New Orleans' South Market District, a multi-million dollar development in the Central Business District, will now be eligible for additional tax credits under legislation signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday. The move will expand the total tax credits for the development by over $500,000 to a total of $3.5 million. House Bill 255, sponsored by state...
New Orleans' South Market District, a multi-million dollar development in the Central Business District, will now be eligible for additional tax credits under legislation signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday. The move will expand the total tax credits for the development by over $500,000 to a total of $3.5 million.
House Bill 255, sponsored by state Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, is the third modification to the state's Enterprise Zone, or EZ, program to fit the parameters of the Domain Companies' development. The EZ program, instituted in 1981, is meant to incentivize business development and job creation in disadvantaged areas.
Once completed, the South Market District on Loyola Avenue between Julia and Lafayette Streets will feature at least 500 luxury apartments and at least 170,000 square feet of retail space in a four-block area. The Industrial Development Board of New Orleans already unanimously approved plans for a 10-year payment in lieu of taxes for the District.
Currently, the EZ program only extends tax credits to "transit-oriented developments," like the streetcar-adjacent South Market District, with up to 200 residential units and 15 percent commercial facilities. Leger's bill expands this range to 300 units and 200,000 square feet of commercial facilities.
The EZ program has come under fire in recent months for straying from its original purpose. The state's economic development head criticized the program in December and a March 2012 audit questioned the zones' accountability process.
The district would qualify for the program's tax rebate by providing 1,000 construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs to members of low- and moderate-income backgrounds. The streetcar line will provide easy access to the workplace, Leger said during testimony before a House committee.