IS NEW SHREVEPORT DOWNTOWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DOOMED FROM GET-GO
It's only been a week since the Shreveport City Council unanimously voted to create a new economic development district to benefit the Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.
And it's only been a week since the public was informed at the Council meeting that no film production can be expected at the Millennium Studios anytime in the foreseeable future due to a chronic flooding problem.
This fact was known to the Arceneaux administration and to Jackson before the Millennium lease was signed. Nothing has been done since the June 2023 flooding to repair the flood damage other than the initial cleanup. And nothing has been done to ameliorate the obvious flooding problem since that time.
Nevertheless, with much fanfare the Areceneaux administration trumpeted the economic district to be the saviour for the downtown entertainment district, and for that matter, all of downtown. The district was to incentivize film production at Millennium and create a new workforce resulting in people spending money to live, eat and party in downtown. All this at no cost to the City.
But there WILL be a cost to the City if this hyped up economic engine is to even crank up. To have film production at Millennium, drastic flood remediation must be accomplished. Bayou Grande Apartments are obviously a primary cause of the massive water flow into the studios and the adjacent warehouse.
One solution is to build a three foot high wall around the warehouse and the studios with waterproof gates to keep flood waters away with sump pumps for rain that falls into the walled area. The feasibility and cost of this suggestion is unknown but there does not appear to be any easy answers to stop waterflow from the Grand Bayou apartments.
The Shreveport Housing Authority is the owner of this complex. Whether or not the City has made, or can make, a claim against the housing authority and/or the construction team including architects, engineers and the like is unknown at this time. And then there is the issue of any City insurance policy on the building and any claim(s) made under that policy for flood damage.
So, did Jackson ever really think he could film at Millennium? And how about the Arceneaux administration? Is the new economic district just a ruse to placate Jackson and his supporters along with the City's large, registered Democrat voter base?
Without a major overhaul this economic engine won't even turn over, much less get out of the driveway. Maybe all the clouds of smoke from the exhaust obscured a clear vision while the district promoters were holding the mirrors.