What’s the status of the master plan to boost economic development along the Florida Boulevard corridor? The East Baton Rouge Parish Planning Commission will get an update in April.
The Cortana Corridor Economic District is administering the plan in cooperation with Build Baton Rouge, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, and Metro Council member Cleve Dunn Jr. Franklin Associates is handling outreach for the plan, which is expected to be completed this summer. Andrew Broderick of Perkins & Will is the lead manager on the project.
The commission plans to add an April 22 meeting to its schedule to hear more about the project’s progress, says Planning Director Ryan Holcomb. He anticipates the item going before the Planning Commission for approval later this summer.
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“There’s a lot of good work that’s been put into the planning process thus far,” Holcomb says. “Additional planning on this corridor is important. With the Amazon project and the additional economic development we’re seeing up and down this corridor, it’s important for additional planning attention.”
In the summer of 2022, the Metro Council voted to provide the Cortana Corridor Economic District with an estimated $1.5 million in new sales tax revenue generated by the redevelopment of the Cortana Mall site into the Amazon fulfillment facility.
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The group working on the master plan sought public feedback on a handful of sites along the 12-mile corridor in February.
Gretchen Siemers, vice president of planning and policy for Build Baton Rouge, could not be reached for comment before Daily Report‘s deadline.
This story originally appeared in a March 27 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.