Sunday, January 27, 2019

Downtown Covington Study - 1997

Some 22 years ago, in the mid-1990's, Nancy Bowen-Ellzey of Bowen and Associates conducted a statistical study of the Covington downtown business area, determining its strengths and weaknesses and proposing directions in which it could improve.

In 1997 she agreed to an interview about the findings from her study. 

CLICK HERE to hear the first part of her remarks. 

Just looking over the past two decades, downtown Covington has made great strides in the areas mentioned in her study, particularly in becoming a more defined "focal point" for commercial shopping, professional services, social gathering places and artistic expression. 

Part two of the interview mentions these and other attributes of downtown Covington's growth.

 CLICK HERE to hear the second part of the interview.



Looking back at the 1990's, we can see Covington's most recent achievements, a new city hall, the Tammany Trace trailhead and museum, the new Southern Hotel, art galleries galore, coffee houses, and best of all, people flocking the streets, friends meeting friends, and business people doing business. 

Her background includes years of experience with economic and community development, the chamber of commerce, JEDCO and the City of Kenner's Planning Department. She was active in employment and training programs, acting as a liaison between the public and private sectors to meet the education needs of the public as Executive Director for the Louisiana Council on Education and Training in Baton Rouge.

Bowen-Ellzey is a Certified Economic Development (CED) and has a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of New Orleans.