If you love local history and yearn to help save historic buildings, we have a place for you! Over the years, the Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation and DSDC2 have saved multiple important downtown buildings, repositioning them for a future life. This year, for the first time, DSDC is part of the Community Foundation of North Louisiana’s Give for Good campaign.
Money we raise during Give for Good will be earmarked and placed into a special fund that will go into rehabbing a historic downtown building. Our donors will be a part of the process step by step. You will be invited to see the building once acquired, and will be updated on the renovation process. When the time comes to throw open the doors to the building you helped fund, you will be part of that, too!
Help us raise funds to save historic downtown buildings during Give for Good!
Over the years, the Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation has acquired, either through purchase or donation, historic buildings that have no prospects and no real hope. We have rehabbed them, and found great partners to give them new life.
Examples of our work include 617 Texas Street, a building that was losing its roof and in danger of demolition that is now Robinson Film Center, 708 Texas Street, a former long-vacant furniture store that is now Artspace and PepitoXO, 421 Market Street, a building once threatened with demolition that now houses Dripp Donuts, a grim and dark space at 416 Cotton that is now the DDA offices, and others.
DSDC not only acquires properties and saves them, we help others do the same. A stabilization loan we gave Blind Tiger restaurant prevented collapse of their back wall, grants to other properties went to roof repair and waterproofing, two items crucial in keeping historic buildings intact.
The DSDC Facade Grant provided downtown property owners $352,000 to enhance their buildings, but it generated a remarkable $6.2m in additional investment by our owners!
Our DSDC low interest revolving loan fund has lent more than $2.1m to downtown property owners wishing to rehab or repair their own properties. The return to downtown, the City of Shreveport, and citizens has been immense- more buildings in use attracting more sales and foot traffic. A cleaner, more vibrant downtown, better experiences and more opportunities for all.
We want you to be a part of all that we are doing! We are currently working on our next historic building project downtown and one thing is certain; it will cost more to rehab than we expect. Post- Covid supply chain issues, worker shortages and increased costs have created a lot of uncertainty.
We are asking that you, with your donation, become a partner in downtown revitalization. Your donation to Give for Good will go into a DSDC fund that will only be used specifically for historic building renovation. We will keep you informed about the acquisition of the building and the progress along the way and acknowledge the role you played in putting another of our important buildings back to work.
If you have ever wanted to buy and renovate a historic building and are interested in preserving our history and heritage, this is for you. We hope that you will become part of downtown in a way that will make a positive difference for years to come!
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Mission Statement
Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation (DSDC) exists to stimulate the revitalization of downtown Shreveport through initiatives that enhance business growth, strengthen arts & culture, promote residential development, and preserve downtown’s unique inventory of historic properties. Recognizing that our broad range of architectural styles is a major asset for downtown Shreveport, DSDC seeks to initiate and support creative ventures and adaptive redevelopment efforts that enhance public awareness and utilization of this inventory.
