MINDEN, La. — A Minden industrial property is among 26 sites across the country included in the latest round of national REDI Sites designations, strengthening Webster Parish’s inventory of properties positioned for future business investment.
The Industrial Drive Minden Webster Site received a Silver designation through REDI Sites, a national site-readiness program developed by the Site Selectors Guild. The latest group of designated properties was announced Tuesday at the 2026 Site Selectors Guild Fall Forum in Cleveland.
Louisiana accounted for 14 of the 26 sites announced nationally, the first state portfolio to move through the REDI Sites program at that scale.
The Minden property was one of six sites nationally receiving a Silver designation in the latest group.
Louisiana Economic Development had previously identified the Industrial Drive property as a Silver REDI Site in June as part of the state’s expanded site-readiness strategy. This week’s announcement places the Minden property in the latest national group to complete the REDI evaluation process.
REDI, which stands for Readiness Evaluation for Development and Investment, evaluates industrial properties against a consistent national standard intended to give companies and site-selection professionals a clearer picture of how prepared a property is for development.
The process includes an independent engineering review by Terracon followed by an evaluation by practicing members of the Site Selectors Guild.
Sites are evaluated across five weighted categories: utilities, which account for 30% of the evaluation; ownership and entitlements, 20%; environmental conditions, 20%; ease of development, 15%; and logistics infrastructure, 15%.
“A REDI Sites designation tells a site selector that this community has done its homework,” REDI Sites Board Chair and Global Location Strategies CEO Didi Caldwell said when Louisiana announced its participation in the program in June.
The designation builds on previous work to position the Minden property for economic development.
The approximately 25-acre site is located within the Minden city limits along Industrial Drive and is owned by Webster Land Corporation. The property is also part of Louisiana’s Certified Sites program, which requires extensive due diligence before a property can receive certification.
The site is approximately half a mile from Interstate 20 and about 31 miles from Interstate 49, according to Louisiana’s official site-selection database.
Three-phase electrical service, potable water, gravity sewer and telecommunications are immediately available along Industrial Drive. The database identifies the City of Minden as the electricity and water provider, AT&T as the telecommunications and fiber provider, CenterPoint Energy as the natural gas provider and the City of Minden Public Works as the sewer provider.
The property is subdividable, with available parcels ranging from approximately 5 acres to 20 acres.
Extensive due diligence has already been completed on the property, including work covering ownership and title, zoning, utilities, environmental conditions, wetlands, geotechnical conditions, transportation and cultural resources.
That advance work can play an important role in industrial recruitment because companies evaluating multiple locations often place a premium on sites where potential development obstacles have already been identified.
The Silver designation represents one level within the REDI Sites readiness system. Sites can receive Emerging, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum designations based on their current level of readiness.
Rather than simply passing or failing a property, the program is designed to identify where a site currently stands and what additional work could improve its competitiveness.
“Silver shows what separates a site from Gold,” Caldwell said in announcing the latest national designations. “The value is knowing where you stand and having a clear path forward on your readiness journey.”
Louisiana’s strong showing in the latest round comes as the state increases investment in development-ready industrial properties.
The Louisiana Legislature recently committed another $50 million to LED’s FastSites Program, bringing total funding for the initiative to $200 million. The program funds infrastructure and other site improvements intended to reduce development risk and shorten timelines for companies considering Louisiana locations.
The national REDI Sites program now includes 106 properties. Sixty-eight have received designations, while another 38 are moving through the evaluation process.
For Minden and Webster Parish, the national designation provides another credential for marketing the Industrial Drive property to companies and site-selection professionals considering locations for future investment.