LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / February 23, 2000

HAHNVILLE – Industry and business continue to boom in St. Charles Parish,according to Economic Development Director Corey Faucheux, who announced the parish is again Louisiana’s leader in industrial investment.

A state Department of Economic Development report lists St. Charles Parishwith more than $978,000, or about 21 percent of the state total, of industrial development.

“It does sound good,” Faucheux said. “The only problem is there’s not a lotof class-A space to show them, but we’re working with MetroVision and the state of Louisiana.”During 1999 the Louisiana Commerce and Industry Board, the authority which approves all state tax-incentive applications, approved 28 projects in St.

Charles Parish which created 463 permanent and more than 3,900 construction jobs.

The single biggest project was a $353 million expansion at Union Carbide.

Parish President Albert Laque estimated that job creation will translate into more than $20 million in permanent payroll and more than $135 million in temporary or construction earnings.

Laque added, “The indirect spending and job creation resulting from these projects will elevate the total economic impact to at least $1.3 billion.”As a sign of that growth, First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. announced at thesame time development of Three James Park call center, a $6.3 millionproject, in James Business Park, St. Rose.Three James Park will be a 78,000-square-foot concrete facility, which is due to be completed seven months after an anchor tenant is signed. This isFirst Industrial’s third facility at James Business Park.

First Industrial’s regional director, Daniel P. Poulin, commented,”Ourstrategy for this high-profile site in James Business Park incudes satisfying demand for sorely needed state of the art call-center/back office product serving the metro New Orleans market.”Poulin added, “With developable land on the south shore at a premium, no one else can offer a modern, low-cost, back-office facility complete with high parking ratios and a telecommunications infrastructure that is needed for e- commerce operations.”James Business Park is a 200-acre office and light-industrial park, housing more than 90 companies in 34 buildings. First Industrial owns 14 buildingstotaling more than a half-million square feet.

Additionally, Pouline said, the first phase of the 253,772-square-foot James Distribution Center is under construction.

Poulin said the prime attractions of St. Charles Parish as a location includethe nearness to the airport and interstate, and the parish’s superior school system.

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