Press Conference Held to Unveil Plan Baton Rouge Phase II
Shaping Future Growth

Local leaders converged today at The Kress Building downtown to unveil and discuss the highlights of Plan Baton Rouge Phase II, a new master plan for Downtown Baton Rouge. Plan Baton Rouge Phase II, a Master Plan Update & Economic Strategic Plan, was created by national consultants, local planners and public officials with input from the public.

Plan Baton Rouge Phase II builds upon the original Plan Baton Rouge tha was developed in 1998. Phase II will be used as a resource to help guide downtown development for the next 20 years with the overarching goal of making downtown a more vibrant place to live, work, shop, dine, learn and play.

The City of Baton Rouge, Fannie Mae, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Center for Planning Excellence, Downtown Development District, Downtown Business Association, and Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau were the major sponsors responsible for commissioning the lead planning firm, Chan Krieger Sieniewicz of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Components of the updated plan include promoting a central green and planting an urban forest, making Third Street a vibrant entertainment corridor, ensuring downtown stays clean and safe, taking advantage of the Mississippi Riverfront, and establishing integrated public parking policies.

"Plan Baton Rouge Phase II heralds a new wave of economic development downtown and the DDD will position itself in the forefront of implementation efforts" says Davis Rhorer, Executive Director of the Downtown Development District.

"Plan Baton Rouge Phase II includes strategies for attracting new housing, entertainment and retail venues along with a schema for greening downtown, focusing on parks and connecting to the riverfront. The plan also recommends short and long term actions that will invite and optimally leverage new investment," says Rachel DiResto, Executive Vice-President at Center for Planning Excellence.

Following approval by the city-parish Planning Commission, Plan Baton Rouge Phase II will be presented to the Metro-Council for adoption. The plan will then be incorporated into the new Comprehensive Master Plan for East Baton Rouge Parish.

Downtown Baton Rouge has also been selected as a mobile workshop for the American Planning Association's 2010 National Planning Conference in New Orleans April 10-13 because of its comprehensive planning and implementation efforts. Planners from all over the country will visit downtown Baton Rouge for a working session on downtown improvements and planning.

Plan Baton Rouge Phase II plan is now available for viewing at http://downtownbatonrouge.org/devMasterPlans.asp.

In addition to the unveiling of Plan Baton Rouge Phase II, John Schneider and Brace Godfrey of Cyntreniks LLC announced details of the complete tenant mix for the retail space at the first floor of the Kress at Third and Main. Cyntreniks announced news of three new projects: (1) a Third Street Boutique which consists of an ensemble of up to eight women's boutique stores in Baton Rouge, (2) the Kress Memorial gallery which will include civil rights era exhibits in the old Kress cafeteria, (3) and a restaurant, Fete Viande, which will specialize in smoked meats and offer quick lunches and fine dining in the evening. All of the projects are expected to open in the second quarter of this year.

Cyntreniks also announced that as of February 1 all three condos for sale and the 16 rental units available for lease have all been filled.

Click here for more information from Cyntreniks on the three projects
Click here for a detailed description of the new restaurant called Fete Viande

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