When Ty Larkins started his interior design firm, he had his sights set on the Perkins Road overpass area. But something kept drawing the lawyer-turned-interior designer to the rundown building on the corner of Government Street and Park Boulevard. After putting in the work for a major renovation of the space in 2008, Larkins hasn’t looked back. He has made Mid City the home for his high-end design firm, which works with residential and commercial properties.
What made you choose to open your business in Mid City?
It was my third or fourth choice. Mid City didn’t have all this promise that it has now. The only bright spot then was Circa 1857 across the street, and White Light Night had just gotten started—it was starting to draw some attention. It was part of my rationale that gave me something to sort of cling onto to say to myself, ‘This is not my first choice, but there was a glimmer of hope.’
What was your neighborhood like at the time?
Right after I purchased the property, there used to be an old car wash across the street. There were some pretty salacious things that happened there—it was not like a Benny’s Car Wash or something like that. Dufrocq purchased that property and did this $30 to $40 million renovation. It was almost like serendipity. It seems like after that, things started unfolding on Government Street. People started talking about making Government Street like Magazine Street in New Orleans. Slowly but surely, momentum started to build. Obviously the Garden District had always been this charming, well-located neighborhood, so it sort of made sense in retrospect: Why not Government Street? It is really kind of the spine that runs through all these older neighborhoods.
How do you feel about your decision to be part of Mid City now?
Of course I’m on the Mid City bandwagon now. It looks like a genius move now, but I will admit that when I made this decision to move here, none of those things had taken place yet. There was no real promise that Mid City would develop in that direction, I was really reluctant. I’d equate it to buying a really old house in a neighborhood you aren’t sure about. You start to fall in love with something you weren’t initially in love with.
What do you think about the Government Street road diet?
I’m all for something that is going to lead to less traffic accidents, something that encourages pedestrians and bike riders—anything that gets people to slow down and pay attention to what’s being offered in the area.
What do you see for the future of Mid City?
I think the sky’s the limit, assuming the economy continues to keep going strong. We’ve had movements and momentum in the past stalled by downturns in the economy. As long as there is a large, qualified first-time homebuyer pool out there that’s excited and financially capable to bring some of the neighborhoods up—that’s the key to the momentum.
Read more on Mid City’s rapid growth in Baton Rouge from our October 2018 cover story.
