Greater Baton Rouge Business Report
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Baton Rouge North Economic Development District, Build Baton Rouge, and Mayor Sharon Weston Broome today celebrated the passage of SB227, sponsored by state Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, which will establish an economic development district along the Plank Road corridor.
The EDD was created in collaboration with and supported by a broad coalition of community organizations including BRAC, Baton Rouge North Economic Development District, Build Baton Rouge, and the mayor’s office.
“Reinvestment in disinvested communities is critical to the success of Baton Rouge’s economy,” says BRAC President Adam Knapp, in a prepared statement. “This step of creating an EDD in north Baton Rouge will encourage greater levels of successful Black business ownership, foster wealth creation in Black communities, and drive greater community reinvestment and greater access to employment.”
Barrow’s bill was on BRAC’s legislative agenda for the most recent session.
The EDD will include Plank Road from its southern origin to Hooper Road and surrounding areas. The legislation allows for the creation of a governing board for the EDD and for tax revenue generated in the EDD to be utilized for redevelopment.
The EDD ensures that tax revenues from increased economic activity in the district are invested within the district’s boundaries, while not diminishing the prior level of tax collections for the city-parish. See the announcement.