Baton Rouge housing developments - Elysian & Corona?

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Any of you Baton Rouge folks know anything about the Elysian, Corona or the Scott School Apartments? Thanks

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I drive by Elysian and Scott School all the time. They look nice, but are probably ghetto as frick inside. Not in good areas at all.

I'm no expert but I would say that building Sec 8 housing in a downtown area isn't the best way to attract high end clientele and businesses.

I'm not saying it will be super high end but it also will not be blight.

I pass Elysian all the time. Downtown experts know that Spanish Town Road has the only underpass in BR that will allow you to get across the tracks when a train's stopped and you need to cross downtown.

I believe it was developed to offer affordable housing but within a mixed-income development. They qualified for low-cost tax credits in exchange for rent-controlling in a method explained above. It's a bit more complex form of rent control than Section 8 which is designed to-hopefully-induce a better cross section of residents.

From my perspective, it's a really nice place in a not-so-nice part of town. But it's location is super-central to a lot of up-and-coming areas downtown. You could easily bike anywhere downtown and to grocery stores, etc.

It's just that the area you're in means you're far more likely to get mugged while taking that bike-ride to the grocery store.

I hope it works well and I think it was a good idea that seems to have been executed well. We'll see how they fare before we call it a success or just lipstick on a Section 8 pig.

A friend of mine lives in the Corona. It's a really nice place in a very bad neighborhood (19th at Main, Mid City just outside downtown), but it seems very clean and secure and is well lit. The rent is cheap, but the tenets are not subsidized. It's a pretty nice place and he's had no trouble there outside of issues with his central heating last winter being too hot for a couple weeks until they fixed it. The lot is gated (open in the day and closed after midnight) and the front desk is always manned. You need card access to get in. I hang out there frequently and have never felt unsafe.

I believe the area will see revitalization in the near future. There isn't much housing in the area because it has all been torn down. New apartments are going up behind Raven that will be for Vets. A government agency(the name is escaping me) just relocated between north and Spanish town rd near 110.

Nearly all of the land is owned by Winston Riddick. If you look on google maps about 5 empty blocks along with the land on Spanish town rd that backs up to the bayou is all his and has been for nearly 4 decades. He's been buying and tearing down houses to reduce tax burden while holding out to redevelop.

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You could easily bike anywhere downtown and to grocery stores, etc.

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One grocery store.

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It's just that the area you're in means you're far more likely to get mugged while taking that bike-ride to the grocery store.

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I think the idea of downtown crime is over hyped. White folks aren't getting mugged in Spanish Town. But let's be real, are any of you going to move into a "mixed income" development unless you are on the low end of that mixed income?

I'm not.

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You could easily bike anywhere downtown and to grocery stores, etc.


One grocery store.

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Matherne's + Spanish Town Grocery > 1

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I'm not saying it will be super high end but it also will not be blight.

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I even saw where some old apartments were being torn down in the area ( on North St.). Looks like legitimately trying to improve that area.