Pollard Estates (Baton Rouge, Zachary, Gardere: homes, neighborhoods, buying)

[laleh]

Do you think that buying there would be a good long term investment?

how bad is the traffic going to downtown from there?

Thanks guys.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by laleh

Do you think that buying there would be a good long term investment?

how bad is the traffic going to downtown from there?

Thanks guys.

I like Pollard. It has two entrances/exits, and with Pennington on one side, that means there is not the chance of much new development ruining things, unless you believe that the proposed Rouzan development would be a bad thing. The neighborhood also has some small hills and generally attractive (but older) homes. And nextdoor to it is Woodchase, which is an upper middle class subdivision built in the 90s.

Traffic would be really bad at Perkins/College, but I'd shortcut it through Concord/Constitution/I-10 at College.

All I could say negatively about Pollard is that it is pricier than similar older homes.

[laleh]

thanks brman. how do you know all of this stuff?

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by laleh

thanks brman. how do you know all of this stuff?

Thanks much - I'm flattered . Well, I try to keep up on what's going on around town, and I've lived here a while. And since I've been here a while (and have seen "Big BR" change gradually over the years), I like to use that knowledge for the benefit of those coming here.

[laleh]

well it is much appreciated. this is a hard city to figure out.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by laleh

well it is much appreciated. this is a hard city to figure out.

It can be, but there is a certain rhythm to it if you've been here a while. Remember there are really four "Baton Rouges": North Baton Rouge, South Baton Rouge, LSU influenced Baton Rouge (I'm thinking of the area roughly between Park and College), and black Baton Rouge.

[MetroBTR]

If you can manage to buy into that market, Pollard would be a good bet as far as the long-term goes. It's one of those older neighborhoods that has stayed pretty constant over the years. I don't see it going downhill anytime soon.

[laleh]

where is black baton rouge? hasn't that been shifting? sherwood forest used to be white, no? but now it is black?

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by laleh

where is black baton rouge? hasn't that been shifting? sherwood forest used to be white, no? but now it is black?

Very good questions. I'll attempt to describe:

(1) In the old days, Choctaw was the dividing line between "north Baton Rouge" (the blue collar part of town) and "south Baton Rouge" (the white collar/academic part of town). Blacks used to live in two concentrations: in and around Southern, and north of LSU in "old South BR"
(2) Today, I would say "black Baton Rouge" in general has the following boundaries: (a) the Miss River starting north of LSU and extending well up into the NW part of the parish, (b) the Comite River, (c) Florida Blvd to Acadian, (d) Government between Acadian and Park Blvd, (e) Park Blvd/Dalrymple down to LSU. There are exceptions, of course, as most of Zachary is white, and there are black neighborhoods in Gardere, Blvd De Province, Flannery Road, Southpark Drive, Concord Estates, Mayfair, Valley Park, Siegen between Perkins and Industriplex, and a strip of Perkins on either side of Siegen
(3) Yes, the boundaries have shifted - in the 80s, an area bounded by Plank Road, Airline, and Choctaw changed pretty quickly. In the 90s, it was neighborhoods between Florida and Greenwell Springs (Bellaire, Villa Del Ray, Park Forest, Monticello), while lately Sherwood Forest has been rapidly changing. It's still majority white, but I think in 5-10 years, that will not be the case.

Anyway, this is a bit long, but it's information that, depending on your point of view about who you wish to have as your neighbors, it's worth keeping in mind.

[laleh]

woah, that is a lot of information. thank you very much. it is very interesting how the demographics of neighborhoods changed......... why do certain areas switch their racial profile? as you may know, i am neither black not white and i find this topic fascinating. honestly, i think i would feel most comfortable in a white neighborhood as it seems like i only have those two choices here- black or white.