City of Kenner Wants to Change Demographics

Today's Times-Picayune has a story about how the City of Kenner does not like the current demographics of its population. If the city wants to change these demographics, it is going to take some serious effort and sacrifice both from the government and the people. And the people have already voted down tax proposals which would have helped the city. And it is going to take a lot of public and private money to change the city of Kenner's demographics.

First place we can start is the Esplanade Mall. This mall used to be the mall in the area to go to, but it has in the last decade gone down hill drastically. The city and the mall owners need to stop leasing space to cheap, tacky stores, and start actively recruiting high end and unique stores (ie stores Lakeside and Clearview malls don't have). They need to also make the food court worth going to, and make citizens feel safe to go to the mall. Frankly now at night, it does not feel like a safe place.

Next, the city needs to look at Hollywood Cinemas 9. This is the only movie theater in Kenner, and outside of the Bollywood fair offered, it is a pretty poor theater. Supposedly there was going to be a new theater built in the area; but so far nothing has come from that. The city and the property owners need to create a modern, high end theater here (plus keep the Bollywood films showing there which gives the mall a very well educated base of customers). The city should also actively help whoever owns the old AMC theater building to bring in a theater there as well, perhaps an Alamo Drafthouse theater or something similar showing both mainstream and art house fair (similar to The Theatres at Canal Place, but maybe on a smaller budget).

Third, the city of Kenner needs to start recruiting high end realtors there. The current crop of places to live is not attractive to young professionals. There is no real sense of neighborhood anywhere. You want to have at least high end apartments for young professionals or single professionals. Go look at towns you want to emulate or should be emulating. The NOLA area is most often compared to Austin, Tx, go look there and see what kind of apartments and condos they have there.

Finally, join the 21st Century. The City of Kenner's website is a joke, and online services barely function. I tried to pay a ticket online for months, only to be told the site was down. When I went to pay it in person, the IT structure looked like it was held together by duct tape. Update the city government's IT to a fully functioning modern structure. Erect free Wi Fi towers throughout the city. Actively work to bring broadband to all communities in Kenner. Aggresively promote computer literacy through the Libraries and Schools in Kenner. Become a truly wired city.

Of course Kenner has to fight the hardest part of the city: who wants to live in Kenner? As I said above, there is no real sense of neighborhood in most of Kenner. The city sis actively shutting down River Town, an area which needs more attention and development not less. The police force is looked at as overpaid mall and traffic cops and frankly they don't do much to discourage that.

There seems to be no real sense of actually wanting people to move there aside from more tax revenue. Where is the recruitment for actual businesses? What firms want to move to a city where there seems to be no space or buildings to have an actual office on?

The rumor of the city trying to bring Coconut Beach to the lakefront facility is a step in the right direction, but the city really does need more forward thinking people both in the public and private sector if it wants to change the demographics and the crumbling effect now going on.