as the citizens get fed up with the crime and new gated subdivisions are built further out toward Shreveport.

[dimebag1980]

I thought this was pretty cool. I just checked my Word of the Day e-mail from Dictionary.com and today's word is provenance. That was cool, because Provenance is the name of a TND under construction in suburban south Shreveport.

According to my Word of the Day email:

provenance \PROV-uh-nuhn(t)s\, noun:

Origin; source.

In a world awash in information of dubious provenance, whom can you trust to tell you the truth?

[bigboyz05]

I heard about that. That's really cool.

[dimebag1980]

According to Urban Land Institute Advisory Services, the Shreveport-Bossier area should be rebranded as "Red River Communities," to show the area as one regional economic area instead of separate areas competing for economic developments.

While I agree with the basic concept of branding this region as one area, I always thought Shreveport-Bossier City did a good job of that. A hyphenated name typically brings to mind a unified area, in my opinion. To me, it shows more than one city working together toward common goals.

What about just the typical old "Metro Shreveport?" This covers everyone in the metro area, and at the same time it doesn't hurt Shreveport's image.

I hate to disagree with this panel of "experts," but I do. I believe calling the metro Shreveport area "Red River Communities" is extremely degrading and counteracts all the years that this area has spent trying to build its image as an urban area. The suggested name, Red River Communities, makes it sound like a rural area with no image whatsoever. I don't even like to consider Shreveport a "community," because the word community, to me, conjures up images of small-town America and that's just not the image a combined urban area of 260,000 should be trying to achieve.

For the record, the only thing I don't like about their idea is the name. Aside from that, I love their approach of trying to market the area as a series of "urban villages." I just simply don't believe the name "Red River Communities" will achieve that. If anything, I feel it may do the opposite.

Here's the article from Today's Shreveport Times...

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d.../604290363/1002

And here's the actual plan in PDF format...

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/assets/pdf/D926669428.PDF

Edited April 29, 2006 by SBCmetroguy

[dimebag1980]

Here is an editorial in today's Shreveport Times about Project SB and Red River Communities.

Again, I agree with the concept and most of the ideas, but I just don't like the name they came up with. It's just far too smalltownish for me to accept it.

Shrevetropolis would work better. Just kidding, but I believe the old Metro Shreveport serves the purpose quite well and sounds much more urban.

The Times' Editorial

[richyb83]

I see what you mean Brian about the "term" Red River communities when refering to your area . They say bec. the regional image is weak ? That name will not help.

But the plan itself looks great ! I really like the proposed Pedestrian Bridge linking the Boardwalk to the Red River District.

We all must battle the "Wal Mart effect" !

[dimebag1980]

If only Shreveport hadn't destroyed the Washington and Captain Shreve (Youree) Hotels.....I went to architecture school with a girl who boasted of having the marble from the lobby of the Washington Hotel in her bathrooms.....

I know this is a really old post, dating back to December, but here is a photo I found which is relevant to the subject.

The Washington-Youree Hotel complex:

I absolutely loathe the person who made the decision to level this place.

Edited May 2, 2006 by SBCmetroguy

[byrde]

That would make a really nice hotel today.

[dimebag1980]

That would make a really nice hotel today.

Wouldn't it though? Man, it was a huge loss.

If only the city were to build decorative parking decks where the current surface lots sit... it would at least be a bit more attractive.