THIRD ST. TAMMANY SITE RECEIVES LED CERTIFICATION
The St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation (STEDF) is pleased to announce that St. Tammany has an additional tract of land certified by Louisiana Economic Development (LED), bringing the parish to a total of three such sites.
The newly designated site, the Summit/Fremaux Technology and Business Park in Slidell, adds to St. Tammany’s competitiveness in the site selection arena on both a national and international level. A Louisiana Economic Development Certified Site is a development-ready site that has completed the rigorous review process in which details such as zoning restrictions, title research, environmental studies, soil analysis and surveys are assessed for compliance and authenticity. LED Certified Sites are identified by a special notation and logo and are a special, high visibility search function of LED’s Louisiana Site Selection Center online database, www.lasiteselection.com/led.
Summit/Fremaux, a 35-acre site located at the southwest quadrant of the I-10/Fremaux interchange, satisfies all requirements set forth by the LED Certified Sites Program and has been designated as an LED Certified Site. To achieve this designation, sites are reviewed by both LED and URS, an independent third-party engineering firm. The designation means the site is suitable for economic development projects.
“This 35-acre business and technology park, located in the City of Slidell, is just the beginning of a 400-acre planned development that will be a catalyst for growth along the I-10 corridor,” said Robert Levis, owner of the newly certified tract. “This designation will help generate additional interest in the entire development.”
This new site brings St. Tammany’s total of certified sites to three and Louisiana’s total to 19. Last year, a 142-acre commercial site, located in Stirling Properties’ master planned development River Chase, was the first St. Tammany site to receive certification and last month, a 170-acre industrial site located in Nord du Lac joined the growing list.
In recent years, state-certified sites have become increasingly in demand nationwide. As the timeframe for making business location decisions has shortened and companies are much more risk-averse, companies building a new facility look for a site that is ready to develop and relatively risk free. Having certified sites provides site selectors and business leaders with valuable resources in choosing locations that are suitable and offers the additional advantage of ensuring that the company’s construction is more likely to remain on schedule.
“When we reach out to site selectors or respond to inquiries, the more important element in making us attractive is land,” said STEDF Executive Director Brenda Reine Bertus. “Site selectors and CEOs need to know tracts are available and ready for development, and the LED Certified Sites program accelerates the process while ensuring potential investors that we are ready for them. We are pleased to have been involved in the recent certification processes in St. Tammany Parish, and our parish will continue to reap the rewards of participation in this program.”
One of STEDF’s goals for 2012 is to have at least 6 certified sites by year end.
For additional information about LED Certified Sites, visit www.
STEDF is the lead economic development organization for St. Tammany Parish. The organization is charged with attracting new business and employment opportunities to St. Tammany Parish. The organization seeks to improve the quality of life in the parish by strengthening and supporting the business climate in the area. For more information, visit www.stedf.org.
