Northshore Living: The I-12: Corridor to the World

by Victoria Crosby

There is no delicate way to say it. Bill Joubert is downright hollering. 

 “I am nuts for regionalism!” he shouts. After ten years of working to create regional cooperation among Southeast Louisiana’s parishes, Joubert’s excitement about the I-12 Alliance is understandable. Moreover, as the organization’s president and Southeastern Louisiana University’s prestigious director of economic development, his exclamations merit close attention.

On January 15, the Alliance unveiled a marketing campaign and associated website (i12alliance.com) to draw technology- and manufacturing-based companies to the region. The future of the northshore appears to be at a crossroads. Literally. Poised on an intersection between I-12 and the world.
 
History Lesson 

But wait, you say. What exactly is this I-12 Alliance? Good question. To answer, rewind twenty years to 1988. The oil bust had given the local economy a beating. In an effort to keep businesses alive, the Florida Parishes Economic Development Association was born, representing St. Tammany, Washington, Tangipahoa, Livingston and St. Helena parishes. The moniker is a reference to the time when the region was not a part of the Louisiana Purchase—for a brief period, it was actually its own nation, the Independent Republic of West Florida––until being forcibly annexed by the United States in 1810.

The FPEDA made its home near the university in Hammond. The organization was such a success that it became a model for the entire state and assisted in every type of business from Angora goat farming to the furniture industry. Now in its 21st-century evolution, the members want to market the region for high-wage, environmentally friendly jobs. Because all five parishes border I-12, the group renamed itself the I-12 Alliance, signifying its goal of ensuring that each parish benefit from its proximity to the vital highway. Linking with I-10 and I-55, I-12 is not just a route from A to B but a “corridor” that connects Louisiana to the rest of the United States.

Cash Corridor

Corridors have become synonymous with big revenue. How big? Well, take I-95, for example. The highway that goes from Florida to Maine is also the powerhouse that generates what some estimate to be the third largest economy in the world. Pretty darn big. Moreover, when highway infrastructure is paired with research institutions, a region can then attract a well-educated, high-income “elite.” Examples of this union are the Tennessee Valley corridor winding from Alabama to Virginia, the I.Q. corridor in Wisconsin and the East Bay Green Corridor in California that was created to foster sustainable industries.

What do we have to brag about? Well, in addition to the 2,100 graduates that Southeastern Louisiana University sends out into the world each year, every parish in the I-12 Alliance has a technical institute. Soon, we can also boast of a tri-college campus joining Southeastern, Delgado and the University of New Orleans. In the future, we will be home to the UNO Technology Park in Slidell. Local assets also include the job-ready Zachary Taylor Megasite, tax and financing incentives like those of the Go Zone, and job training programs.

The I-12 Alliance wants site selectors––whose job it is to find new homes for their companies––to know that our region is open for business. To this end, Brenda Reine-Bertus, executive director of the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation, secured a grant of $100,000 to hire AngelouEconomics to help market the region to the world beyond. AngelouEconomics is considered the architect behind the reinvention of Austin, Texas. Originally, a sleepy town with a famous music festival, it is now considered one of America’s premiere centers of high-tech business. It is also a city that “grew smartly” and retained its unique identity.
 
The Shape of Things to Come

On this note, Angelos Angelou, who presented the marketing plan, says, “[The I-12 corridor’s] economic development will have some of Austin’s flavor.” More seriously, he speaks of “painting Louisiana in a new light,” and creating a positive public face for our region and state. He explains that a final analysis of over 200 surveys and focus groups indicates that four targeted industries best suit our region: energy/petrochemicals; material supplies, such as the manufacturing of plywood, asphalt and structural metals; distribution; and aerospace/defense manufacturing.
  
The Road Ahead

According to Joubert, the feedback has been great. “The website has been well received. There is a lot of buzz, and people are now saying, ‘What’s next, what’s next!?’ The website is only the beginning,” he continues. “Now, it is program work time.”

On the top of the Alliance’s To Do List is a transportation initiative (because, in Joubert’s words, “wouldn’t it be great to eight lane the I-12?”) and regional planning. It is all about smart growth and giving oneself “a 10,000-foot view on a problem.” A lack of planning only ends up handcuffing you in the end, Joubert explains. The I-12 Alliance plans to bring in John Dardis, who was Hammond’s planning director for seven years, to create a precise, long-term regional plan for our area.

Speak Up

“A good citizen is someone who understands the assets of their city,” says Kerry Doyle, Angelou Economics project manager. Residents should be advocates, speaking out about how and why they love where they live. Austin is a good example of a community that spoke out and chose the form that economic development took for the city. Rick Wilke of Tammany Together encourages everyone to “get involved by being active members in their homeowners associations; in other civic groups, such as the Association of Associations and the Military Road Alliance; and in parish-wide groups, such as Tammany Together or the League of Women Voters.”

Angelou’s speech on January 15 was peppered with quotes, one of which was Charles Darwin’s famous words, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” If this powerful quotation is any indication, the shape of things to come for the northshore may well be about to change. Don’t hesitate to play a role in its future.