Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 9

133 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 9 “We work with St. Tammany Corporation, our local economic development agency. They offer Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) programs and Historic Tax Credits. They also foster development in Olde Towne Slidell. We’ve got some old storefronts which used the Historical Tax Credits to restore themselves to their original looks. But we haven’t tapped that enough. The mixed use is something we’ve been pushing for downtown, putting storefronts or restaurants in the bottom with residential upstairs.” The difficulty is many of the original homeowners have passed away leaving many heirs scattered across the country. Bringing them together to decide on redevelopment can be challenging. But the Mayor is determined “to encourage owners to do more.” The availability of business property is key, as Slidell is in the midst of substantial economic growth. For instance, Amazon is constructing a 140,000-square-foot delivery station, opening in 2022. This will be a first for St. Tammany Parish and create hundreds of jobs. “We’re also getting up to three calls a week from companies wanting to establish logistics and distribution here because of Interstate traffic, but we don’t have the building stock,” Mayor Cromer admits. “We’re working with three investor groups to help build required building stock. So once completed, when we get a call, we can say, ‘Okay, we’ve got a 100,000-square foot warehouse with 40-foot ceilings. What do you need?’ We’re behind right now, but we’re trying to get ahead.” Being proactive is key since Slidell’s proximity to St. Bernard Port Harbor & Terminal, Port of New Orleans, and Hancock County Port & Harbor makes it a desirable location. The city also has an Amtrak intercity train station, served daily by the Crescent train. In addition, the Slidell Municipal Airport (KASD) is adding about 1,000 feet to the runway to accommodate commercial and private jets and extra space will allow for a new fuel farm. The goal is to have KASD as the new fuel pitstop for jets heading to Central and SL IDELL , LOUI S I ANA Within the last few months, Amazon started construction of a 140,000 square foot distribution center in Slidell.