Plan Baton Rouge

Plan Baton Rouge began in 1998 as an initiative of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation designed to infuse Smart Growth principles into the revitalization of downtown Baton Rouge, making it a livable, sustainable, productive regional center. Following ten years of successful implementation of the original plan, CPEX, in partnership with the DDD and City of Baton Rouge, embarked upon the ambitious Plan Baton Rouge Phase II update process in 2008.

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Plan Baton Rouge: Phase II

A decade of progress brought forth by Plan Baton Rouge has left the downtown area a much more vibrant, successful place, but it still awaits the initiatives and improvements that would make it a truly remarkable city center and a source of pride throughout the greater metropolitan area. In response to the region’s need for a truly thriving, purposeful focal point, Plan Baton Rouge Phase II sets out to build on past progress and strategically instill downtown with the qualities worthy of a desirable, flourishing district.

Phase II will achieve this goal by aggressively promoting initiatives designed to take the downtown area to new levels of activity, livability, and entertainment. While the original plan did well to attract several new restaurants, the Shaw Center, and the Hilton Hotel, too little downtown housing or retail space has followed. It has become clear, even preceding the current economic downturn, that the City must offer new financial incentives and regulatory mechanisms to fulfill the goal of creating more residential, commercial, and entertainment uses for the downtown.

While attracting these additional downtown users will be significant, Phase II goes further to ensure the area progresses nearer to its potential. Priorities of the updated plan include promoting a central green and planting an urban forest, making Third Street a vibrant entertainment corridor, ensuring downtown stays clean and safe, taking advantage of the Mississippi Riverfront, and establishing integrated public parking policies.
  

By providing strong leadership, seeking expert assistance, and making every effort to involve the community in the planning and implementation process, CPEX seeks to ensure the vision created by Plan Baton Rouge Phase II comes to fruition.

Download the plan:

I.  Executive Summary and Table of Contents 

II.  Introduction

III.  Critical Themes and Initiatives

IV.  Critical Steps 

V.  Appendix 

 
For plan updates, see www.downtownbatonrouge.org