By Nolan Mckendry | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Louisiana Economic Development’s cooperative endeavor agreements have climbed to more than $463 million, an increase of nearly $88 million since December as the state begins committing tens of millions of dollars to Gov. Jeff Landry’s new FastSites program.
The latest LED records reviewed by The Center Square list $463.3 million in open cooperative endeavor agreements, up from $375.9 million in the agency’s December records — an increase of $87.4 million, or about 23%.
LED also increased the value of several agreements that remained on both lists by a combined $3.6 million.
The largest driver of the increase is FastSites, the Landry administration’s new effort to spend state money preparing industrial and commercial properties before companies commit to locating there.
Nine agreements newly appearing on LED’s list are expressly tied to FastSites and carry a combined value of nearly $80 million — accounting for about 91% of the net dollar increase since December.
By far the largest is the $50 million agreement with G-Unit Film & Television Louisiana, the company owned by rapper and entertainment executive Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Under the agreement, LED will provide up to $50 million in performance-based funding for infrastructure and modernization associated with G-Unit’s planned entertainment district in Shreveport. The company announced in January that it plans to invest more than $124 million developing three entertainment-related venues.
“Revitalizing these facilities will generate new entertainment industry opportunities including motion picture production, new jobs and new investment across the region,” LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois said when the agreement was announced.
Another $29.9 million in newly listed FastSites agreements is spread among eight development projects around the state.
The largest is $10 million for Esperanza Land LLC to extend the Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway to Louisiana Highway 3127 in St. Charles Parish.
LED has also committed $7.27 million to EDMRC Partners LLC for redevelopment work at 4460 Dauphine St. in New Orleans; $3.4 million to Community Foundation Realty Inc. to renovate the former Tin Roof Brewery in Baton Rouge; and $2.6 million to Avondale Global Gateway for rail-related expansion of the Jefferson Parish logistics complex.
Another $2 million is going to Crosby Development Company for the Gulf South Commerce Park in St. Tammany Parish, while ARQ Inc. is receiving $2 million to connect a rail spur from Union Pacific to its facility in Coushatta.
Valentine Realty LLC has a $1.4 million agreement to develop the McLeod Business Park along Louisiana Highway 308, and the town of Franklinton has a $1.2 million agreement for roads, water and sewer infrastructure at its industrial park.
Those projects are part of the first wave of FastSites investments announced earlier this year. LED selected 19 sites in 16 parishes in March, saying the state would invest before companies arrive to eliminate infrastructure problems that can knock Louisiana out of competition for major projects.
“In today’s environment, if utilities, rail, roads or due diligence aren’t in place, companies simply move on,” Bourgeois said at the time. “FastSites allows us to eliminate those barriers in advance and present Louisiana as truly project-ready.”
Unlike a traditional grant, LED says FastSites projects are generally supposed to produce a financial return to the state. Agreements can require loan repayments, lease payments, per-use fees or other mechanisms that replenish the fund for future projects. Applicants are also generally expected to provide between 50% and 80% of project costs from other sources.
The Legislature initially put $150 million into the Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund that supports FastSites. Lawmakers added another $50 million this year, bringing the fund to $200 million.