USA Today, in December of 2006, (“Gen Y makes a mark and their imprint is entrepreneurship”) points out that the emerging generation of workers has the smarts and the confidence to get a job, but that they have increasingly decided that corporate America does not fit their needs. They choose to balance life and work, and are often able to create their own jobs to accomplish this objective. New Orleans, with its blend of history, culture, arts, architecture and cuisine is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this desire.

Bioscience

Examples include:
Provision of Healthcare Services
Cancer and Infectious Diseases Research
Medical Education and Training
Advanced or "Clean Room Manufacturing"
Targeted Medical Device and Pharmaceutical Design and Production

In partnership with leaders in health and science innovation in the New Orleans region, the Downtown Development District is building on the strengths of knowledge institutions such as Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Xavier University, and Delgado Community College Charity School of Nursing, with a regional initiative to grow the bioscience industry by way of urban place redevelopment. In doing so, the areas of research and technology, business entrepreneurship, and the knowledge workforce will see significant growth, and will support physical development in the forms of planning, financing and management, as well as land and infrastructure changes with real estate projects.

Benefits of bioscience development in Downtown New Orleans will exceed the construction of a handful of new medical facilities, although those will anchor the burgeoning bioscience district. Downtown will become a one-stop service hub for experimental education in the health sciences field, with modern institutions and technology practices attracting world-class students, scientists and physicians. Entrepreneurial endeavors, along with a possible Science charter high school in the area are anticipated products of industry’s development.

One project at the forefront of the bioscience Industry of the Mind is the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, which broke ground in August 2008, at 1441 Canal Street. The new, state-of-the-art biotech business incubator and research facility is ideally situated between the downtown medical district, the proposed LSU/VA hospitals, the CBD and the famed French Quarter.

The facility will function as a technology business incubator created to foster entrepreneurship within the New Orleans bioscience community. Their mission is to assist biotechnology-related companies commercializing technologies from New Orleans-based universities and will cater to a broad scope of companies, ranging from pre-startups and start-ups to maturing and expanding businesses.

Nearby, the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium will open the doors of another brand new medical facility. Located on Tulane Avenue, the $90 million, 150,000 square foot building will be home to state-of-the-art cancer research equipment. With the center’s coordinated cancer research and education programs the LCRC can recruit a world-class faculty and optimize discovery and development of innovative cancer therapies leading to innovative clinical treatment programs. These programs will offer new opportunities for early detection, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Together with Tulane University Health Sciences Center and LSU Health Sciences Center of New Orleans, LCRC aims to develop a cancer research, education, and treatment resource for this region that will be internationally recognized for excellence.

Digital Media

Examples include:
Video Game Design and Software Programming
Creative Media
Modeling Simulations

The term "Digital Media" is a loosely defined sector that generally encompasses a range of technology and entertainment businesses, such as computer animation and video gaming. The New Orleans region, and Downtown in particular, could soon become a world leader in digital and new media, with the spawning of a Digital Media Alliance in late 2008, and the increase in industry-leading financial incentives such as the Digital Interactive Media/Motion Picture/Sound Recording Tax Credit, which offers interactive digital media companies, such as videogame developers, up to a 20% tax credit against expenditures in Louisiana. Groups like the DDD, GNO Inc., the Louisiana Technology Council, Idea Village, Arts Council of New Orleans, and the Louisiana Economic Development Department (LED) have brought together great minds and talent in an effort to make New Orleans a world leader in digital and new media.

The DDD announced in January of 2009 its "Place-making for Arts and Technology" initiative. "The DDD is in the 'environment creation' business, which melds nicely with the efforts of other groups whose jobs are to attract new business and retain workers, which will in turn, increase overall wealth in the City of New Orleans," says DDD President & CEO Kurt Weigle.

Specifically, the place-making initiative will consist of researching and identifying office, residential, and key environmental choice preferences of targeted “creative class” tenants in Downtown New Orleans. Qualitative and quantitative measures and techniques, such as survey research and focus groups, in both New Orleans and competitor markets, will guide the effort and influence strategy development. Once this information is collected, the DDD will communicate the preferences of the creative class economy to Downtown property owners, managers, and developers, and others who influence the provision of office space, business services, housing, and other amenities. "Our goal is to make Downtown more competitive in attracting the creative industries by establishing it as a place with the qualities that knowledge-based individuals and businesses most desire."

In December of 2006, Louisiana Economic Development retained Economic Research Associates to evaluate current film and music industry trends, the impact of the state's film incentive program and the prospects for moving Louisiana's film and music industries forward. Click here to download LED's report summary. Click here to download the ERA's full report.

Art

Examples include: Music Fine Arts Food Architecture Film Performing Arts Music, food, architecture, fine arts... they are what have defined New Orleans' cultural economy for so long and are what have made New Orleans the world cultural destination that it is today.  Downtown is home to many of the city's great jazz landmarks, fine dining restaurants, famous artists, stunning galleries, inspiring studios and grand theaters.  The area known as the New Orleans Arts District falls within the boundaries of Downtown, and is roughly bound by the Mississippi River, Loyola Avenue, the Pontchartrain Expressway, and the French Quarter side of Canal Street.  In 2008, the Downtown Development District led the charge to designate this area as a Louisiana Cultural District, thereby enabling tax-free sales of original, one-of-a-kind works of art, as well as making renovations to historic structures within the district eligible for state historic tax credits.

More than 65 existing Arts based businesses fall within this district.  They include galleries, cabarets, jazz clubs, performance venues, and theaters.  They also include major cultural attractions such as the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Contemporary Arts Center, the World War II Museum, and the Louisiana ArtWorks project. These cultural attractions create a vibrant economy with day and nighttime uses, attractions for the visiting public, and services for the local population. 

"I not only have my business downtown, but I live downtown! I am enjoying being a part of the revitalization of the warehouse/arts district as a gallery owner."
-Jean Bragg, owner, Jean Bragg Gallery

Several large events will  strengthen and grow the Downtown Arts community in 2009.  The DDD will continue to support the neighborhood's Whitney White Linen Night, Art for Arts Sake, and the monthly ArtWalk, all of which attract large crowds that include the art-curious to the art-collector.  Prospect.1, the international contemporary art biennial, ended January 18, but already a second show is in the works.  The event brought more than 81 artists from 39 countries brought their art to New Orleans from November 2008 to January 2009, and attracted roughly 50,000 visitors and art enthusiasts to the city, and through Downtown.  The DDD-sponsored Prospect.1 Welcome Center at the Hefler Warehouse (851 Magazine Street at St. Joseph) was the site for two Prospect.1 exhibits, as well as the works of other local artists.  The biennial's impact on the Arts community, as well as the recovery of the city just three years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, was monumental.

Artification Winning Entry "Floral Lake Lanterns," Morgana King