Central, Louisiana

4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 CENTRAL , LOUI S I ANA One major development underway in Central, named The Settlement on Shoe Creek, will feature 150 acres of homes, apartments, and assisted living units, as well as community areas, greenspace, and 150,000 square feet of commercial space. “According to our master plan, this area is one of our designated commercial nodes. So, it does fit in with our plan,” says Mayor Barrow, sharing that the commercial portion of the development will be home to medical professionals, restaurants, and retail spaces. “There is a good cross-section of businesses going in there that will blend in with the other commercial tenants along that area,” he suggests. Partnering with business recruiting company, Retail Strategies Inc., Central is working to create employment opportunities in the city, hoping to bring more daytime commerce to local restaurants and other businesses. As a bedroom community, a large portion of the population leave Central during the day to go to Baton Rouge and other nearby areas for work. “Our daytime population is a lot less than our nighttime,” says Barrow, “A number of our restaurants out here at lunchtime don’t have a very big crowd, but at night it’s just the opposite, it can be very crowded. So, we are looking at recruiting businesses that can bring jobs to our community.” Currently, the three largest employers in Central include the Central Community School System, Demco, a co-op utility company whose headquarters are in the city, and Walmart. With a population of just under 30,000, Central has traditionally been home to an older demographic, a trend which Barrow notes is starting to change. “A large percentage of our population is over the age of 55. We do have an older population, but that is slowly starting to move more towards younger families and kids,” he reports. The Central Community School System, which was started in 2007, is one of the reasons Barrow believes the city has seen an increase in younger