Local economy good with four major developments in works

St. Tammany’s economic engine is roaring.

Anchored by at least four new major business developments and a media blitz touting the Interstate 12 corridor a commercial boon, the Northshore is making record strides in new business attraction.

As of September, this year’s second quarter alone experienced 10.3 percent more new business starts — worth more than $32 million — compared to the year ago period, according to the St. Tammany Parish Economic Development Foundation. That’s up 400 percent from last year’s second quarter.

“Positive movement is evident, and St. Tammany is well positioned relative to many other communities in Louisiana and the region,” said Brenda Riene Bertus, the foundation’s executive director.

In April, furniture giant Rooms to Go revealed plans to open a $45 million distribution plant on 60 acres of land in Pearl River, offering up to 300 new permanent jobs and 400 construction jobs.

And in May, oil and gas behemoth Chevron moved its Gulf of Mexico headquarters from New Orleans to NorthPark Business Park off U.S. Highway 190 in Covington. More than 500 employees followed, many who moved to St. Tammany.

“For a corporation such as Chevron to move to St. Tammany, it sends a real good message to other CEOs to come to St. Tammany,” Parish President Kevin Davis said at the time.

Like Chevron executives, many top managers are finding the area’s top-notch public schools, lush landscape, relatively low crime and all around quality of life more favorable than nearby areas.

St. Tammany, it seems, has become a dream destination for business.

The proof is in the numbers. St. Tammany’s unemployment rate as of September is 3.1 percent, well below the national average of 5.3 percent.

And from the second quarter of 2007 to now, the number of employed workers grew 2.3 percent, according to an analysis of state Department of Labor data.

But with all these people, the need for major amenities grows. And two seasoned development companies are filling the gap.

In Covington, developer Colonnial Pinnacle Trust is building Nord-du-Lac shopping center, a $220 million development between Louisiana Highway 21 and Interstate 12, touted as a shopping destination that will attract thousands throughout the region.

At 1.1 million square feet, the retail center with hotels, restaurants, a town square and an amphitheatre is larger than Kenner’s Esplanade Mall and mirrors Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie. It’s expected to create 2,800 jobs and boost St. Tammany’s hurricane inspired jolt of sales tax revenue with tens of thousands of daily shoppers with its 2009 completion.

In Slidell, developers Bayer Properties of Birmingham, Ala., broke ground in July on the Summit Fremaux project, a massive $1 billion retail, medical and housing complex on 400 acres along Interstate 10.

The retail center will contain 800,000 square feet of stores, theatres and restaurants. Bayer Properties partner Jill Deer said the lifestyle center should be finished by 2010, with the housing, office and medical complexes to be completed shortly thereafter.

One end of the project will house a technology park founded by the University of New Orleans that will not only be the Northshore campus of the school, but it will also house high-tech companies that will do research and development.

During construction, the project is estimated to create 3,000 jobs, with 5,000 full- and part-time jobs once completed.

UNO Chancellor Tim Ryan called the Summit Fremaux a major catalyst for economic growth.

“This is a major turning point in taking Slidell and the parish from a bedroom community to a major economic force,” Ryan said.