Mid City panel, residents outline district

• By CHAD CALDER
• Advocate business writer
• Published: Oct 27, 2009 - Page: 1B

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

The Mid City Redevelopment Alliance and a committee of residents and business owners have come up with boundaries for a proposed cultural products district.

The district, which needs approval from the Metro Council and the state, enables tax credits for restoration of historic buildings and sales-tax exemptions for original works of art sold within its boundaries.

The idea is to spark community revitalization based on cultural activity, and Baton Rouge already has two such districts — one downtown and one on Perkins Road near the Garden District.

Carrie Broussard, economic development manager for the redevelopment alliance, said that although planners first considered two districts for Midcity, they decided to seek approval of one large one.

Broussard said the group mapped out stores that sell original art and looked at the stock of buildings that might qualify. The group decided they did not want to leave anyone out and have to redraw the boundaries later.

Broussard said there was also a desire to keep Midcity together.

“We ended up stretching our boundaries so could include as much as we can,” she said.

Midcity describes the Florida Boulevard area around Baton Rouge General Medical Center. In general, the area is bounded by 14th Street, North Street, Foster Drive and Government Street.

The proposed cultural products district, if approved, would be slightly larger than Midcity and generally bounded by North Street to the north, Claycut Road to the south, Kenwood Avenue to the east and Interstate 110 to the west.

Broussard said the proposed cultural products district will be introduced to the Metro Council on Nov. 11, followed by a public hearing on Nov. 24. If it gets council approval, the district would be submitted to the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism by a Dec. 1 deadline, and it could gain state approval by February, she said.