Numbers show room for future growth
Over the course of four months in late 2013, the Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation invited TMG Consulting of New Orleans to produce a market analysis of a section of downtown that many people wrote off years ago.
This small area, nine blocks in all, is roughly bounded on its four sides by beauty and history: by the Scottish Rite Temple on one side, the Strand Theater on another, Oakland Cemetery on the north and the Austin Place mansions of the 1800s on the west. The area – designated as Shreveport Common – is small, with pockets of magnificent architecture, history and we believe, opportunity. Most developers and investors are notoriously unmoved by gut feelings and sentimentality. The stories of who slept there, who sang songs on the corner, who performed to sparkling crowds in the rooftop garden of the famed Calanthean Temple don’t generally add to the return on investment, to whether their risk makes sense … and speaking of risk, the less there is, the better. All the entities that had come together for Shreveport Common – the city of Shreveport, Parish of Caddo, Downtown Development Authority and DSDC, SRAC, SporTran, artists, neighbors and others had been working hard over the past several years to change the perception of the area and had been having success, but developers were still quite happy to remain on the sidelines.
In the years since the fire in 2009 that burned down the Princess Park headquarters of the SRAC, work has been progressing on an ever-evolving vision plan for Shreveport Common, a vision of a neighborhood made strong by creativity inherent in the arts and history, an exercise in creative placemaking brought to vibrant life.
The old Central Fire Station, now the Central ARTSTATION, provided the catalyst and city investment in that and the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, Grand Promenade, Oakland Cemetery, acquisition of the Arlington Hotel and vacant lots designated for the Shreveport Common greenspace, propelled the vision forward. The parish of Caddo came in as a strong partner with the dedication to see the greenspace- the Caddo Commoncompleted. These governmental entities became the “first movers” who were willing to make a significant investment in a new project. All the positive moves aside, developers still needed data.
When TMG launched into the analysis they were given only two instructions: Use the most conservative possible number, and don’t pull any punches.
Site visits, interviews, and mountains of data created a document that show weaknesses and threat, but also significant opportunities.
The 250, mixed income housing units laid out in the vision plan are doable, the opportunity for return on investment exists and the need for businesses and retail in the area is real and can be supported. The market analysis gets “down in the weeds” with occupancy and rental revenue projections and the potential for artist housing and live/work space. It gives a breakdown on possible capture of retail and other businesses and retail rental rates. It both qualifies with facts and quantifies with other data the potential for success. Throughout it all, the report stresses the city-parish partnership to complete the Caddo Common green space is vital to continued progress, as is strong advocacy for and marketing of Shreveport Common.
After years of languish, the area is seeing a resurgence. The market analysis gives developers information they need to determine how or whether to proceed and gives all the partners in Shreveport Common’s progress a roadmap of initiatives to tackle. In the 1920s through the 1960s, this section of downtown was a happening place filled with people, businesses and opportunities. We think it can be again.
Liz Swaine is the executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. She can be reached at [email protected].
