NEW ORLEANS – Bill Masterton, President & CEO of the University Medical Center New Orleans, will be the keynote speaker for the Downtown Development District’s (DDD) Downtown NOLA Awards on Friday, September 16, 2016, at the JW Marriott, 614 Canal St.
The Awards luncheon will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 pm, with networking and cocktails held from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
The DDD created the Downtown NOLA Awards as an annual program to recognize exceptional accomplishments of Downtown NOLA property owners, businesses, residents, workers and organizations.
This year’s 5 honorees include:
• Ace Hotel
The Ace Hotel New Orleans is a groundbreaking hospitality concept in the heart of Downtown. The stunning 1920s Art Deco-style building was once home to Barnett's Furniture until the mid-1970s, after which it sat largely unused until Ace opened in 2016. Now a 234-room boutique hotel with 25,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, entertainment, and meeting space, Ace Hotel New Orleans strikes a balance between historical preservation and modern aesthetics.
• Brenda Canada/ New Orleans Business Alliance
Canada is completing her 5th year with the New Orleans Business Alliance and currently serves as Vice President of Retail Attraction, Development and Strategy. In this role, Canada communicates with retail prospects and connects them to the city's divergent neighborhoods. Working closely with the DDD, she facilitated the entrance of new urban stores – an emerging retail concept – in the Downtown area. She was also an instrumental part of the development of The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, the first urban outlet mall in America.
• Chris Reade/ LookFar
Reade relocated his business shortly before Katrina, and in the past ten years has built LookFar into one of the city's leading technology companies, successfully steering and rebranding the company in order to keep pace with the changing industry. A primary focus of LookFar is empowering local entrepreneurs by offering competitive rates on software development needed to build their products.
• The Orpheum Theater
The Orpheum Theater is a nearly century-old Beaux Arts theater located in the heart of New Orleans' Central Business District. Built in 1918, the iconic space has hosted vaudeville acts, silent films, movies, Mardi Gras balls, and countless concerts. After the devastation of Katrina, the Orpheum was thoughtfully restored and re-opened almost a decade to the day in August of 2015. The theater now provides New Orleanians with familiar classic performances by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra while introducing new and exciting genres to those seeking a unique experience.
• The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk
Following a transformative $80 million redevelopment, The Howard Hughes Corporation opened the nation's first Downtown outlet center on May 22, 2014. The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk welcomed tens of thousands of shoppers, and over 90 percent of stores exceeded sales goals during opening weekend. Several stores have broken corporate records and continue to climb. The center includes many first-to-market retailers for the region, including Neiman Marcus Last Call Studio, Coach, Tommy Bahama Outlet, and this fall – Nordstrom Rack.
Purchase tickets to the Downtown NOLA Awards here