Councilmember Lesli Harris says the city's new Omni headquarters hotel proves New Orleans can be business friendly while making sure unions workers share in the benefits with quality, high-paying jobs
NEW ORLEANS, LA — Economic development is alive in New Orleans. That is the message City Council District B Councilmember Lesli Harris delivered as the City Council voted to approve the zoning package, clearing the way for the proposed 1,000-room Omni convention center headquarters hotel.
The hotel, to be developed adjacent to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center by Omni Hotels Development Company and TRT New Orleans QOZ Sub, LP, is intended to give the Convention Center a modern, upscale headquarters property with the capacity to compete for the largest conventions, trade shows, and meetings in the world, supporting the more than 80,000 locals employed across the region's hospitality industry.
“We have heard from union workers, from economic development leaders, from hospitality groups, and from residents in strong support of this $600 million hotel moving forward, which promises thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit the City and State,” said Councilmember Lesli Harris. “Economic development and investing in our people are not opposite goals; they go together, and that is exactly what this project shows.”
“This is exactly the kind of project our members need, good-paying, sustained union jobs building something that will be here for generations. Councilmember Harris truly fought to secure jobs and wages for the working men and women with this deal,” said Andy O’Brien, Executive Secretary of the Southeast Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council. “Our union construction workers built the Superdome, the Convention Center, Ceasar’s, and the institutions that make this city run, and they’re ready to build the Omni Headquarters Hotel. This project will be done safely, skillfully, and at wages that let a worker support a family right here in New Orleans. This also creates career pathways for New Orleanians with a register apprentice program allow us to trade the next generation of union workers.”
“We thank all parties for getting this across the finish line, including Councilmember Harris for her leadership in shepherding a complex process through her district to achieve far reaching consensus”, said Amy Glovinsky, Managing Director of the Business Council of New Orleans. “Today’s success confirms the importance of collaborative engagement between business and government in support of economic growth. We are hopeful it lays the groundwork for a new era of investor confidence and competitive standing.”
Highlighting Local Disadvantaged and Small Business Participation The project includes a commitment to use good-faith efforts, under the Convention Center Authority's own SEB/DBE Program, to set aside at least 20 percent of the total value of construction contracts for disadvantaged business enterprises (EBEs), and at least 30 percent of the anticipated local procurement of goods and services for design and construction, including professional and consulting services, sourced within the State of Louisiana.
Omni has confirmed it intends to carry forward the same local and disadvantaged business participation language already in place under its development agreement with the Convention Center Authority, the same framework its general contractor has already used to structure, price, and award construction work, so New Orleans businesses see consistent, enforceable goals from groundbreaking through completion.
“Soon after this project was announced years ago, Councilmember Harris has been tireless in ensuring that the needed community dialogue happened. More importantly, she made sure that all points of view were heard. That dialogue opened the door to new ideas and guidelines, including maintaining the park and efforts to direct vehicular traffic away from the residences of the Warehouse District. As we embark on the next phase of this transformational investment for the City, we have an improved project that will benefit all of New Orleans,” said Jim Cook, CEO and President of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
For New Orleans taxpayers, the math points in the same direction. The $15.2 million in new annual tax revenue the project is projected to generate flows directly into city and state coffers, money that supports public services without raising taxes on existing residents and businesses. Combined with the upwards of 1,000 permanent jobs the hotel is expected to support once fully operational, on top of the union construction jobs that will build it, this is the kind of project that puts people to work and grows the city's tax base at the same time.
These jobs are now guarantee in the PILOT passed by the Economic Development District chaired by Councilmember Harris this afternoon. 500 full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions for the life of the PILOT, beginning the first full year after the hotel opens, with at least 350 of those positions full-time employees on the Company’s active payroll. Full-time employment is defined in the agreement as not less than 40 hours of work per week, every week, for the life of the deal, not just at opening.
“We are grateful to the New Orleans City Council for their unanimous vote in recognition that the Omni New Orleans Headquarters Hotel is a critical piece of infrastructure – a $600 million investment in our community that will create jobs, add millions to the state and local economy and strengthen New Orleans’ position as a leading destination for the world’s most complex and important meetings, conventions and events. The Omni New Orleans will be a transformational, once-in-a-generation project that reflects confidence in our city made possible by our strong community leaders, especially Councilmember Harris, in whose district this project resides, who understand the complexities of this project and why it is critical to move forward,” said Walt Leger, III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company.
“The LRA congratulates the New Orleans City Council for its action today to move the Omni Hotel Convention Center project forward. It will have a significant economic impact for our city as well as the restaurants, bars, music venues, and attractions who rely on these type of generational investments,” said Stan Harris of the Louisiana Restaurant Association.
Councilmember Harris thanked her Council colleagues, the Convention Center, and the project's labor and business partners for their work bringing the project forward.
“There will be activation at a beautiful park, whose maintenance costs the Omni will take on,” Harris said. “Most immediately, with the approval of this project, the City can count on $5 million in permit fees as early as August, which will help boost reserves as our city continues to recover from financial strain. I want to thank my colleagues and the Administration for working together to make a real investment in the future of our city. This is economic development that truly benefits our residents, not only in District B but citywide, and I expect Omni and the Convention Center to continue being good partners, investing back in our community for generations to come."