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Build Baton Rouge wins $5 million in JPMorgan Chase’s AdvancingCities Challenge

What a difference a year makes! In November of 2019 we unveiled the Imagine Plank Road Plan for Equitable Development, a transit-oriented, community-led vision of a revitalized Plank Road. We are excited to announce that Baton Rouge has been selected to receive a $5 million JPMorgan Chase 2020 AdvancingCities grant to implement the Plank Road masterplan.

The AdvancingCities competition invites applicants to demonstrate plans that address equity issues such as race and income. The proposed plans must present imaginative solutions to complex systemic challenges and demonstrate a collaborative approach to executing the project goals. This year, JPMorgan’s challenge accepted over 150 proposals from 78 communities spanning 35 states. Build Baton Rouge was one of only eight applicants chosen to receive this prestigious and generous award. Build Baton Rouge has previously received grant funding from JP Morgan Chase, including a $100,000 PRO (Partnerships for Raising Opportunity) Neighborhoods Planning Grant for the Plank Road masterplan in 2018.

Meet The Collaborative

Build Baton Rouge is proud to partner with TruFund Financial, Metromorphosis, and the Co-City Baton Rouge Project to implement the Plank Road masterplan through programs that will eliminate blight, grow small businesses, and preserve housing affordability in North Baton Rouge.
TruFund Financial Services: More than a loan. An opportunity.

How We’re Advancing:

Affordable Housing Units

Affordable Housing Units

Plank Road Masterplan

develop a grocery-anchored mixed use development featuring 40 new affordable housing units and directly on the new bus rapid transit line.

Collaborative partner:

TruFund Financial Services: More than a loan. An opportunity.

Small Business Support and Lending

Small Business Financing

Plank Road Masterplan

create a revolving loan fund for businesses and entrepreneurs located in or connected to North Baton Rouge and the Plank Road corridor.

Collaborative partners:

TruFund Financial Services: More than a loan. An opportunity.

Food Incubator

Food Incubator

Plank Road Masterplan

deliver rentable commercial kitchen space and facilitate job training in a renovated, 3,500 sq. ft historic building located at 3968 Plank Road.

Collaborative partners:

TruFund Financial Services: More than a loan. An opportunity.

Community Land Trust

Community Land Trust

Plank Road Masterplan

establish a hybrid Community Land Trust/Land Bank entity to preserve North Baton Rouge housing and commercial affordability, and grow concentrated wealth, and create a platform for neighborhood-level capacity building.

Collaborative partner:

Facade Improvements

Facade Improvements

Plank Road Masterplan

upgrade 15 existing Plank Road business facades.

Collaborative partner:

TruFund Financial Services: More than a loan. An opportunity.

Pocket Park

Pocket Park

Plank Road Masterplan

transform a vacant, blighted lot at the corner of Plank Road and Myrtlelawn Drive into a community park designed by students at LSU School of Design and managed by BREC.

Collaborative partner:

About JPMorgan Chase AdvancingCities

AdvancingCities is a $500 million initiative that combines JPMorgan Chase’s lending capital, philanthropic capital, and expertise to make investments in cities. The program consists of two key features, the AdvancingCities Challenge and large-scale investments in cities.

The 2020 AdvancingCities Challenge leveraged lessons learned from six years of hosting the PRO Neighborhoods competition and the first year of the AdvancingCities Challenge, continuing to emphasize the importance of collaboration, strong leadership, and bold and innovative approaches to help ensure that access to capital and opportunity is more widely shared by diverse communities. This year’s combined challenge sourced solutions that embodied three key factors:

  • A powerful vision for the future shaped by deep community engagement and a shared understanding of goals and priorities to ensure alignment across partners;
  • Strong leadership and collaboration among a diverse set of actors with unique authority and resources to drive sustainable change; and
  • Innovative approaches that are data-driven and evidence-based and that move beyond “business as usual” to change the trajectory of communities that are currently being left behind.

The winning AdvancingCities Challenge initiatives will have access to a wide array of JPMorgan Chase resources, including data and research, employee expertise, and a global network.

To learn more about AdvancingCities visit www.jpmorganchase.com/advancingcities.