Livingston Parish

• Advocate staff report
• Published: Dec 30, 2005

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With excellent schools and low crime rates, Livingston Parish, located just east of Baton Rouge, has been one of the state's fastest-growing parishes in recent years.

With easy access to Baton Rouge by Interstate 12 and U.S. 190, the parish has served as a bedroom community for Baton Rouge for a number of years, although new business has begun to follow population growth.

A proposed Bass Pro Shop, which will serve as the anchor store of a 76-acre merchandising development, is the centerpiece in the immediate development plans.

The Denham Springs Economic Development District estimates the Bass Pro Shop and accompanying hotel and restaurants will achieve annual sales of $62 million.

Within three years, the full development of the 75-acre complex should produce $135 million in sales, according to the district, which estimates more than 2 million people will visit the complex each year.

The district estimates Bass Pro will provide 300 permanent jobs and 540 construction jobs.

Land clearing for the business has already been completed at I-12 and Range Avenue.

Five taxing bodies, including the Livingston Parish Council and Denham Springs City Council, and the state have agreed to give up a portion of sales taxes collected at the Bass Pro complex to pay off $50 million in public bonds that will be used to build a retail center.

Denham Springs is the largest of the parish's eight municipalities. The city lies immediately across the Amite River from Baton Rouge. The city's old downtown area has been turned into an antiques village.

Greystone Golf and Country Club, a 250-acre development, will feature a golf course and some 400 upscale homes off Wax Road south of Interstate 12.

Train Station Park, an open-air covered pavilion at the corner of North Range and Railroad avenues, sits on the edge of the antiques village.

Train Station Park offers free weekly concerts on Thursday evenings in the spring, summer and fall, as well as other special events.

Two other parks offer sports facilities, playground and picnic facilities.