Article about changes in Ruston

[EJ]

Ruston OKs purchase of chunk of downtown for parking [and other improvements]
Jordan Blum
jblum@thenewsstar.com
July 7, 2004

RUSTON - The Ruston Board of Aldermen unanimously agreed Tuesday to buy more than 34,000 square feet of downtown property to continue downtown revitalization efforts.

The property, which would be purchased from Sexton Enterprises for an undetermined amount, is between Park Avenue, the railroad tracks and Vienna and Bonner streets. It is next to the new Bonner Street bridge and Railroad Park.

Public Works Director Lewis Love said it is a good opportunity to create additional parking downtown.

"It would be ideal to try and help some of our parking problems downtown," Love said. "As we all know we have a major problem downtown trying to find out where to park everybody."

The additional parking and green space is part of the city's long-term downtown revitalization plans, which include plans to work with Louisiana Tech University to make Arizona Avenue the scenic entry point connecting the university to downtown Ruston.

The board also granted Ruston Mayor Dan Hollingsworth permission to sign a contract with the architectural firms Kinzelman Kline Gossman of Cincinnati and Smith, Tipton, Bailey and Parker of Baton Rouge for development of the conceptual plan between Tech and downtown. The board approved $35,000 for the study.

Areas included in the study are commercial development opportunities, street detail design plans, cost of the redesign of Arizona Avenue, and market renderings to assist in securing state funding and private development.

Hollingsworth described the plans as commitments from the city and Tech to work together for common goals.

The five-year plan for downtown also includes the Chautauqua Green, an extended green space between Monroe Avenue and College Street bordered by Louisiana and Texas avenues.

Other plans include additional downtown greenery, downtown apartments and more overall retail presence, as well as the proposed upscale Harris Historic Inn. There are also plans for the city to hire an economic development director.

[DawgFaninHous]

I think one way the city can show its interest in entering common goals with Tech would be to change the name of Alabama to Terry Bradshaw Blvd. It should have no reason not to do it, I imagine that it was named after the state which would mean much less than to be named after a local and national icon.

I think someone at Tech should petition the city to change the street name and let's have Bradshaw there for the unveiling. How about Labor Day at say 11:00AM???

Another street we could rename would be Railroad Ave.; how about Karl Malone Ave.?????

DFIH

[Dwayne From Minden]

Karl Malone Way sounds better...

But I agree with you 100% -

If Knoxville can have a street named after T-Martin than Malone and Bradshaw deserve streets in Ruston...

[TulsaDawg]

I'm glad to see Ruston is focusing on revitalizing downtown and other areas. It really needs it. Ruston was a much prettier town when I was a kid there. Since then, Wal Mart and strip shopping centers, abandoned grocery stores, abandoned buildings, etc have deteriorated its small town charm. I've come across many people who think Ruston and Tech are ugly.

[StrayDawg]

I'm glad to see Ruston is focusing on revitalizing downtown and other areas. It really needs it. Ruston was a much prettier town when I was a kid there. Since then, Wal Mart and strip shopping centers, abandoned grocery stores, abandoned buildings, etc have deteriorated its small town charm. I've come across many people who think Ruston and Tech are ugly.

Ditto TulsaDawg.

My supervisor is a Tech grad from 1970 and had not been back in many years because he joined the Air Force and stayed in for 30 years. When he and I met, we started talking about Tech and he had kept up with the teams over the years (he was a football walk-on under Joe Aillet, but didn't make the team) but had not been back to Ruston. Last year he and his daughter drove to Alabama. Before leaving, he told me that he was going to stop in Ruston and show his daughter where he had gone to college.

I had told him about the bricks on campus and he said he found his. He thought the campus was pretty nice and noted all of the construction going on.

When I asked him what he and his daughter thought of the town of Ruston, he said it looked run-down and that the town needed a big fire to come through so they could start over.

Bradshaw Blvd. and Malone Way sound like GREAT ideas. Does anyone know where to email this suggestion to someone on the development commission?

[Champ967]

A big fire gutting the town is exactly what Ruston does NOT need! Ruston has a terrific stock of existing commercial and residential buildings that need rehabilitation and little love. Building a whole new Ruston is not the answer!

See the former Albertson's (now parish library) where a dozen grand homes once stood. Pretty sad. It's the loss of structures like those that erode Ruston's "sense of place". I'm glad to see that Ruston is exploring options for downtown redevlopment, but I hope they are condsidering the preservation of historic resources among their top prioroties.

Look no farther than El Dorado for a community that revitalized its existing downtown to create a tourist destination from a formerly declining neighborhood.

[StrayDawg]

Champ,

There was a lot of sarcasm involved in the fire comment, but also some truth. I agree that the old buildings should be refurbished, and when I questioned him further about his comments, he said just that. A fire would make people realize the need for fixing the town up, and the insurance money would get the ball rolling. Again, a lot of sarcasm, but some truth.

If nothing is going to be done with the old buildings, then someone will eventually buy them and tear them down for other opportunities. Downtown Shreveport is a good example of this. When I was in HS, almost all the buildings on Commerce St. were abandoned and rotting away, except for an occasional bar or strip joint. The boats came in, saw an opportunity, and tore the whole place down. With Ruston being a college town with so much untapped potential, it's only a matter of time. Of course this would cause outrage to the locals who like it "the way it is", but refuse to realize the condition of the buildings and overall lack of appeal that downtown Ruston has.

In a somewhat related subject, the last time I was in town, I noticed that they tore down the old coffee house at the corner of Louisiana St that had been a bar called Library Lounge. It was across from a baptist church, and of course such heathenry as alcohol consumption can't be tolerated in such a place (unless it's a member of the congregation doing it ).

So, what do you do? The baptists had the option of doing something with the old building, but chose not to. Instead, they opted to tear it down because in the future, it might again be used for other immoral purposes like dancing or bingo games. I agree that the place needs to be renovated, but the locals don't. "Outsiders" who see the potential and try to develop it aren't allowed to because they didn't grow up there and the locals like it the way it is. This is one reason why things never change in Ruston.

[Champ967]

Ruston needs a few dozen funerals.

And an influx of about 200 or so successful Tech grads that have spent a few years out of the Piney Hills.

So who's with me? (on the influx, not the funerals ...)

[DallasDog]

Ill see if I can find you 200, but I like where I am at a little better than Lincoln Parish. No offense guys.

[StrayDawg]

I agree as well that an influx is badly needed. However, that influx will only be brought on by opportunity. If people see a chance for success, they will move there. Until they see opportunity, you will get a lot of responses like DallasDog's.

I would enjoy living back in North La. again. So, if the opportunity presents itself, I'm with you.

[TulsaDawg]

Ruston needs a few dozen funerals.

And an influx of about 200 or so successful Tech grads that have spent a few years out of the Piney Hills.

So who's with me? (on the influx, not the funerals ...)

If I am ever able to retire, it is something I would consider. I wouldn't mind being able to volunteer to help Tech and Ruston in any way I could.

[DallasDog]

no opportunity to make close to what I make, and have the entertainment, nightlife, and opportunities for advancement etc.. is exactly the reason I wouldn't move back no matter how much I love Louisiana Tech. I am not being mean guys just being honest. You have a town and overall area with limited industry right now and is still controlled by a handful of families. I have compared where I live to Shreveport, Ruston, Monroe and a few areas closer to home and the cost of living isn't significant enough to off set the lose in revenue. When I retire and manage the family property maybe, but right now the area isn't solvent enough economically. North central and Northeast Louisiana need to deversify in a big way. Its doesnt have to be large plants to ruin the landscape and wildlife but a broader economic base.

[EJ]

So who's with me? (on the influx, not the funerals ...)

working on it.

[Champ967]

No rush, EJ. I am tied to Cen.Ark. for at least another year.

[DawgFaninHous]

Karl Malone Way sounds better...

But I agree with you 100% -

If Knoxville can have a street named after T-Martin than Malone and Bradshaw deserve streets in Ruston...

Can we put a petition together from the board to send to the Ruston City Council for an open discussion????? Would they consider something from us as a viable thought? Maybe someone from Ruston could help us with the process?? I think it would be a very recruiting tool for the school and the town to have streets that are named for sports icons that actually lived and breathed Ruston air for a short time. Every time I drive down Nolan Ryan Expressway here in Houston, I think about that.