Proposal 15: MID CITY BUILDS [ back to entries ]
Mid City Builds is a multi-use development in the Mid City Area just southeast of the overpass on North Boulevard. The project aims to address the issues of declining neighborhoods, monetary circulation, and a lack of good jobs and job training for the residents of the Mid City neighborhood.
The project proposes three phases which will, over time, build the neighborhood into a self-sustaining community that will not only keep residents in the area but also draw new families and residents from other areas in the Greater Baton Rouge community. The first phase is to create a Construction Workforce Development Center to teach residents construction skill. The second phase is to use the students of the Construction Workforce Development Center to build a market and cafe. The third phase is to use students of the Construction Workforce Development Center to build new houses in the neighborhood and reduce blight which will make the community safer.
This project will connect the neighborhood and its residents. it will give the residents an opportunity to build up their neighborhood and build up their own job skills. Mid City Builds will improve the quality of the built context and the people of Mid City. 
Ardendale is a multi-use community located along the bus route connecting to the Construction Workforce Development Center. This community is a mix of multi and single family housing, educational facilities, shopping, groceries, restaurants and parks. Part of the proposal for Mid City Builds is to create a partnership with Ardendale and Mid City Builds Construction Workforce Development Center. This partnership will serve multiple purposes. First the partnership will help put a spotlight on the Mid City community. This will allow potential donors and partners access to a more established program that could help further establish the Construction Workforce Development Center.
Second, the partnership will allow for space and monetary constraint. Ardendale currently has classroom and facilities that BRCC uses, in partnership with Ardendale, for some of their training programs. They have workshops for automotive repair and other trade courses. Using these facilities will allow for more areas of the Construction Workforce Development Center to be focused on the building aspect of construction education (timber/residential).
The third thing the partnership will do is create a system that keeps a steady circulation of money through the neighborhood. Once members of the Construction Center are trained, they will begin to use their training in the community. Once new construction and renovations in the community are completed they will have a strong resume to find employers with the help of Ardendale and the Construction Workforce Development Center.
In Phase 1 Mid City Builds will buy and renovate the Prepara Building into a Construction Workforce Development Center for members of the community who wish to participate in construction worker training. Participants in the Construction Workforce Development Center will be taught construction skills, with a focus on timber construction, and business and personal skills that will aid them in applying for a job. The Construction Workforce Development Center is the cornerstone that the rest of the community will grow from.
In Phase 1 Mid City Builds will buy and renovate the Prepara Building into a Construction Workforce Development Center for members of the community who wish to participate in construction worker training. Participants in the Construction Workforce Development Center will be taught construction skills, with a focus on timber construction, and business and personal skills that will aid them in applying for a job. The Construction Workforce Development Center is the cornerstone that the rest of the community will grow from.
In Phase 2 participants of the Construction Workforce Development Center will be employed to work on a market and cafe that will be built in the local Mid City community on the corner of Brice Street and North Boulevard, across the street from the Construction Workforce Development Center. The hiring of local community members as construction workers will allow the workers to put their newly learned skills to work in the community where they live. The market and cafe will serve to bring a steady income for members of the community who either can not or do not wish to work in the construction field.
The housing phase is broken up into two parts. The first part of the housing phase is the construction of new, modern shotgun houses in the neighborhood. These houses will serve as a foundation for communal design and construction improvements throughout the neighborhood. This will provide jobs for the construction workers and decrease blight in the neighborhood which leads to a safer neighborhood.
Part two is the renovation of existing housing in the neighborhood that is experience wear and tear after neglect. Improving peoples housing is the quickest way to improve the quality of life of the members of the Mid City community.
