Dive Summary:
- The New Orleans Business Alliance expects to see 1.5 billion square-feet of new business development in the city by the end of 2014.
- Costco, Petco, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods are among the retailers setting up new stores in the Big Easy as city hope that a retail boom could mean a boost for sales tax dollars that would otherwise be lost to the suburban areas such as Jefferson Parish, where sales taxes collected have exceeded those in Orleans Parish by many millions of dollars.
- A study commissioned by the NOBA estimated that New Orleans residents in 2012 spent as much as $1.9 billion on retail goods outside of Orleans Parish.
From the article:
... The parish bested its pre-Katrina sales tax revenue collection in both 2011 and 2012 and is projected to do so again in 2013. Sales tax revenue was $153.8 million in 2011 and $162.9 million in 2012. It is expected to jump to $163.4 million this year. In 2004, the city recorded sales tax revenue of $150 million. ...
