NEW ORLEANS — Here, from staff and wire reports, are the week’s top business stories:
The owners of Clearview City Center announced that the 160,000-square-foot Target store located there has begun a “major” renovation that will introduce several new in-store concepts. Target is making these improvements as the shopping mall around it undergoes a $100 million transformation into a “mixed-use, live-work-play concept” that will combine retail, residential and open space for events. Target said it plans to modernize its exterior storefront with new paint and signage and reconfigure its entire interior design and layout. The pick-up space for online orders will move to the Clearview Parkway side of its store to avoid impeding traffic or inconveniencing customers accessing the main store entrance facing Veterans Boulevard.
The Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference on Monday increased the state’s income projections for the current and next fiscal years, boosting figures for the state general fund by $350 million for FY 22 and $104 million for FY 23. Legislative Fiscal Office economist Deborah Vivien told members of the Revenue Estimating Conference state finances are facing many of the same issues in May as when the REC last met in January, but new actions from the Federal Reserve and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has added to the “super-heated economy.” (via the Center Square)
Sean Payton, recently retired head coach of the New Orleans Saints, will deliver a keynote speech to graduates at the Loyola University New Orleans commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 14 at the UNO Lakefront Arena. The event begins at 5 p.m. Payton’s speech will start around 5:35 p.m. The Lakefront Arena is located at 6801 Franklin Ave. Free parking is available on Arena grounds. “Sean Payton is one of the most successful and long-standing coaches in NFL history, which (in our language) means he is a brilliant teacher who inspires excellence,” said Loyola President Tania Tetlow, in a press release. Like Payton, Tetlow announced she is leaving her current position. This summer, she’ll move to New York City to take the helm at Fordham University. “His enthusiasm and passion always made the team even bigger than the sum of the players. And he has demonstrated the quality of his character through his personal dedication to service of this community, and his public calling out of the NFL on diversity issues. The graduates will get to hear their own Loyola version of his locker room halftime speech.”
On May 6, JEDCO celebrated the grand opening of the new JEDCO Finance Center at Churchill Technology and Business Park in Avondale. JEDCO leaders were joined by local elected officials and key economic development partners to unveil the state-of-the-art facility. The JEDCO Finance Center houses JEDCO’s award-winning, high-performing Finance Department. JEDCO offers three creative, non-traditional financing options to provide strategic opportunities for small businesses in Jefferson Parish and across the state. The JEDCO Growth (JEDgrow) Loan Program is specifically designed to support small, growing businesses in Jefferson Parish. Offered statewide, the SBA 504 Program presents fixed-rate financing and a borrower equity requirement as low as 10%. JEDCO’s newest loan program, the Seafood Enterprise Assistance (SEA) Fund, is a financing tool for commercial fishermen and business owners in the fishing and seafood industry.
