Baton Rouge Growth and Development

[greg225]

North Baton Rouge need to be redeveloped and diversified. You will have neighborhoods that's just one race, but you also want to that have multiple races. 60 percent of North Baton Rouge need to be redeveloped and 40 percent  gentrification. 

[Mr. Burnham]

North Baton Rouge need to be redeveloped and diversified. You will have neighborhoods that's just one race, but you also want to that have multiple races. 60 percent of North Baton Rouge need to be redeveloped and 40 percent  gentrification. 

Gentrification and redevelopment are the same thing. You have to understand that once the wrecking ball and architects get their hands on the area property prices will rise and force people living in the surrounding areas out. 

 

The redevelopment North Baton Rouge needs is not something that happens without consequences; we are talking massive shifts in demographics and the near removal of most people from those areas. The only way NBR could change without that happening would be for the people there to change their own community and as far as we can see that's not happening. 

 

We understand the problems that area faces, but again, EBR does not have some magic wand that can fix anything. And as they say, "Be careful what you wish for."

[greg225]

Gentrification and redevelopment are the same thing. You have to understand that once the wrecking ball and architects get their hands on the area property prices will rise and force people living in the surrounding areas out. 

 

The redevelopment North Baton Rouge needs is not something that happens without consequences; we are talking massive shifts in demographics and the near removal of most people from those areas. The only way NBR could change without that happening would be for the people there to change their own community and as far as we can see that's not happening. 

 

We understand the problems that area faces, but again, EBR does not have some magic wand that can fix anything. And as they say, "Be careful what you wish for."

Its different I look it  

[greg225]

Gentrification is the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by wealthier individuals, which in effect improves property values but also can displace low-income families and small businesses. Urban renewal is a program of landredevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures

[Mr. Burnham]

Gentrification is the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by wealthier individuals, which in effect improves property values but also can displace low-income families and small businesses. Urban renewal is a program of landredevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures

Same thing, different words. Urban Renewal doesn't happen without investors and the same can be said with Gentrification. Urban Renewal is a word people use to cover up what they are really doing, and that is gentrification. Look at NYC, Boston, SF, LA, Houston, etc. and their 'urban renewal' projects, they all resulted in property values going up and low-income families and small businesses being displaced. I'm not going to fight with you on the nitty-gritty details of the two words when both are synonyms for the other. 

 

In North Baton Rouge, the renewal it would need for it to be long lasting would be gentrification in every sense. We may call it 'Urban Renewal' to make ourselves feel better, but it would really be gentrification.

[greg225]

East Baton Rouge government hope blight court will help fix problem properties                                                                                                                                                          For more than a year, Victor Crain’s home has been an eyesore for his neighbors on May Belle Court — an otherwise well-kept neighborhood street where almost all of the yards feature manicured flower beds and freshly mowed lawns.

 

But Crain’s property was flooded with garbage bags and debris. His backyard was so overloaded with junk that he put up white tarps to block the neighbors’ views. That’s in violation of city-parish blight ordinances that prohibit junk from being stored in any front yard, backyard or even an exposed carport.

He’s received several warnings from the city-parish government to clean up his property. And on Thursday, an administrative judge said he was giving Crain his last chance.

“This is your property and you’re responsible for the condition of it,” said administrative hearing Judge Curtis Calloway. “This is the last extension I’m going to give you.”

Crain said after the hearing that he’d been busy taking care of a sick family member, which had stalled the cleanup process. He told the judge he would clean up his messy yard within the 30-day window.

By Friday morning, some progress had been made. A pile of trash, including some broken furniture from Crain’s home, was sitting on the side of the road waiting to be picked up by garbage trucks.

For years, the East Baton Rouge city-parish government has struggled with ways to deal with pervasive blight issues. Problem properties crop up across the parish but particularly plague neighborhoods in north Baton Rouge.

Metro Council members representing the inner city say blight is one of their highest priorities and top constituent complaints. And now, city-parish officials think they finally have started to chip away at the problem by unrolling the new and improved blight court, with stronger teeth for enforcement and a staff of employees who are ready to be deployed to clean up messes when property owners refuse.

Council members are hopeful about the concept but not quite sold, saying they aren’t seeing progress on the ground as quickly as they would like.

Blight, as defined by the city-parish, typically means piles of junk and garbage on properties, including the stashing of broken-down cars. An overgrown property, with grass or vegetation more than 12 inches tall, is considered blighted. And so is a home with a pool that isn’t enclosed by a fence, or if the pool water is so dirty that you can’t see to the bottom. Portable signs and banners and leaving garbage cans by the street can also be considered blight violations.

Justin Dupuy, who is heading the blight elimination efforts for the city-parish, said he gets about 300 complaints a month. From September 2014 to April 2015, there were 1,604 complaints received about blight — of which 1,387 were determined to be credible violations.

Metro Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards said she’s pleased by the concept of blight court but feels it’s operating too slowly.

She noted that the court, which meets twice a month to issue judgments for violations, takes up about 30 properties at a time.

“That’s maybe two or three cases per council district,” she said. “I can go through my district at any given time and find 200 code violations. This is only scratching the surface of the problem.”

She said she’d like to see revised ordinances that allow for quicker turnaround times on properties or additional staff to more quickly eliminate the backlog of properties that will require cleanup crews.

“Nobody wants to live next door to overgrown grass or vacant houses that aren’t boarded properly,” Edwards said. “That ends up being a safety issue for those houses next door.”

Of the 1,387 confirmed violations from the past six months, blight court had only taken up about 200 of the cases as of April. Calloway issued 130 judgments fining property owners $125 for the violation and another $100 for court costs.

Another 226 property owners cleaned up the problem when they received their first notice. Those people would not be required to come to court or pay a fine.

Previously, the city-parish compelled property owners to clean up blight by putting a lien on their properties — a relative slap on the wrist for many delinquent property owners.

But in recent months, the department has initiated a variety of changes. Moving forward, the cost of blight violation fees, court costs and the cost the city-parish incurs if it has to go clean up someone’s property for them will be put on the property tax bill collected at the end of every year.

“We’re really just now starting to swing into action,” Dupuy said.

Since September, when the revamped department had its soft launch, the court has issued almost $30,000 in fines and court costs alone. Less than 10 percent, or $2,475, of those fees have been paid.

But the hope is that the agency will be flushed with  be flushed with money in January when people pay their tax bills.

Still, it’s possible that many of the people who own the negligent properties, many of which are vacant, could also bail on paying their property tax bills, Dupuy said.

Starting last past week, Dupuy said, crews have taken to neighborhoods to begin clearing delinquent properties. Right now, there’s a backlog of about 150 properties that need to be cleaned, because the owners have refused.

Many of the properties are vacant lots that have garbage piled up and overgrown grass. Once a judgment is issued, the city-parish has the legal authority to go onto the private property for the purpose of putting it in compliance.

That means frustrated neighbors should begin seeing significant progress in the coming weeks. But Dupuy said he expects the number of violations and the work load to triple in the next few weeks as vegetation grows more quickly in the summer months.

Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle also said she thought the city-parish was moving too slowly in its response to blight.

“We have got to come up with more innovative ways to address it, because we just don’t have the manpower,” Marcelle said. “The volume is just too large; they’d have to hire triple the staff that they have.”

Residents with blight complaints should call 311.    http://theadvocate.com/news/12443148-123/east-baton-rouge-government-hope                                                                                                   

[greg225]

Kentucky Developer To Build 8-Building Apartment Complex In Baton Rouge

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Developers plan to bring another apartment community to Baton Rouge. LDG Development, a Louisville, Ky.-based company, intends to build the new complex at the intersection of Airline Highway and Evangeline Street, in the city’s north side.

The project is called Port Royal Apartments. According to documents from the Louisiana Housing Corp., the state’s affordable housing agency, its total development cost will be about $26.5 million. Plans call for the construction of an eight-building complex, with 216,672 square feet of space and a total of 192 units. There will be 96 two-bedroom units and 96 three-bedroom units. The Advocatereports that rents at Port Royal will range between $800 for a two-bedroom, two-bath unit to $925 for a three-bedroom, two-bath apartment.

The newspaper also said that the city parish Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on a site plan at its June 15 meeting. If the project receives all the necessary approvals, the developers could break ground on the development this fall, and Port Royal could open in the spring of 2017.

Port Royal will be LDG’s third multifamily development in Baton Rouge. The Kentucky-based developer also built The Woodcrest and Mallard Crossing. It has three other properties in Louisiana, two in New Orleans and one in Lafayette.    http://www.cpexecutive.com/cities/baton-rouge/kentucky-developer-to-build-8-building-apartment-complex-in-baton-rouge/1004120196.html

[greg225]

I hope this development is more about redevelopment in north Baton Rouge.

[dan326]

Well, I wouldn't put that much good faith in them but it's definitely a good thing for the area. And it'll help compensate the population loss.

 

I don't know if the other two developments where ever posted but Mallard Crossing is by the Greenwell Springs library and The Woodcrest is on Lobdell behind the tower.

 

EDIT: I just looked up the location, I don't know if the Cajun Tea Party will be too happy to have the development by them, .

Edited May 28, 2015 by dan326

[dan326]

Does anyone have any information on the old white house that was at the Jefferson end of Stumberg Lane? Unfortunately, it seems it was razed.

[greg225]

Vision for new Baton Rouge Zoo would require at least $110M, study says                                                                                                             With about 100 employees, 250,000 visitors a year and a roughly $5.5 million operating budget, the Baton Rouge Zoo currently has an annual economic impact of $17.67 million on the local economy, according to a new feasibility study.

But the study, prepared by Philadelphia-based Schultz & Williams, also lays out an ambitious vision for a new zoo that could attract over 375,000 visitors each year, generate over $10 million annually from its operating programs and have a $24 million economic impact.

The feasibility study was commissioned by the Friends of the Baton Rouge Zoo late last year. It was presented to the BREC Board of Commissioners, which oversees zoo operations, at its most recent meeting.

As 225 recently reported in a feature on the future of the zoo, the study was commissioned to compliment BREC’s recently completed Imagine Your Parks II 10-year strategic plan. It marks the first time the zoo has directed its own study of this scope, and comes at a time when BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight and zoo Director Phil Frost are looking to dramatically revamp the zoo and bring it up to date.

“It is time to move the zoo in a new direction,” McKnight tells 225.

“The Vision for the New Baton Rouge Zoo,” a component of the feasibility study, outlines that new direction. The vision is ambitious, to say the least. It calls for a more interactive zoo experience that appeals to attendees of all ages. Possible components of the new zoo include ziplines, adventure courses and a sky lift to provide a “bird’s eye view of the animals,” as well as splash pads, water rides and a carousel. New dining and shopping options are included, too.

Also envisioned is a wider offering of animal experiences at the zoo, with themed exhibits and experiences such as “Elephant Oasis,” “Giraffe Encounters,” “An Asian Escape—Tigers, Primates, Antelope & Birds,” “The South American Cloud Forest Adventure,” “Wild Louisiana—Atchafalaya Basin” and a “Walk-Through Free-Flight Aviary Experience.”

To bring this vision of a new zoo to reality, the study estimates it will cost $110 million, and suggests a public-private partnership is the most realistic way to raise the money. The zoo is striving to raise $25 million in private support to get the ball rolling.

Schultz & Williams conducted dozens of interviews with local stakeholders as part of the feasibility study. While 50% of them said securing $110 million through multiple financing sources is achievable, another 31% said maybe and 19% said it’s unlikely.

“The main concern of interviewees was about the competition for funding in light of many critical needs in Baton Rouge such as education and health care,” the study says.

Schultz & Williams recommends zoo officials next form a steering committee of about five to eight “highly visible, highly respected leaders in the community that have a history of engaging others with major community projects” to begin engaging the community and spreading the word of the plan for a new zoo. The zoo also should commission an architectural and planning firm to develop a more detailed facility concept plan.

“This feasibility study shows a willingness to support the vision for a transformation of the Baton Rouge Zoo and the visitor experience,” the study concludes. “We believe it is important to recognize that this study should be seen as the start of a conversation with the community.”

See the complete feasibility study on the Baton Rouge Zoo.

—Steve Sanoski       https://www.businessreport.com/article/vision-new-baton-rouge-zoo-require-least-110m-study-says

[dan326]

^ Sounds good! The Asian exhibit and renovated bathrooms where a nice start, but more work is definitely needed.

[greg225]

Four Baton Rouge hotels will be sold in $351.4 million deal                                                                                                                                     Summit Hotel Properties is selling four of its Baton Rouge hotels along with 22 others nationwide in a $351.4 million deal with American Realty Capital Hospitality Trust Inc.

The DoubleTree, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Springhill Suites and TownePlace Suites are among the 26 premium, extended-stay and full-service hotels in 11 states included in the sale. The estimated sale date for the Baton Rouge properties is Sept. 15.

The DoubleTree Hotel, 4964 Constitution Ave., is the largest of the four, with 127 rooms. TownePlace Suites, 8735 Summa Ave., offers 90 rooms. The Fairfield Inn & Suites, 7959 Essen Park Ave., and Springhill Suites, 7979 Essen Park Ave., each have 78 rooms. DoubleTree is a Hilton Hotels & Resorts franchise; the remaining three, Marriott International franchises.

ARC Hospitality’s deal with Summit makes it one of the largest owners of select-service hotels by enterprise value in the North American lodging REIT sector. The company last week acquired five other hotels totaling 565 rooms for $92.5 million from affiliates of the Wheelock Real Estate Fund. The combined deals increase its lodging portfolio to 153 hotels totaling 18,280 rooms across 33 states.

The trailing 12-month RevPAR, or revenue per available room, among the 26 properties in the deal with Summit was $81.30, according to Summit. That’s 19.7% below the pro forma RevPAR for Summit’s remaining hotels, which stood at $101.26 as of March 31, 2015.

“This proposed transaction will enable us to continue to improve our asset mix and upgrade our portfolio with additional accretive acquisitions with strong growth profiles and diverse demand generators,” Summit President and CEO Dan Hansen said in the announcement. “Recycling capital to create long-term value for our shareholders is a proven strategy for us and one we consider to be a core strength.”

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust focused primarily on acquiring and owning premium-branded, select-service hotels in the upscale and upper midscale segments of the lodging industry. The trust owns 91 hotels with a total of 11,679 guestrooms in 21 states.      

https://www.businessreport.com/article/four-baton-rouge-hotels-sold-351-4-million-deal

[Mr. Burnham]

How many hotel rooms does Baton Rouge have in general?

[greg225]

How many hotel rooms does Baton Rouge have in general?

I don't know but its a lot and they still have more coming Downtown, and Mid City haven't even got started.

[greg225]

With fine art, Baton Rouge companies invest in both workforce and work space                                                                                                    Investing in the best of Louisiana culture; creating an engaging environment for the next generation of workers; providing a clean, beautiful backdrop for employees; and chronicling the history of the open road—these are among the reasons why several Baton Rouge businesses have put significant dollars into fine art.

To the untrained eye, the art adorning the walls and halls of offices around town may merit only a passing glance. But for a rising number of companies throughout the Capital Region, artwork has become something more than a means of enhancing the aesthetic feel of their places of business. It also serves as a recruiting tool.

Shifting trends in the workplace reveal that millennials and members of Generation Z (ages 13 to 19) see work as an experience rather than a paycheck. Consequently, employers who want to snare younger workers see investing in artwork as a way to make their workspaces more attractive to current and prospective employees.

Buying art can require serious capital, with original pieces from local artists ranging from $2,000 to $6,000 each. Those price tags aren’t cheap, though more local companies consider such expenditures a worthwhile investment in their employees and their futures.

Michael Hunt,  managing partner of Phelps Dunbar, says when new partners are brought into the law firm they often are given an allowance to secure office furnishings, which typically will include acquiring a piece of artwork. And Hunt himself has worked periodically with local art consultants to modernize Phelps Dunbar’s Baton Rouge office.

The core of the Phelps Dunbar collection dates back to a period of acquisition in 1988, when the firm worked with a local gallery owner, the late John Griffith, to achieve a more contemporary look. Upon moving to its current offices in 2009, Phelps Dunbar hired Ann Connelly of Ann Connelly Fine Art as a consultant to fill open spaces with new material.

The price of each piece at Phelps Dunbar is based on its size and complexity and the artist. Hunt says the most expensive commissioned piece was around $4,000.

“All the artwork adds flavor to a space that you can’t accomplish with routine architectural improvement,” Hunt says. “It is aesthetically attractive to have quality artwork.”

BLANK CANVAS

While Phelps Dunbar uses art to enhance the look of the office, a New Orleans law firm that made its Baton Rouge debut early this year has the advantage of a clean slate and intends to use artwork to create a forward-looking narrative that will appeal to future employees.

Fishman Haygood occupies temporary quarters now, but this summer plans to move to the eighth floor of the new IBM building downtown. Charles Landry, who joined the firm’s Baton Rouge office in February as a partner, is leading the charge to design something unique for the space.

“This building is a symbol of the future of our community,” Landry says. “Being a tenant in this building is important to us because it is part of the new generation and new age of Baton Rouge.”

Like Michael Hunt at Phelps Dunbar, Landry called in an art expert. Working with Connelly and her team, they’re putting together a design plan for Fishman Haygood that extends to every square foot of the office.

The theme: creating an environment for the next generation.

“We want eclectic, diverse pieces of art, which for the most part will all be commissioned for our offices and in most cases, specific for an area within the office,” Landry says.

Landry says he’s been thinking about a project like this for years, but has been limited in other office settings by rigid work spaces with hard walls, marble and carpet, which make profound change difficult and costly. The new Fishman Haygood office is a fresh canvas on which Landry hopes to paint the vision of the law firm.

Connelly is enthused about her team’s role in the process.

“My job is to vet the artists to determine who is qualified to come into this crazy good office space and make it the best it can be,” Connelly says. “We are really looking for innovation.”

Landry’s goal is to break out of the traditional environment in which lawyers typically find themselves. Clients won’t find long hallways and closed doors in this office. Landry says workers’ quality of life goes down when doors are closed.

“We have open spaces with a lounge area where lawyers, staff, friends and clients can sit down and have a collaborative experience,” says Landry, who notes that the office design and the artwork intentionally are geared toward future young lawyers.

“Because the truth is, although we have homes, you spend more of your life in your office than you do in your home,” Landry says. “And with people having options and the ability to move around, they are not as loyal as my generation or my father’s generation, so we have to give them value-added. We have to give them something unique to entice them to come to the firm other than the fact that we are really good lawyers with really good clients.”

Connelly noticed this trend in workplaces throughout the city at the onset of the last economic recession.

“Businesses realize in a competitive world they need to create really good environments,” Connelly says. “So now there is pressure on to have a beautiful working environment. You can’t do that without good artwork, thoughtful artwork. So you see the difference between just placing things on the wall and building a narrative.”

HISTORY IN LIVING COLOR

When Lamar Advertising moved its corporate headquarters to its current location at 5321 Corporate Blvd. in 2010, the billboard advertising giant recognized a similar blank canvas on which to create its own narrative.

Lamar CEO Sean Reilly says because of the company’s 112 years in business, the goal was to instill throughout the new building a sense of the history of Lamar and, in a more general way, the history of Lamar’s impact on advertising in the U.S.

Upon entering the corporate headquarters, visitors get a feel for the open road and the history of the great highways where outdoor advertising first stepped into America’s grand landscape, Reilly says.

Reilly enlisted the help of Connelly and local artist and philanthropist Winifred Reilly, who is married to Lamar chairman and president Kevin Reilly Jr. Together, the duo put together artistic pieces using billboard relics to tell the history of outdoor advertising. For example, numerous large pieces on canvas incorporate old sign paintings. Other large tapestry-like pieces are antique, handcrafted Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus banners, which represent the history of advertising dating back to the first forms of billboards. Another large piece is a mural with a panoramic view of Route 66 from the 1960s, complete with a vintage Airstream travel trailer on the first floor.

“Most of the art was created out of things lying around Lamar offices around the country,” Sean Reilly says. For this reason, he doesn’t even remember discussing a budget for the project.

TALE OF TWO SPACES

Likewise, for Mike Wampold’s Renaissance hotel on Bluebonnet Boulevard, no budget cap was placed on the art for the space.

“I just said, ‘Look, let’s try to keep it somewhat reasonable,’” Wampold says. “We knew that we had the opportunity to raise the bar in luxury hotels in Baton Rouge and be along the lines of some of the best in New Orleans.”

As the developer and owner of a Renaissance property, Wampold’s goal was for the hotel to reflect the indigenous culture, art, food and music of Louisiana.

“You are buying original artwork and it is expensive, but it is within reason,” Wampold says.

Once again, Connelly was consulted to develop a story about Louisiana artists for the space. Using different mediums, the works throughout the hotel’s ballrooms, bedrooms and public spaces were all created by local artists. From acrylic sculptures of flying pelicans suspended from the ceiling to blossoming flowers on canvas and glass sculptures of lily pads, the walls and rooms of the Renaissance reflect the native feel of Louisiana.

“I feel like he [Wampold] had a unique objective, which was the best of Louisiana culture and commerce,” Connelly says. “That was the direction for the Renaissance.”

For Wampold’s next venture, the planned Watermark hotel in the Old LNB Building downtown, the developer is dealing with a far different canvas. Inheriting artist and sculptor Angela Gregory’s murals in that hotel from the 1940s, Wampold and Connelly have a lot to work with already in place. Wampold describes the existing art and structure of the 1925 Art Deco building as timeless.

“We have no choice there but to build on that beautiful art that is already there,” Wampold says. “We are in the middle of the creation of what we are going to do and we really have the opportunity to take this 1925 gem of a building with the existing art and pull that whole theme throughout the hotel.”

Wampold insists the designing of buildings such as the Watermark is the “fun part” of these projects. Although he is not a practicing artist, he considers himself an art enthusiast, learning from his mother who is an artist and still teaches art classes.

“I am not an artist in a sense that I can paint paintings or [make] sculptures,” Wampold says, “but I consider myself being able to express my artistic nature through real estate and renovations, creating great spaces and environments for people to enjoy.”

And he definitely has put his money where his mouth is when it comes to art, investing a substantial six-figure sum on the various pieces and installations throughout the Renaissance property.    https://www.businessreport.com/business/business-fine-art                                                      

[dan326]

Well that too was nice while it lasted... 

 

 

 

NBC cancellation of Miss USA broadcast ‘robs Baton Rouge,’ says councilman

 Baton Rouge got caught in the crossfire today as NBC announced it will not be airing the Miss USA pageant live from Baton Rouge on July 12 as scheduled. NBC says it isending its business relationship with Donald Trump, a co-owner of the pageant, because of comments the presidential candidate made about Mexican immigrants during his recent campaign announcement.

Neither Mayor Kip Holden nor Visit Baton Rouge President Paul Arrigo are commenting on the announcement, but Metro Councilman John Delgado says “it’s obviously extremely disappointing.”

“It literally robs Baton Rouge of our ability to put ourselves in front of the country and the world in the same positive light that we were put in during last year’s pageant,” says Delgado. “So it’s very bad news for Baton Rouge.”

In an email, an aide to Holden says “there will be no comment from our office until we hear whether this matter can be resolved.” Arrigo did not return a call for comment.

This year marks the second straight that the Miss USA Pageant is being held in Baton Rouge. Last year’s event took place before a sold-out Baton Rouge River Center crowd and was aired live on NBC. About 70 countries saw the broadcast, which included many flattering shots of the Capital City.

Today’s announcement from NBC comes on the heels of an announcement last week by New York-based Univision that it was pulling the plug on its Spanish-language coverage of the pageant on its UniMas network. The UniMas telecast would have been the first in a five-year contract with the pageant.

Delgado says the NBC announcement is “100 times worse” than the Univision announcement, as Baton Rouge is more of a regional tourism destination than it is an international draw.

As for the $230,000 from the general fund the Metro Council has already approved to help pay for costs associated with hosting the pageant, Delgado says he doesn’t see how—or why—the council would try to remove the funding in light of today’s announcement.

“As an attorney, I would say that we made the deal and it wasn’t contingent on the show being aired by NBC, so I don’t see any legal basis to withdraw the funds,” he says. “That being said, I would have to guess that Miss USA might have a pretty good lawsuit.”

In total, pageant producers were offered $545,000 from local and state agencies to bring the event back to Baton Rouge. Trump responded to the NBC announcement today by telling The Associated Press he’s considering a lawsuit, just as he is against Univision.

The broadcast aside, Delgado says the city-parish will likely recoup the funds it’s spending on the pageant.

“You’ll still see the hotel stays, the restaurant spends and everything else that comes along with it,” he says. “Basically, we made our money back last year with the taxes it brought in, and I think we’ll do the same this year even with this announcement. What we’re really losing out on is a lot of free advertising.”

[greg225]

'A great city has a great zoo': Study suggests bigger, more up-to-date Baton Rouge zoo, in a better location                                                                                                                                                                                           Seeking to boost attendance at BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo and the impact the zoo has on the region, park system officials are mulling over a $110 million upgrade that could include moving it to a different location.

 

BREC officials caution that no decisions have been made yet and say they don’t plan on seeking a tax increase to finance whatever long-overdue upgrades are ultimately made at the zoo.

“We are open to possibilities,” BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight said.

Friends of the Baton Rouge Zoo, a citizens group that supports the zoo, hired a consulting firm to examine ways the facility could be improved. The consultants made several recommendations, including the possible relocation.

While many of the public officials and community, business and philanthropic leaders interviewed by the consultants said they thought it would be a good idea to move the zoo from its relatively remote location near Baker, others said they thought that was unlikely to happen. If BREC follows the consulting firm’s recommended timeline, a decision on relocating can be made within six to nine months.

Schultz and Williams, the Philadelphia-based consulting firm chosen to do the study, recommended the zoo carefully consider the opportunity to relocate, though a land donation probably would be the main indicator for whether a move would take place.

“Based on our experience, the cost of building a new zoo on undeveloped land compared to renovating the existing zoo will be very similar — minus the cost of land,” the firm says.

More concerns were raised if the public were made to purchase new land.

Currently, 250,000 visitors on average visit the zoo each year, and it contributes about $17.67 million to the local economy, the consultant’s report says. With the proposed changes, the study says the zoo could raise its average annual attendance to 375,000 and contribute $24 million annually to the local economy, while injecting an initial $330 million into the economy during development.

The zoo has received few updates since its opening in 1970, said Kaki Heiligenthal, head of marketing and development.

“Over the years, there have been some changes, like renovating the front gate, building ‘Realm of the Tiger,’ adding the playground ...but there are actually a fair number of exhibits that look the same as they did opening day,” Heiligenthal said.

Zoo officials want to widen the audience and enhance visitors’ interaction with the animals. The objective is to educate the community, especially on conservation, and bring the zoo back to the forefront of Baton Rouge entertainment.

The consulting firm, which specializes in zoos and aquaria, interviewed 28 people, including community stakeholders, public officials, business leaders and philanthropic leaders. Half said it was possible to raise the funds necessary to make this vision come to life, and more than half of those interviewed said the zoo should consider changing its location.

“I would describe the zoo as stale, old, small and in a bad location,” one person interviewed said. In terms of facilities, more than 50 percent of those interviewed said it was perceived as dated.

The zoo has an operating budget of $5.5 million, half earned and contributed revenue and the other half support from BREC.

The study estimates the zoo could raise $25 million in private funds, though zoo Director Phil Frost said some thought that was an underestimate.

McKnight said there’s no definite plan in place yet for funding the improvements.

“We do know it will take public and private support and possibly other sources,” McKnight said. “We are not proposing at any point in the near future to raise taxes.”

Shultz and Williams recommended the zoo use a public-private business model that has proven successful at the Birmingham, Alabama; Dallas; and Houston zoos. Their approach was to first secure private funds before moving forward with public financial support.

Frost said the consultant’s study “gave us a blueprint for what we needed to do for our continued planning for the next six months.”

The next step in planning, he said, is to put together a steering committee to push the vision forward. He said the committee will be made up of a small group of innovative thinkers.

“We don’t have a list yet, but this is a group of people who are going to be strategic thinkers, people who have been involved in big initiatives,” Frost said.

Later, the zoo will release surveys to get feedback from the public.

“It’s something that’s going to take time,” Frost said.

In addition, the zoo will soon hire an architect to put together visuals for the upgrade.

Frost said an improved zoo improves quality of life in a community.

“A great city has a great zoo,” Frost said.   http://theadvocate.com/news/12803592-172/baton-rouge-zoo-eyes-110

[greg225]

The Baton Rouge Zoo should be in City Park if BREC every decide to move it closer to Downtown. Could allow the zoo to have a aquarium inside.

Edited July 6, 2015 by greg225

[richyb83]

City Park is a nice location...however it would be too tight a fit? Very doubtful they would use the land west of Dalrymple(north of R.R.)...also the Railroad Tracks running right thru the park could be an issue?  If the Zoo wanted to expand it's current size it would not have enough room to grow?

[greg225]

City Park is a nice location...however it would be too tight a fit? Very doubtful they would use the land west of Dalrymple(north of R.R.)...also the Railroad Tracks running right thru the park could be an issue?  If the Zoo wanted to expand it's current size it would not have enough room to grow?

They could build on part of the city park golf couse. I personally hope they close that golf course they have another golf course a few miles away. So it would not hurt to close  the city park golf course. The roads would have to be expaned to 4 lanes to handled the new traffic.

[dan326]

I emailed Mr. Frost some suggestions. He said y'all could email him too and said at some point there'd be a public forum if you want to wait for that.

 

It's pretty funny to me that they built the new tiger exhibit and then decided they might want to move the zoo. I guess it makes sense though, as I was wondering why they never redid the elephant exhibit.

Edited July 6, 2015 by dan326

[greg225]

High tech office park planned for 8-acre site at Highland and Bluebonnet                                                                                                                  A group of investors led by Mo Vij, the founder of local IT company General Informatics, has acquired an 8.5-acre tract of vacant land at the intersection of Highland Road and Bluebonnet Boulevard for $3.6 million, with plans to develop an office and commercial complex on the site that will be modeled after the campus-style settings of high-tech giants like Microsoft and Apple.

The new development will be called @Highland, and it will include a 45,000-square-foot, three-story office building that will front on Highland and be the new headquarters for General Informatics, which has been located in LSU’s Louisiana Business and Technology Center since its founding in the early 2000s. Vacant space fronting on Bluebonnet will be available for future development and could include office or light retail.

Vij, whose partners in the project include several local and out-of-state investors, says his company has outgrown its offices in the LSU business incubator and that he wants to develop a new headquarters site that is suitable for his growing workforce and also in keeping with the lushly landscaped, creative workspaces of high-tech companies in the Pacific Northwest.

“We want to have an office that reflects our ambitions,” Vij says. “We also think it will help with the acquisition of talent. A lot of guys end up moving out of state so we want to create something more attractive to our employees.”

To that end, @Highland will feature a sleek, contemporary office building constructed around several standing Live Oak trees on the site and will back up to the 1,000-acre Bluebonnet Swamp. New Orleans-based Eskew Dumez Ripple Architects, which designed the Shaw Center and Lamar Corporate Offices, has been retained to design the site.

“This promises to be a bold architectural statement integrating natural features with architecture,” says George Kurz of Kurz & Hebert Commercial Real Estate, who represented the sellers in the transaction and will market the lots and building development for @Highland. “It’s really different than anything else in Baton Rouge.”

@Highland LLC acquired the property from Metrailer HB LLC and the estate of Charles Metrailer in a deal that closed Monday.

General Informatics is a technology services company that provides IT services to small businesses. The company also develops database management software that is used by parish governments throughout the state. The Planning Commission has already approved plans for the site. Vij hopes to begin construction within the next 18 months.    https://www.businessreport.com/article/high-tech-office-park-planned-8-acre-site-highland-bluebonnet

[greg225]

This high tech campus could be big for the parish wish they would have developed this in Mid City. Baton Rouge need to start doing more annexations around Bluebonnet. 

[richyb83]

Wow...sounds impressive...sleek/contemporary? Not words you hear much around here...is this going to be on the NE corner of the Highland/Bluebonnet of the NW corner? Should be interesting to see how they integrate this project with the pretty landscape with Bluebonnet Swamp nearby...

Edited July 9, 2015 by richyb83