The Year That Was and More Ahead

In the long, dark days just after the Covid lockdown, I thought a lot about what might change and feared that downtowns especially would be forever wounded. Urban centers across the country were devastated as we left our jobs and went home to shelter in place or took our jobs home with us, did most of our shopping online, and avoided people and the restaurants and other businesses that attracted them.

Downtown businesses were barely hanging on, downtown crowds were nonexistent, downtown occupancy was dismal. Things were bleak.

Fast forward to now. Though we are still trying to determine what “normal” is, times downtown are looking up. That’s not to say all is rosy. Challenges remain, especially for downtown office towers and the hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space that people may or may not now want to lease. How to reposition this space is a question that property owners and managers across the country are pondering, and no one yet has found the perfect answer.

This is not the first significant change downtown Shreveport has lived through. The downtown of 2021/2022 is not the downtown of 1890 or 1920 or 1950, each very different from the era preceding it.

When I talk to groups, someone will inevitably ask, “What do we need to do to have downtown Shreveport like it was in 1940?” In 1940, downtown was a retail dynamo, the place to take the trolley and spend Saturday shopping at the many department and clothing stores. It was home to most locally owned businesses who wouldn’t even think of not having a downtown address. There was no Internet, no smart phones, no real consumer competition to in-person shopping. Times have changed.

Department and retail clothing stores are closing or struggling, large banks are downsizing drastically, business models are changing. My answer to the question of “Can we be 1940 again?” is no, but we can be a dynamic, vibrant now. The key to a bright future for our historic downtown is to cherish and preserve what makes it unique.

We have uniqueness in spades downtown, and that mojo that makes us cool is surging. Businesses such as the Andress Artist and Entrepreneur Center at 717 Crockett, T’s Comfort Food at 830 Louisiana Ave., ShaBaby’s Cajun Cooking at 605 Texas St., and The Lot, the re-imagined busterminal-now-food-truck-court and music and market venue at 400 Crockett St., are celebrating oneyear anniversaries and are finding their footing with customers and clients. The new Remington Garage event venue and Uptown Bar and Lounge are becoming destinations, and needed businesses such as UrgentEMS now call downtown home. Sanctuary Glass Studio is always busy at their new location at 421 Lake St., and Big Sun Studios at 619 Edwards recently held the first of many successful art exhibits to come. Education is expanding, too, as Southern University School of Law starts their first semester in Shreveport in early 2022, with plans to have a full-fledged law curriculum downtown in 2024.

In 2022, we will welcome more businesses dedicated to making downtown the place to be. The small and wildly popular Pop N Pizza is moving to a downtown location at 500 Texas St. Owner Brittani Shabazz dances through videos on her Facebook page talking about her excitement at being here. Work continues at the new Phoenix Nightclub at 400 Commerce, which promises a return to Top 40 dance, a new energy tea and shake shop is soon to open at 431 Texas St., and Refine Design, a design and décor shop, and the Jess and Jane beauty bar will be opening soon at 616 Texas St. And in February, colorful lights will once again shine brightly on the Bakowski Bridge of Lights, the Texas Street Bridge.

On the residential side, significant developments are happening. Investors who see the need for additional housing downtown have purchased the old Petroleum Tower at 425 Edwards and buildings in the 400 block of Crockett, the 700 block of Marshall, the 700 block of Milam. Plans for hotels, and Airbnbtype extended stay housing are in the pipeline in the 600 block of Milam, 300 block of Market, and the 700 block of Cotton. Interest is high in properties in the 500 block of Milam overlooking the Caddo Parish Courthouse, and potential investors are touring spaces and running the numbers on buildings throughout downtown. The state of Louisiana is also looking for the right space to house the Louisiana State offices. We welcome them all.

We have a lot of good things happening, but it’s not all perfect and there is no doubt we’ll see rough times ahead. Businesses will close, office towers will sell, projects will derail – it’s just what happens. The core of what makes downtown special – the history, the buildings, the businesses and especially the many people who believe in it – will make it a success.

Liz Swaine is the executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. She can be reached at liz@downtownshreveport.com