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Saturation point – When will downtown’s amenities expand beyond Third Street?

Looking at all the recent and upcoming projects happening along Third Street, I’m wondering if there is any inch of space left to develop.

We’ve got 440 on Third set to open in the fall, with apartments and a much-needed Matherne’s Supermarket on the ground floor. The Onyx Residences is currently under construction on Third and Convention streets, and will feature commercial space on the ground floor and apartments above. Mike Wampold is planning to convert the historic Louisiana National Bank building across from the Onyx into a hotel. The Commerce Building on Third and Laurel streets is also set to open at the end of the year, and will include loft apartments and possibly a rooftop restaurant.

Outside the mixed-use development category, Raising Cane’s just opened on Third and Florida streets in a long-vacant but much-loved building. Walk On’s is planning a scaled-down location next to Happy’s Irish Pub. Uncle Earl’s and Three Bones Catering are planning an as-yet-unnamed bar across from City Bar. And just off Third Street along Town Square, FreshJunkie just opened its brick-and-mortar last week while Jolie Pearl oyster bar expects to open next door later this summer.

Phew! And this is not counting the recent additions to Third Street since last year, which include Huey’s Bar, the Breakroom at IPO, Triumph Kitchen, a relocation of Kress Gallery, a convenience store that also sells fresh produce and a pharmacy.

Clearly, everyone wants a piece of the street. But while there are a lot of incentives to being part of downtown’s Arts and Entertainment District, where’s the love for the rest of downtown?

In the map below, we’ve marked off new and upcoming developments on and around Third Street (in red) as well as the existing bars and restaurants in downtown (in blue), for perspective. You can see that nearly all these amenities line either side of Third Street.

Meanwhile, an apartment complex recently went up on Main Street between Fourth and Fifth streets. Further down Main Street, the collaborative workspace Creative Bloc is under construction. Across the street from that, the Louisiana Realtors group is renovating a historic home for its headquarters. And across I-110 from downtown, among the sparsely populated blocks that the Downtown Development District scooped up in recent years, the 100-unit development The Elysian recently opened its doors.

So while some development is starting to expand away from the Third Street area little by little, the amenities like restaurants, coffee shops, bars and shops are all still very much centered on the Arts and Entertainment District (except, of course, for the Main Street Market, which acts as sort of an outpost among the state office buildings in the northern portion of downtown).

It’s left me wondering when we’ll see those kinds of amenities in other parts of downtown, especially the amenities that are a convenient distance for all these new residential developments. If we want a walkable, livable downtown, points of interest should be spread out.

My wondering about all this is partly for selfish reasons: I live close to downtown. On those few mild spring and fall days—heck, even on frigid winter days—I’m happy to walk or ride my bike the eight or 10 blocks to get to a Third Street restaurant or some event at the Shaw Center. But in the increasingly long and hot summer months, I’d rather not show up at an event or nice restaurant looking and smelling like I just ran a 5k.

I think others would appreciate this, too. Especially the many folks who work in office buildings on the outer edges of downtown, or residents in Spanish Town and Beauregard Town. Even the Creative Bloc—which is sure to attract the young creative types Baton Rouge has long sought—should be encouraging to developers, or at least forcing them to reevaluate areas of downtown that aren’t Third Street.

So, what’s your take? Should the bulk of our downtown amenities be clustered around one street? Would encouraging such amenities to spread out into other areas of downtown negatively affect more peaceful neighborhoods like Spanish Town and Beauregard Town? Or would it have a positive effect?

Let us know your thoughts below!