BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION | ANNUAl REpORT 2011

civic leadership initiatives
smiley heights
Redevelopment requires patience and persistence. Smiley Heights
began as a Foundation project following Hurricane Katrina. It was intended to provide a
community for East Baton Rouge’s rapidly growing population. But it fizzled because the
federal government didn’t come through with financing. Nearly six years after the storm,
the smoldering idea for Smiley Heights was rekindled, this time with education facilities
envisioned as anchors for the community. Located on 200 acres surrounding North
Ardenwood Drive, and bordered by North Lobdell Boulevard and Greenwell Springs Road,
the neighborhood will feature a career high school operated by EBR Schools and a proposed
automotive training center, all surrounded by mixed-income homes. Greenspaces and shops
will also be an integral part of the community. The Smiley Heights neighborhood is one of
the visionary undertakings of the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority, which was
also formed with the Foundation’s assistance. In 2011, the Authority secured funding for the
project and signed contracts to buy the land that will become Smiley Heights.
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BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION | annual report 2011