The Bond Issue: Part Three

• By GREG GARLAND
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Nov 3, 2009 - Page: 1A

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This is the third of a four-part series on the Nov. 14 bond issue:

• Sunday: Who pays the tab? How the 9.9-mill property tax and half-cent sales tax increase will affect people who live, shop and do business in East Baton Rouge Parish.
• Monday: A close look at plans for infrastructure improvements — drainage work, a new public safety complex, new Parish Prison and similar projects. What’s included in the tax package and why.
• Tuesday: Examining plans to expand the River Center and build parking garages to attract more convention business and promote economic development. Will the strategy work?
• Wednesday: The Alive project — the educational, recreational and scientific research venue on the Mississippi River. What are the potential benefits and potential costs for taxpayers.

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If voters approve a $901 million tax package Nov. 14, the River Center complex downtown will be expanded and updated and more parking will be added for visitors.

Supporters say the projects, which would cost $141.3 million to build and have been on the drawing board for several years, are a vital part of Baton Rouge’s economic development strategy.

But skeptics question whether that strategy makes economic sense.

Paul Arrigo, chief executive officer of the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the River Center expansion and upgrades are vital for the city to attract more conferences and convention business. And, he said, the improvements are needed to keep the city from losing the business it has now.

“There are several organizations we have looked at and that have looked at us, but because of what we have, we cannot continue to pursue them,” Arrigo said. “In addition, certain groups we have in right now that come back on a regular basis are going to outgrow us, so it’s a two-fold squeeze.”

Plans for the River Center include adding 15 meeting rooms to the 13 that exist now or are in the process of being built.

Exhibit space also would be increased from 75,000 square feet to 90,000. Old exhibition space would be transformed into a ballroom. Lobby space outside the theater would be expanded and an elevator to the theater balcony would be installed.

The changes include eliminating the parking garage on the west side of St. Louis Street and adding 750 spaces to the one on the east side of the street. A new garage with parking for 1,300 cars would be constructed on the south side of Government Street, with a pedestrian walkway connecting it to the River Center.

The additional parking is to accommodate visitors to the River Center, as well as people who have business with city-parish government agencies or the court system.

A real estate development firm based in Virginia also has talked about building two hotels near the River Center complex at a cost of $100 million. The hotels would be built with private capital, not tax dollars, and are not part of the tax package.

The wisdom of spending $72.4 million in public money to upgrade the River Center — and using an additional $68.8 million on parking garages — is the subject of some debate.