BioDistrict New Orleans, the recently revived economic development district that includes a broad swath of downtown New Orleans, earned a key approval from the City Council on Thursday for a strategic plan that includes bringing landscaping, lighting and other improvements to Tulane Avenue.
Council members voted to approve the plan, which laid out the BioDistrict's strategy for creating a hub for the medical and biotechnology industries in an area that stretches from the Caesars Superdome and Canal Street to University Medical Center and then to Xavier University.
Many of the initiatives in the 200-page document will take years to develop and are dependent on partnerships — and potentially funding — from state and local government or private entities.
But the section of the plan aimed at improving the Tulane Avenue streetscape offered more specifics, a prospective budget and represented, according to BioDistrict board chairman Andy Kopplin, an opportunity to demonstrate what types of changes the district could bring.
The street improvement plan budgets $2.2 million for new bus shelters, $1 million for lighting, $2.7 million for landscaping, and $750,000 for crosswalks.
" The City Council decision today paves the way for us to start making investments and show the community the benefits of this district, promote job growth and show improvements along Tulane Avenue," said Kopplin.
A long path to a plan
The vote is only one of several hurdles ahead for the BioDistrict, which must seek City Planning Commission approval of its strategic plan and then return to the council to have its budget approved.
Still, it represents a step forward for an economic development initiative that was launched by state lawmakers right before Hurricane Katrina but made little impact over the two decades since.
In its early days, the BioDistrict received a $2.4 million state grant and operated for several years with not much more than a master plan to show for it.
The New Orleans Business Alliance, a city-funded economic development organization, has been handling BioDistrict administration since 2014. But the project was essentially dormant until 2018, when the Greater New Orleans Foundation, a philanthropic organization led by Kopplin, spearheaded an effort to revive the initiative.
In 2022, the City Council approved a plan to direct a portion of taxes in the district's footprint to the agency.
Last year, the BioDistrict partnered with the City of New Orleans and the Downtown Development District to pay for a strategic plan from New York City-based HR&A Advisors and several local partners.
The document, which was completed in March, offers dozens of initiatives to create "foundational elements" that are common in innovation districts in other cities.
The to-do list includes collaborating with Tulane University and other stakeholders to revive the stalled Charity Hospital redevelopment and investing in biosciences entrepreneurs and workforce development initiatives. The BioDistrict plans to develop a branding and marketing strategy for the area and also aims to collaborate with the New Orleans BioInnovation Center and the Tulane University Innovation Institute, both located in the BioDistrict.
During the meeting Thursday, City Council members were broadly supportive of the plan. But the meeting also brought up an old controversy related to the BioDistrict's former executive director, Jim McNamara, who left in 2013 and later won a court judgment for back wages. Before the vote, McNamara's attorney, Vincent Booth, said he supports the cooperative endeavor agreement between the city and the BioDistrict — except for paragraph 20.
That's the one that stipulates that funds shall not be used to pay any judgements against the BioDistrict.
"I've been a lawyer for 36 years," said Booth. "I've the read the court records for the Civil District Court of the Parish of Orleans. There is one money judgement against the BioDistrict and that is the one in favor of its former executive director, James P. McNamara."
It's not clear how the claim by McNamara might be settled.
Transit and other upgrades
The BioDistrict does not currently have an executive director or other paid leadership staff. Kopplin, the city's former chief administrative officer under Mayor Mitch Landrieu, has become the public face of the district.
Kopplin said an early priority will be improving the infrastructure along Tulane Avenue, which runs through the district, to make it greener, safer and more attractive. He anticipates partnering with the RTA to create the new bus shelters, in addition to installing green infrastructure to help with water management and creating new crosswalks along Tulane between the medical district and Carrollton Avenue.
"You can't underestimate the importance of reliable public transit," said Kopplin. "We're inspired by Cleveland, where there's service between the Cleveland Clinic and other facilities — or Houston, which has light rail service in its medical district."
"These transit and pedestrian amenities can be both beautiful and functional. We want to add safety lighting, but that doesn't have to look like a Costco parking lot," he added.
The City Council's approval is necessary for the BioDistrict to be able to spend money raised from a portion of sales taxes within its footprint. Kopplin estimates there is about $1 million available, collected between the end of 2022 and the 2023.
The state of Louisiana has committed to provide up to $25 million in matching funds. The district will be able to apply for its first disbursement in 2025.
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