Grocer Vacates
Madison Park was one of Shreveport’s first shopping centers back in the day, and like many such centers, its attraction faded as the population moved south in Shreveport and especially along the crowded and busy arteries of Line and Youree. However, there has been renewed interested in recent years and, in fact, days in this area. Marilynn’s is a popular restaurant occupying the old Al Carroll service station location, and it has evolved into a “go to” place for political rallies, fund-raising events for non-profits and Mardi Gras activities. Ki’México opened earlier last year, and its success is resulting in an expansion of its facilities at this time; this has led to a resurgence of consumer traffic to the Madison Park center.
And perhaps the most important development that offers promise to a renewal of Madison Park is the establishment this year of the Querbes Park Foundation, spearheaded by James “Jimbo” West. Querbes has always been a gem of a small municipal golf course, and generations of Shreveport residents have played the course – and knocked balls into the backyards of Greenway Place residents. The Foundation is raising funds to improve the course, at a time when City of Shreveport funds are lacking to restore the fairways and greens to premier condition. The Foundation had already made several overtures to Brookshire’s officials concerning the purchase of their training facility with pending plans to develop a center for boutique shops that would complement this area; until very recently, Brookshire’s only extended a neighborly cold shoulder before giving real estate developer Rick Lennard an option to purchase the property.
Lennard hopes to construct a two-story, 80,000-square-foot facility that will have 400-450 self-storage units. The facility will be available to those who rent units seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the office will be open six days a week. Practically the entire parking lot north of Marilynn’s restaurant to the Exxon Station on the corner of Greg and Fern will be taken up by the storage facility, which will be fenced; only limited parking is needed for the expected 30 customer visits per day to storage units.
Under the current antiquated zoning ordinance, Lennard can put a storage facility into the Brookshire’s facility. But to more than double the building’s footprint and to add a second story, he must get Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) and City Council approval; Lennard has said that the economics will not work at the present location. Lennard believes that this proposed structure – which will be the only two-story storage facility in the area – will be a positive addition to the Madison Park area and that it will fill a need for all those houses in the area with small closets that need more storage space. Interestingly, the proposed Unified Development Code, in its present format which has yet to be approved by the Shreveport City Council and the Caddo Commission, would not allow a self-storage facility in this location.
The staff report noted that the proposed storage facility site is situated between the Highland and Broadmoor neighborhoods, and it is adjacent to Querbes golf course. The report concludes that “a storage facility of this size does not enhance the characteristics and ideals of both of these neighborhood nor the planned efforts to revitalize Querbes City Park and Golf Course. From a planning perspective, a storage facility of this magnitude is a sterile use, in that it will not have an active or viable presence in the neighborhood. In an area heavily invested in the history and art of Shreveport, a mixed-use development which strengthens the neighborhoods and creates more vibrancy in the area would be more appropriate.”
The MPC staff report analyzed and compare the proposed building footprint percentage with those in the surrounding area to determine neighborhood compatibility. Lennard’s proposed development has a footprint percentage of 55 percent of the site; the staff report noted that the commercial area on Fern Avenue between College Lane and Slattery Boulevard had an average footprint percentage of 30 percent. The proposed facility would have the largest footprint percentage of all similar zoned sites in the City of Shreveport.
Lennard, whose primary residence is in Austin, Texas, operates other self-storage units in the local area. The staff report reflects that these facilities have a smaller footprint than his Madison Park proposal. His South Bossier Storage Center has an approximate 24 percent bootprint on a five-acre tract on Barksdale Boulevard, and his Mansfield Road Storage Center covers approximately 25 percent of the five-plus-acre tract. The neighborhoods adjacent to these locations differ substantially from the Madison Park area, and these storage units are one-story facilities.
This appeal will undoubtedly be the most contested zoning case that the current Council has addressed, and the hearing will most likely draw a capacity crowd to the Council chambers. Unlike cases where the Council has not approved special exception uses for alcohol sales, the storage facility request to exceed MPC staff recommendations does not have much litigation potential of success if the Council overrules the MPC’s approval of the massive facility. The opposition to this mausoleum-like plan is well organized, and it will undoubtedly be a political force in the 2018 Shreveport Council and mayor election, and for that matter, in any upcoming local elections.
John E. Settle Jr. is an attorney who has practiced in Shreveport- Bossier since 1977. His columns have appeared in local publications for more than 15 years. He can be reached at 742-5513 or mail to: john@jesettle.com.
