Federal City in Algiers was a contender for Marine Corps jobs.
The Marine Corps has decided to keep its information technology center in Kansas City, Mo., turning down Louisiana's bid to have the 400 high-paying jobs moved to the Federal City campus in Algiers. Louisiana's pitch included subsidizing some of the costs to build a new center inside the Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans, the 29-acre secured compound viewed as the anchor tenant for Federal City.
The Marine Corps has been considering consolidating its information technology functions under one roof. Including those at the Kansas City center, Louisiana officials said as many as 1,000 jobs could be consolidated at one location. Federal budgetary constraints, however, appeared to be the deciding factor.
"The Marine Corps made it clear to us that Federal City is very attractive for future missions, but in the current budgetary climate the Marines were forced to choose the path of least resistance by hunkering down at their current location," Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret said Thursday. "Without a doubt, I am convinced that Federal City will be a prime contender for future potential Marine Corps missions."
The Marine Corps' decision was first reported Wednesday by the Kansas City Star newspaper. The Marine Corps' 400 mostly civilian jobs are currently housed in a former federal building where the corps' lease is up for renewal in 2017. Louisiana officials hoped the Marine Corps would relocate the jobs as part of a larger IT consolidation.
However, the Marine Corps has decided to negotiate a long-term lease at the Kansas City site, the newspaper reported. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Marine Corps' decision to remain in Kansas City could lead to hundreds of more jobs, the newspaper reported.
Louisiana provided $150 million from its "mega fund" for economic development projects to build the Marine Corps Support Facility, home to Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North national headquarters. About 1,200 Marines, sailors and civilians work there daily, overseeing more than 34,200 Marine reservists and the 63,400 Individual Ready Reserve members around the United States.
Louisiana had not disclosed the details of its pitch for the information technology jobs. But officials have said the construction subsidy was offered to sweeten the deal.
"Federal City is viewed as a top-notch installation for information technology, and our efforts have certainly paved the way for upcoming opportunities in Federal City and Louisiana moving forward," said U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La.
Louisiana officials also recognized that federal budgetary constraints could play a role in the Marine Corps' decision. Explaining its reasons for staying in Kansas City, the Marine Corps cited avoiding staff disruptions and the $100 million cost to move to another city, according to the Kansas City Star report. Louisiana was one of six locations initially in the running for the jobs, but New Orleans prevailed as the top alternate to Kansas City, according to the report.
"If it's any consolation, we didn't lose it to anybody else," said state Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-Algiers. He also chairs the Algiers Development District board, which owns 118 acres of the former Navy base that is being redeveloped as Federal City.
"They were able to retain them," Arnold said of Kansas City. "I don't see that as a knock on us that they decided to stay where they're at."
Officials in Louisiana worried that the political uncertainties caused by a dispute over control of Federal City would hurt attempts to bring the Marine Corps IT jobs to Algiers. That dispute, between the Algiers Development District board and the New Orleans Federal Alliance, was resolved when the groups agreed to create the Joint Development Committee.
Federal City planners hope their new, permanent sign at the entrance to the Algiers campus, at Gen. Meyer and Shirley Drives, will be more inviting and lure potential businesses to locate at the former Navy base. The committee, which took over Federal City earlier this year, is charged with overseeing the conversion of the shuttered Naval Support Activity into a mixed-used development anchored by the Marine Corps commands.
As it stands, Federal City counts about a dozen tenants, from a Subway store to the New Orleans Police Department's 4th District headquarters. The site includes a YMCA that will expand to include a swimming pool and the New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy, a state charter high school where its students are cadets required to belong to the Marine Corps Junior ROTC.
Meanwhile, "Treme's" Wendell Pierce has told the Algiers Economic Development Foundation he plans a Sterling Farms grocery at Federal City. He opened one in Marrero in March.
Arnold said the state Economic Development Department is courting other potential tenants with job numbers that would rival the Marine Corps IT positions. But citing confidentiality, he would not elaborate. "I can only address that they're active," Arnold said of the discussions.