Katrina Spurs Mixed-Use Boom In Baton Rouge

"All told, developers are working on at least a dozen new mixed-use projects in Baton Rouge, says Troy Bunch, planning commission director for the city-parish. Many more, he predicts, are headed for the market."

"Some of the same dynamics that have made mixed-use popular elsewhere in the country, such as renewed interest in urban living, are fueling the trend. But in Baton Rouge, experts say several factors have provided extra impetus: population growth resulting from the storm, development incentives created by the federal Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, and a new mixed-use zoning category."

"According to Loren C. Scott, a Baton Rouge-based consultant and former LSU economics professor, the permanent population influx pales by comparison to the 34% spike Baton Rouge experienced in the months after the storm, when 234,000 evacuees sought temporary shelter in the area. But the growth has driven up real estate prices and created waiting lists at apartments once plagued by vacancies. 'Katrina certainly made the numbers look even better because it drove more people up here,' Scott says. 'That is a real key to these mixed-use developments.'"