Click Here for more pictures of the abandoned dock Snapshot: Graffiti on the abandoned dock
Between the bends of the Mississippi River, a multi-story residential and commercial structure may soon grace the bank between downtown Baton Rouge and the University’s campus.
The proposed structure would be built on top of the current municipal dock, located between downtown and LSU’s campus along the east side of the river. It will feature a public space for gatherings and performances, as well as apartments, offices and a restaurant. The upper deck would include a garden overlooking campus, downtown and the river.
Trey Trahan of Trahan Architects, the firm designing the project, said a developer came to him and identified the dock as an unutilized community asset.
“[The developer] asked the question of how do we begin to restore commerce,” Trahan said. “We believe the portion between LSU and downtown is essential to growth and success of the city.”
Trahan said the project would cost anywhere from $20 to $30 million.
Plans to start building have not begun, but Trahan said the project has generated interest from developers.
“We asked the question of how do you build economically out there in the river and not experience high construction costs, as well as memorialize the memory of the place,” Trahan said.
The municipal dock was previously used to unload barges as they traveled on the river.
Trahan’s drawings of the project show an arching pattern and a large open area for the public. Trahan said the designs tie in the beauty of the state and the French culture.
“The structure should reflect who we are as a people now and into the future, and I think that’s an optimistic perspective, thinking about buildings that are shaped and formed and sculpted in a very progressive way,” Trahan said.
Scott Dyer, spokesman for East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden, said the city reviewed the plans when they were produced in April but said the city doesn’t have the money now to pay for a project like that.
“It has not advanced yet. We are talking to others about its potential,” Trahan said. “We’re hoping in time others and the city may embrace it, support it and invest in it.”
Paul Arrigo, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the plans for the “striking” structure would provide an opportunity for citizens and visitors to connect the city and the river.
“We have this internationally known body of water that we’re just sitting on,” Arrigo said. “It’d be a great opportunity to connect with the river and all that it has.”
Baton Rouge currently has some attractions close to the river, like museums and the USS Kidd.
“It’d be great if we had more additional and comfortable ways to view and experience the river,” Arrigo said.
Arrigo said the riverfront site would also provide the opportunity for an excursion boat to view the city and the river, one thing Baton Rouge does not currently have.
Trahan said the new riverfront development would bring people back to the levee’s edge.
“The levees are not as safe as we’d like it to be,” Trahan said. “We think by bringing people to that levee’s edge, not only would it return people to the river as an attraction of some sort, but to also bring security to that area.”
The project was featured as “Extreme Makeover: City Dock Edition” in 225 Magazine’s top five things to look forward to in 2011.
Trahan said the dock has garnered national and international attention and will be sculpted in a progressive and sustainable way.
“I think we need to establish a place that’s unique to us and not borrow an architectural language or way of building that speaks to a different place,” Trahan said.
 
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Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]