The University has undergone a string of renovations since its relocation from downtown Baton Rouge in the 1920s, leaving East State Street to grow old in its shadow.Nearly 90 years after development followed the University to its current location, the North Gate Merchants Association extended an invitation to property owners and residents of East State Street, including those of Ivanhoe, Carlotta and Tula streets, to join them in a discussion about the future of the area — and to one day potentially join the NGMA. The invitation — signed by Mayor-President Kip Holden and Chancellor Michael Martin among others and dated Aug. 14 — also listed the efforts made by NGMA to clean the area, including repairing street lights, cleaning drainage systems and clearing the sidewalks.”Our next step is to work with you and other property owners, tenants, East Baton Rouge City-Parish Government and LSU to make improvements,” the letter read. Brennan Percy, anthropology graduate and mechanical engineering freshman, has lived on State Street for five years.”I am all for cleaning up State Street,” Percy said. “I’m all in favor of cleaning it up without changing the feel of it.”Efforts by Percy to clean State Street have been shot down by his neighbors, he said.”I’ve tried cleaning the street up a couple of times and was told ‘It’s dirty. It’s State Street. That’s just how it is,'” Percy said. Louis Temento, alumnus, said he lived in the area for 17 years.”I’m for cleaning up the neighborhood,” Temento said. “I can’t imagine anything that I wouldn’t want done other than the tearing down of houses to build condominiums … These houses have character — they have architectural integrity.”About 20 people, including representatives from the University and Wicker’s office, gathered Tuesday night to discuss the residents’ issues and concerns.”Nobody [has] ever tried to get the property owners together — get people together and let some people know there are people who care,” Loftus said. “Once they started talking more about issues … it became more apparent that they did need a type of organization. The intent … was not to make any kind of motions or action steps other than that we will be meeting again and continuing the discussions.”Previously, interaction between the NGMA and State Street residents was limited to the organization of the 2008 Carlotta Street Halloween Party, which NGMA hosted. Brad Harris, State Street resident, said he recognizes there is room to improve the street, but he has seen drastic improvements in the last several years.”I see less undesirable people in the neighborhood,” Harris said. “I see property owners [trying to make] permanent fixes … Whatever it is that they’re doing, it’s positive.”Clarke Cadzow, owner of Highland Coffees and NGMA board member, described the greater University area when it moved from its downtown location in the 1920s as a vast span of untouched land. Retail establishments popped up on Highland Road and the stretch of Chimes Street soon after the University began to lay its roots, but State, Carlotta and Ivanhoe streets focused on residential.Originally home to the University’s professors and area professionals, the State Street area became officially known as the “Campanile,” Cadzow said.Campanile translates to “bell tower” — named after the Memorial Tower visible from Chimes Street before the construction of Pleasant Hall, Cadzow said. Carlotta Street was originally named Louisiana Street, while Ivanhoe Street was originally named University Street. The three streets together formed Louisiana State University, Cadzow said.”The connection has always been there,” Cadzow said. “The neighborhood started to change a little bit as Baton Rouge started to expand … Professors had more options for where they lived.”In the mid-1960s, State Street began to morph into its current state, Cadzow said. The rise in the popularity of automobiles allowed professors options for moving away from campus.————Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]