From a film animation studio to a wind turbine technology company to a new casino, the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission celebrated this year’s wins for the business community Thursday at the Hilton New Orleans Airport.
JEDCO Executive Director Jerry Bologna said Jefferson Parish has seen significant economic development this year across small businesses, industrial enterprises and public-private partnerships.
Hoping to maintain its momentum in the new year, Bologna will go deep next year to attract new business as Super Bowl XI and millions of tourists flock to the New Orleans area. Announced a new advertising campaign with Fried Advertising titled “MORE HERE”. 200th anniversary of the birth of Jefferson Parish.
“Jefferson Parish offers more innovation, more opportunity, more culture and more connections,” Bologna said.
According to JEDCO, the largest economic development projects in Jefferson Parish are:
Ube City
Japanese chemical company Ube Industries plans to build a $500 million factory on Cornerstone’s campus in Wagaman that will be the first U.S. facility to manufacture materials using lithium-ion EV batteries. UBE, which received approval for the project from the diocese in November, says the factory will create 58 new jobs in the diocese and reduce the industry’s dependence on foreign imports.
gulf wind technology
Wind turbine technology company Gulf Wind Technology partnered with Shell last year on a $10 million initiative to create a wind power research and technology hub at Avondale Global Gateway. According to JEDCO, this will make the diocese a “world player” in the offshore field. Wind power.
RNGD
New Orleans construction company RNGD (formerly known as Palmisano Construction) plans to consolidate its operations and move its headquarters to Jefferson Parish, a move that will bring 130 jobs. It will be. The $25 million campus will include eight acres of manufacturing facilities, office buildings and a training academy.
Bardon
Verdon America, the Australian defense contractor’s US subsidiary, is expanding its Elmwood office for a $1.1 billion, 10-year contract with the Coast Guard to oversee the design and construction of 27 waterway commerce cutters. The company plans to create 25 new jobs. boat.
Riley Foods Company
Riley Foods Company, a 123-year-old New Orleans company best known for brands such as Blue Plate Mayonnaise, French Market Coffee and Lusian Iced Tea, is moving its headquarters from the Central Business District to Elmwood.
Bunge
St. Louis-based agribusiness conglomerate Bunge broke ground in August on an $86 million expansion of its palm oil refinery in Avondale, making it the largest processing facility of its kind in the country. The expansion comes more than a year after Bunge purchased the facility from Fuji Oil for $178 million.
Development of amberjack
Officials broke ground in October on a $25 million project in Gretna to build a 20,000-square-foot brewery, taco restaurant, linear park and parking lot on the site of a parish-owned parking lot. The brewpub will cost $10.3 million in parish funds and will be operated by Port Orleans Brewery and Avo Taco.
The project has been the source of a political firestorm within parish government in recent months after the parish inspector general released a letter criticizing the project and the two economic development corporations that oversee it. The letter blocked an attempt by City Council member Jennifer Van Vranken to halt construction.
Ochsner Health System
Ochsner Health is undergoing several major expansions at its Old Jefferson campus. This year, construction began on a new 132,000-square-foot neuroscience center across the street from the main campus, and the hospital received parish approval to build a 343,000-square-foot children’s hospital facility next to the existing building. Obtained from the council.
The expansion of the children’s hospital in particular faced opposition from elected officials and neighborhood residents who argued that the hospital encroached on the neighborhood and exacerbated traffic and drainage problems. The Parish Council approved the expansion plan in October after negotiating with Ochsner to halt purchases of residential real estate in the area, build a pocket park and install additional drainage infrastructure beneath the campus.
LCMC Health
LCMC Health is investing $220 million in renovations to East Jefferson General Hospital and other medical facilities, bringing more than 500 Tulane physicians and residents from downtown New Orleans to Jefferson Parish. LCMC also acquired Tulane Lakeside Hospital in Metairie in 2023.
Gretna primary workspace
Jefferson Parish is spending $2.78 million to repurpose a 113-year-old school building in Gretna that has sat largely vacant for decades into a co-working space with meeting rooms and a marketplace. Officials said this month that construction on the project was nearing completion.
The Francis at Elmwood
Lauricella Land Company is moving forward with plans to redevelop the former Kmart site at Elmwood Shopping Center into a mixed-use luxury apartment complex, which JEDCO says will help create a more walkable neighborhood in the parish. states.
Treasure Chest Casino
Kenner’s Treasure Chest Casino opened a $100 million land-based casino in June with more than 900 slot machines, four new restaurants and 8,000 square feet of banquet space. The new location will “breathe new life into the Laketown area” as officials plan to build a $14 million outdoor amphitheater, JEDCO said.
swaybox studio
Swaybox Studios, a Jefferson Parish-based animation studio that utilizes proprietary animation and puppetry techniques, is producing big-budget feature films about Batman’s sidekick Robin from DC Studios and Warner Bros. got the go-ahead.
Rising Oaks
Habitat for Humanity is a 154-unit, 40-acre neighborhood in Terrytown, the Rising Oaks neighborhood for senior housing located near schools, medical needs, childcare services, and retail space, that is the oldest in the New Orleans area. The largest project is under construction. It would also be the nonprofit’s most affordable project, as it would allow residents with incomes above those typically required to participate.
Greater New Orleans Food and Beverage Incubator
JEDCO plans to break ground next year on a $4.2 million food and beverage business incubator that aims to use a combination of federal, state and diocesan funding to help aspiring business owners enter the market. The 15,000 square foot facility in Churchill Park will feature a commercial kitchen, cold storage, and demonstration and staging locations.
