Big News for the Big Easy

I recently attended a presentation by Dr. Loren C. Scott to the GNO, Inc. Investor Group on the proposed industrial expansion of oil prices impacting the New Orleans region.

An amazing industrial boom is coming our way - and one that's highly concentrated geographically. From Baton Rouge to New Orleans alone, $53.2 billion is expected to come in - that's 50x better than in other southeastern states!

Of the $170.4 billion of state of Louisiana projects predicted by the GRIMA survey, the New Orleans MSA expects to see $37.3 billion, with $11 billion already underway and $26.3 billion at the FEED stage. Yuhuang Chemical leads the pack with $1.85 billion worth of industrial construction either completed or underway. Other big spenders include Monsanto ($975 mm), Entergy ($869 mm), Dyno Noble ($850 mm) and more. There's a lot of potential industrial construction on the line as well - Formosa Plastics ($9.4 billion), Venture Global LNG ($8.5 billion), IGP Methanol ($3.6 billion), etc.

In 2020, IGP Methanol will open a $3.6 billion 4-plant methanol facility at Myrtle Grove in Plaquemines Parish, which will bring over 300 jobs to the area. Venture Global LNG's project at the Port of Plaquemines will bring in 220+ jobs with an average wage of $80,000; the Port of New Orleans is hoping for a similar project in St. Bernard as well.

In New Orleans, DXC Technology's new digital transformation center plans to hire 300 IT & business enterprise professionals in 2018, ramping up to 2,000 over the next five years. Chevron is also expanding operations in Covington, and will employ about 550 by the end of 2018, a figure higher than ever before.

I am excited to see all of this development as more industry equals more jobs, and more jobs equals a stronger economy. Bring on 2018!

Richard Juge, CCIM, SIOR
Owner | Broker
RE/MAX Commercial Brokers, Inc.
rjuge@nolacommercial.com
(504) 838-0001
nolacommercial.com