GNO, Inc. Sunday Night Highlight – Thanksgiving Edition

As Thanksgiving comes to a close, I am writing a special edition “Sunday Night Highlight” on some reasons I am grateful to be working in economic development in Greater New Orleans at this moment.  It has been a long weekend (Family! Turkey! Turducken! Bourbon! Family!), and so this list is extemporaneous, and certainly incomplete.  Write me with your additions, and we will compile and post on our website and socials.  Most of all, we at GNO, Inc. are thankful for you – the thousands of people at home and abroad who support our mission for a greater New Orleans. 🧡

This Thanksgiving, I am excited and grateful for:

• Future Energy – Our region and state are poised to lead the nation and world into an “all-of-the-above” balanced, cleaner energy future.  The recent billion-dollar announcement of Woodland Biofuels, who will build the worlds-largest carbon-negative gas facility, exemplifies this promise
• Global Trade – The new $2 billion Louisiana International Terminal, which continues to progress, will ensure New Orleans and Louisiana’s future as a great trade entrepôt, capable of handling some of the largest ships in the world
• AI – Watch these pages.  Louisiana is about to take a leadership role in the next wave of tech, a revolution considered by many to be as great as the printing press
• Higher Ed – GNO, Inc. finds some of its greatest partnerships in our 13 schools of higher education – second only to Boston, per capita.  In fact, the value of our universities is so good that New Orleans was recently named the #1 City in America for College Students and Graduates by Forbes
• Inclusive Innovation – Greater New Orleans is Top Ten in the USA for women and African Americans in technology jobs, per capita.  And with the recent launch of Startup Noir NOLA, GNO, Inc. has created a program to build on this momentum via programs like our HBCU Innovation Internship program
• Urban Investment – Over $3.5 billion in real estate investments are driving development in the urban core of New Orleans, creating new office, entertainment, and living spaces.  For example, the River District, located on the Mississippi River waterfront, will be one of the most exciting new mixed-use neighborhoods in America
• The Nation’s Investment – In the nearly two decades since the engineering failure of Hurricane Katrina, the United States has invested billions into south Louisiana, recognizing the economic, cultural, and national security importance of our region.  These investments, like the $14B Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS, aka, the “Great Wall of NOLA”) have radically improved the storm-hardiness of our city and region
• Quality of Life – With substantial support from the state and Governor Landry, New Orleans continues to enjoy major quality-of-life improvements, including over 550 infrastructure projects underway for Super Bowl LIX.  Also, New Orleans is Top Five in the nation for decline in violent crime, with homicides and carjackings down nearly 50% and 70% versus 2022
• Super Bowl LIX – Did someone say, “Super Bowl?”  Yeah You Right! In ten weeks, New Orleans will host a record-tying 11^th Super Bowl, which will be seen by up to 200 million people around the world.  The Super Bowl will be an unmatched opportunity to showcase why New Orleans is “Built to Host,” including the “miraculous” renovation of the iconic Super Dome, per NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
• The Suis Generis City – All of us who live in the New Orleans region have experienced it:  You are traveling, someone asks where you are from, and their eyes light up:  “Oh, I LOVE New Orleans!”  And then the stories follow.  This is why New Orleans continues to be named one of the truly unique and most desirable cities in the world