Shreveport Common, Inc.

Voted #1 Community Development Project in the Nation by the National Development Council

OVERVIEW: Shreveport Common, Inc. is a 501(C)3 non-profit, working with the City of Shreveport, Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC) and over 50 public/private partners to advance the community revitalization of a long-blighted historic area to the promise of the Shreveport Common Vision Plan for an UNcommon community. This nationally awarded Creative Placemaking initiative is located at the eastern edge of Shreveport's first neighborhood, Ledbetter Heights now a HUD Choice neighborhood and west of downtown Shreveport. 

TO DATE:  50 partners/stakeholders and property owners have invested over $71 million in transformational projects including unique public art/programming, improved community venues/new greenspaces, historic preservation and adaptive reuse of endangered buildings to create unique market-rate and affordable, mix-use, artist live/work spaces, community makerspaces and marketplaces. 33 construction projects are complete, 6 are under construction, 16 are in predevelopment. SEE PROGRAMS FOR CURRENT PROJECTS

NATIONAL MODEL FOR CREATIVE PLACEMAKING: Shreveport Common was studied and featured by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a "...leader in Creative Placemaking," and voted the 2015-2016 #1 Community Development Project in the Nation by the National Development Council 500 member Academy for its community process, unique public/private partnerships and commitment to Authenticity, Creativity, Sustainability and Community - for ALL -with no displacement of the current neighbors. Your support helps us continue pre-development efforts in Shreveport Common, removing obstacles and matching partners to put endangered spaces back into commerce in exciting ways.

FROM BLIGHT TO BRIGHT: In 2009, half the buildings in the 9-block area were gone due to neglect. Of the remaining, 64% were unoccupied, several on the National Register for Historic Places. The historic Municipal Auditorium was woefully underused, one of many examples of state treasures in need of major updating and restoration. The 1924 Central Fire Station, BNAI Zion Temple and more than half of the 800 block of Texas Avenue buildings were unused, deteriorating from neglect. Blighted properties on the state's endangered building list included the buildings in the 800 block of Texas Ave., the "UNEEDA Biscuit" Building, Andress Motor Garage, Arlington Hotel, Calanthean Temple, Creswell Hamilton Hotel and the Ogilvie Wiener Mansion. 

CATALYST FOR CHANGE: In August of 2009, a random act of arson destroyed the offices of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC), ultimately creating a catalyst for community change.

THE ARTS CREATING COMMUNITY CHANGE: The community rallied, raising over $6 million to renovate the 10-year-empty Central Fire Station to the new SRAC headquarters with Emerging Artist Gallery, Artist Entrepreneurial Training Center and multi-purpose Engine Room. The creatively re-purposed building, the first capital improvement in over 50 years, is now home to SRAC, staff, hundreds of volunteers and Artists, and hosts over 200 days of free Arts programming each year. The former hose tower is now the Kallenberg Artist Tower for Artists-in-residence. Atop it is the 20' LED-lit FLAME, a beacon for the area. The 20' tall LED lit ART THE DALMATIAN on Crockett St., 12 murals throughout the area, and now the new Caddo Common park with 20' tall LED lit artists trees and outdoor pavilion are now a popular place for programming, fun, a place to visit and take selfies for community and visitors alike. SRAC is committed to connecting Artists and community, providing access to the Arts for all and connects and engages the neighbors most living well below the poverty level, including the residents of nearby social service transitional housing programs for those who would otherwise be homeless.

TOGETHER - PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERS MAKING CHANGE: In 2012, City Council, Caddo Parish Commission and MPC approved the Shreveport Common Vision Plan as a strategy of the 2030 Caddo-Shreveport Master Plan. With approval of the Shreveport Common Vision Plan, private property owners began to preserve, redevelop, sell or donate their properties; SRAC moved into the Central ARTSTATION and began featuring dynamic programming and public art in surrounding area; City of Shreveport invested in public buildings and infrastructure, the preservation/renovation the Municipal Auditorium which now attracts sell-out shows, quadrupling ticket sales, and creation/improvement of community greenspaces including the beautiful Grand Promenade on Elvis Presley Ave., with Friends of Oakland and the ASEANA Foundation, major preservation and beautification of Oakland Cemetery and ASEANA Gardens. In 2018 - 2021, the City, SRAC and Shreveport Common Inc., Caddo Parish Commission and over 100 private donors repurposed 9-blighted parcels to the UNcommon, Caddo Common park at 869 Texas Ave.