Baton Rouge Area Foundation Executive Vice President John Spain (from left), East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority Chairman John Noland and LSU Chancellor Michael Martin in front of the HOPE VI redevelopment project on East Polk Street.

As reported by Business Report.com, Old South Baton Rouge didn’t need another plan.

At least that’s what folks who live in the historic but downtrodden area north of LSU told the Baton Rouge Area Foundation five years ago.

“People told us, ‘We’ve had a lot of people tell us they’re going to reinvent this neighborhood, and they talked and talked and talked, and nothing much has happened,’” BRAF Executive Vice President John Spain says. “There is a lot of cynicism, and rightfully so.”

BRAF became involved in Old South through its work with HOPE VI, an $18.6 million federally funded effort to tear down old housing projects and build new single- and multi-family homes. The foundation quickly realized a revitalization effort for the surrounding community was needed for HOPE VI to thrive.

HOPE VI ended in September, but BRAF is committed to Old South for at least the next 10 years, Spain says. Working with the Center for Planning Excellence and the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, BRAF plans to develop a “gateway project” at Highland Road and Terrace Avenue, once one of the worst corners in the city. Seven other areas were targeted for development in the 2006 master plan, and design standards have been approved to keep new buildings in line with neighborhood character.

Private developers are showing interest, especially along Nicholson Drive. Nicholson Estates, a partnership between Lafayette oilman Mike Moreno and Florida-based White Sands Development Group, is assembling about 20 acres for a possible mixed-use development designed by Steve Oubre [White Sands didn’t want to talk about the project for this story]. Property values are starting to creep up. Old South is potentially one of the prettiest places to live in the city, Spain says. More HERE