At right, this map shows the area considered for a recent blight study in the area of Highways 6/31 and Capehart Road.
The City of Gretna will consider a blight study in the coming weeks.
The study area includes 99.7 acres along Highways 6/31, just north of Capehart Road: a smaller parcel on the west side of the Highway, backing up to Chestnut Ridge, and a larger parcel on the east side backing up the the future Gretna Crossing Park site and current fields.
The field survey was conducted July 21 and indicated blighted/substandard conditions including limited connectivity and multiple streets dead-end at the study area, faulty lot layout, poor drainage, overgrowth, lack of sidewalks and deterioration.
If declared blighted and substandard, the City of Gretna can stimulate and manage future development of the area by creating a redevelopment plan and providing financial incentives for private development, often through Tax Increment Financing, which would help a potential developer overcome these conditions.
The property on the east side of the highway — preliminary platted as Glen Ridge — is seeking TIF funding for its apartments and commercial development of the site.
The city chose to include the parcel Chestnut Ridge parcel on the west side of the highway in the study because a drainage ditch cutting through the property has made it hard to develop, said Dan Giitinger, the city’s development services director.
The Gretna Planning Commission considered the study Tuesday, making a recommendation for the Gretna City Council to deny the study.
A public hearing on the study will proceed the Council’s decision on the study at its Sept. 15 meeting. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Gretna City Hall, 204 N. McKenna Ave.
