Built Baton Rouge

Co-City Baton Rouge

Background

Co-City Baton Rouge (CCBR) is a multi-stakeholder approach to urban regeneration in long-neglected and impoverished neighborhoods in Baton Rouge’s four-mile Plank Road corridor. The core innovative approach of the project was to create a new neighborhood-based institution, the Plank Road Community Land Bank and Trust (CLBT), to place vacant, abandoned, and/or deteriorated properties (VADs) back into productive use and prevent the displacement of existing residents.

The Plank Road CLBT is the first of its kind in the nation. By combining the features of a traditional land bank with a community land trust, this hybrid institution is being used to drive investment in residential, commercial, and recreational developments, green infrastructure, arts- and youth-focused activities, and public utilities such as microgrids and broadband. The first CLBT development is a 10,000-square-foot EcoPark, which includes elements co-designed through a community engagement process.

CCBR and its collaborative partners were awarded a competitive  $5 million Advancing Cities Grant by JPMorgan Chase to support the transformation of the Plank Road area.

Project Development

The transformation of Plank Road began in 2019, when Build Baton Rouge (BBR) launched a two‑year, community‑driven planning process to reimagine the corridor. Through surveys, tours, events, and roundtables, residents shaped a shared vision for a walkable, culturally vibrant, and economically inclusive set of neighborhoods.

The plan prioritized better transit, stronger local businesses, affordable housing, and resilient infrastructure. It proposed Louisiana’s first bus rapid transit line, along with a civic center, food hub, park, housing, essential services, and support for small, locally owned businesses.

Co‑City Baton Rouge (CCBR) helped design governance and development strategies to ensure residents have long‑term stakes in the area’s future. A key innovation was a hybrid Land Bank and Community Land Trust model to reclaim abandoned properties for affordable housing, green space, flood mitigation, and community‑serving commercial uses while preventing displacement.

After releasing the Imagine Plank Road Plan, Build Baton Rouge (BBR) and Co‑City Baton Rouge (CCBR) turned to securing implementation funding from public, private, and philanthropic sources. Progress slowed during the COVID‑19 pandemic but resumed in 2022.

That year, BBR and CCBR won a $5 million investment through JPMorgan Chase’s AdvancingCities Challenge, awarded to the Baton Rouge Collaborative, a partnership of BBR, CCBR, MetroMorphosis, and TruFund Financial, in recognition of their community‑centered approach.

The grant supported several key initiatives:

  • A grocery‑anchored mixed‑use development with 40+ affordable housing units along the new bus rapid transit line
  • Renovation of a 3,500 sq. ft historic building into a Food Incubator with commercial kitchen space, fresh food access, and job training
  • Financial and technical assistance for 15 minority‑owned businesses
  • Facade improvements for 15 corridor buildings
  • Creation of a 4,000 sq. ft EcoPark on a vacant lot
  • Continued housing affordability efforts through a hybrid land bank/community land trust model

The Plank Road EcoPark is the first built project from the Imagine Plank Road Plan, turning long‑vacant land into a community‑designed green space. Launched in 2019, the co‑design process continued through construction planning, with groundbreaking expected in Q3 2024.

Co‑City Baton Rouge (CCBR) led the effort, beginning with the EcoPark Steering Committee, which helped identify sites and priorities. LSU Landscape Architecture students developed concepts over three semesters, adapting during the pandemic with remote tools. The final design combined community preferences from multiple proposals. When the original site became unavailable, spatial analysis guided the selection of an alternative location within the corridor.

The EcoPark is designed as a climate‑resilience asset for North Baton Rouge, addressing heat, air quality, and stormwater flooding. Key features include:

  • 75% permeable surfaces
  • Rain chains and cisterns for water capture
  • Indigenous plantings for absorption and biodiversity
  • Raised beds for edible gardening
  • Expanded tree canopy to reduce heat and improve air quality

The project uses community‑informed science and university modeling to reduce flood risk, especially important after the 2016 flood. It shows how nature‑based, low‑tech solutions can be co‑designed with residents to deliver environmental and social benefits at the neighborhood scale.

As the Imagine Plank Road Plan advanced, Co‑City Baton Rouge (CCBR) and Build Baton Rouge (BBR) created the Plank Road Community Land Bank and Trust (CLBT), a first‑of‑its‑kind hybrid that combines the acquisition power of a land bank with the stewardship of a community land trust.

Traditional land banks acquire vacant or tax‑delinquent properties but struggle to activate them, while land trusts ensure affordability but face barriers to acquisition. The CLBT bridges these gaps by acquiring underutilized land through public transfers and holding it in trust for long‑term community benefit, using 99‑year ground leases to prevent displacement.

Formally incorporated as a nonprofit in 2023, the CLBT’s mission is to return vacant properties to productive use, stabilize neighborhoods, and preserve affordability. Guided by legal research and community input, it is building a governance framework with a Community Advisory Board.

Its first acquisition,a 10,000‑square‑foot site for the Plank Road EcoPark