GE picks New Orleans for tech center, 300 jobs

by Greg LaRose, Editor

February 17th, 2012 · 1 Comment  · Blog

Gov. Bobby Jindal will be in New Orleans this afternoon and is expected to announce that General Electric will bring some of its IT offices to the city.

A press conference will take place at the IP Building where details of the deal will be announced. Sen. David Vitter’s office released a statement this morning saying that the GE Technology Center would be opening in the greater New Orleans area. The senator met with General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt on Monday and was told the company was choosing Louisiana, according to the statement.

Reports indicate New Orleans was chosen over Indianapolis for the facility that will bring close to 300 jobs to the region with an average salary of $90,000. Most of the positions will require professionals in computer engineering and software development.

More details on the GE Tech Center and today’s announcement will come in this afternoon’s email update.

New Orleans area logs one-third of Louisiana home sales in 2011

by Christian Moises, News Editor

February 14th, 2012 · No Comments  · Blog

The New Orleans area was home to 33.3 percent of the homes sold in Louisiana in 2011 and represented 36 percent of the total volume moved, according to the Louisiana Association of Realtors’ year-end trends report.

The average price of a home sold in the New Orleans was $194,837 during 2011, when 9,152 homes were sold. That figure is down from $203,061 in 2010 when 8,374 properties exchanged hands.

Total volume in the region, or the cumulative value of homes sold, was nearly unchanged at $1.78 billion, compared with $1.7 billion in 2010. The average length of time properties stayed on the market also remained steady at 97 days last year compared with 96 in 2010.

The Baton Rouge area had the highest average selling price at $196,770, down from $202,238 in 2010.

“The good news continues in Louisiana’s real estate market,” Louisiana Realtors Association president Rick Roberts said in a release. “Back to back strong quarters to close out 2011 show the stabilization that buyers and sellers have been looking for is happening. We’re encouraged and expect the positive trend to continue into 2012.”

Here’s how the average selling price stacked up by area in 2011:

– Baton Rouge: $196,770, less than the 2010 average of $202,238; – Lafayette: $174,678, slightly more than $174,059 in 2010; – Shreveport: $171,436, down from $172,169 a year earlier; – Houma: $166,284, more than the 2010 average of $159,073; – Monroe: $150,614, up from $144,673 in 2010; – Lake Charles: $143,714, down from $150,036 in 2010; and – Alexandria: $141,564, down from $142,017 in 2010.

Statewide, there were 27,407 homes sold, up 4.8 percent over 2010, while the average selling price of $180,846 was down 1.8 percent from 2010. Total volume was 2.9 percent higher at $4.96 billion.

“Sales of distressed properties do have a negative impact on overall home prices, as evidenced by the slight drop we saw in Louisiana’s prices last year,” Roberts said. “We’re fortunate to have had a smaller number of foreclosures and short sales than in many other states, and as a result we haven’t seen the price decreases that other markets around the country have experienced.”

Tags: home prices·home sales·Louisiana Association of Realtors

Year in Review: Tourism maintains forward momentum

Tourism maintains forward momentum

POSTED: 08:09 AM Thursday, December 29, 2011 BY: Richard A. Webster, Staff Writer TAGS: BCS Championship, Final Four, Hotel Mazarin, hotels, Hyatt Regency, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Saint Hotel, spending, tourism

The tourism industry continued its upward trajectory in 2011 hosting 4.8 million visitors in the first half of the year, an increase of 7.7 percent compared to the same period in 2010. Tourist spending between January and June hit $3.1 billion, representing a 10 percent increase.

The New Year will bring a fully tally of 2011 tourist figures, but all indications were that 2012 will surpass what industry insiders categorized as a strong year.

In anticipation of several major upcoming sporting events including the BCS Championship on Jan. 9, the NCAA Final Four in April and the Super Bowl in 2013, the city welcomed the return of a major hotel shuttered since Hurricane Katrina and the opening of three more hotels that will allow the

city to accommodate even more tourists in the coming years.

In October, the 1,193-room Hyatt Regency New Orleans reopened after a $275 million renovation bringing the total number of rooms in New Orleans to 36,993. It also adds 200,000 square feet of meeting and special event space and two 25,000 square feet ballrooms.

The opening of the Hyatt was followed on Dec. 16 by the opening of the 135-room Hotel Modern New Orleans in the former home of Hotel Le Cirque on Lee Circle.

On Wednesday, the 102-room Hotel Mazarin opened at 730 Bienville St., where the St. Louis Hotel formerly operated.

On Jan. 28, the 166-room Saint Hotel will open in the Audubon Building on Canal Street after a $45 million purchase and renovation.

In October, the city also unveiled $27 million in improvements to Louis Armstrong International Airport with the opening of Concourse D, adding six airline gates that are expected to double the capacity of the concourse.

Travel+Leisure magazine spotlighted the continued resurgence of the New Orleans Tourism industry in its 2011 America’s Favorite Cities survey. Respondents voted New Orleans as the top destination for live music, wild weekends, cocktail hour, singles/bar scene, fine-dining restaurants, friendliest people, cafés, antique stores, flea markets and people watching.

Grand reopening of JOY, Moscow Ballet Nutcracker​, Big Bosom Buddies

Grand reopening of JOY, Moscow Ballet Nutcracker​, Big Bosom Buddies

Full Saenger renovations to begin in January

Full Saenger renovations to begin in January

by CityBusiness staff reports

December 29th, 2011 · No Comments  · Blog

Mayor Mitch Landrieu held a ceremony today with project partners to mark the closing of the deal to move restoration plans forward for the Saenger Theatre on Canal Street.

The city and investment partners will spend $51 million to bring the performing arts facility that has been closed since Hurricane Katrina back to life. A combination of state and federal tax credits and private investment will pay for the work. With the financing now in place, construction will be begin in earnest in January, according to the mayor’s office.

The project will include restoration of the theater’s original decorative elements and its  trademark constellation pattern on the ceiling, as well as the preservation of the Robert Morton Wonder Organ housed inside. The construction will also significantly expand the stage to allow for larger productions.

Today’s signing ceremony comes a week after a developer obtained tax credits to convert the hotel space that shares a roof with the Saenger into an affordable housing apartment complex. Members of the City Council have opposed the project, citing that it doesn’t fit in with their vision of a theater district on Canal Street.