Planning For An Overnight Boomtown

Thousands of New Orleans businesses and residents have relocated to the 'New Baton Rouge', 75 miles to the northwest.

1 minute read

September 13, 2005, 5:00 AM PDT

"Commercial and housing markets are among the most hotly contested. Professional firms chased from New Orleans are setting up offices in former grocery stores. Housing prices are soaring as evacuees bid them up with all-cash offers. Apartments and other rentals are nearly impossible to find.

...City officials acknowledge this burgeoning city also will inherit the urban headaches often associated with breakneck growth, including crowded schools, overtaxed municipal services and gridlocked traffic. Just going five miles across town these days takes 20 minutes.

..In a city running short on space, housing is the most precious commodity. Several homes have been sold sight unseen, for $400,000 and $500,000 cash. One went for $1 million in cash, real estate agent Dorsey Peek says. 'It's like nothing I've seen in 29 years,' she says."

Thanks to The Practice of New Urbanism Listserv

FULL STORY: Baton Rouge rises to boomtown challenge

Monday, September 12, 2005 in USA Today

Community / Economic Development Land Use Louisiana

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