Terrebonne economic development authority details 2024 achievements, pushes workforce and site plans for 2025

Cohen B. Guidry, chief executive officer of the parish economic development authority, told the Terrebonne Parish Council on Feb. 12 that the authority secured grants, advanced site certifications and pursued industry diversification during 2024 and has a multi-year project list for 2025.

Guidry told the council the authority won a $100,000 grant in partnership with the parish and the Greater New Orleans Foundation to advance the Terrebonne Parish Nature Recreation Conservatory project (the former Shell property) and that the authority is finishing hazard mitigation and an environmental-impact study for that site. He said the authority also had “$6,000,000 secured in HMGP funds” and submitted additional funding applications at the end of 2024; Guidry described those applications as supporting longer-term redevelopment phases.

The authority is pursuing a mix of projects Guidry said will diversify the local economy beyond oil and gas. He described a pilot that used sugarcane residues to produce multiple product lines — including cat litter, insulation, biodegradable pots and horse bedding — and said organizers plan to create decentralized collection points with a single processing facility. Guidry also described recruitment and retention work with local manufacturers, including a Swiss medical-tools manufacturer planning a roughly $1,500,000 expansion in the parish, and work on several confidential business prospects labeled in discussion as “Project Tigertail,” “Project Feline Worm” and “Project Crawdaddy.”

Guidry summarized changes to the industrial tax-exemption process he said took effect in February 2024, noting the approval structure now consolidates authority on a single board that includes representation from the parish council, parish administration, the school board and the sheriff’s office; he said the local tax collector and he serve as nonvoting members. He urged council members to expect continued engagement as the new process is implemented.

Other actions highlighted included recertifying two LED (Louisiana Economic Development) certified sites, adding a 44-acre parcel at the Port of Terrebonne to the certified-sites program, securing a $250,000 LA Competes match to leverage an EDA (Economic Development Administration) grant for road widening and utility work in Houma, and a planned marketing push using drone and ground footage reimbursable up to $10,000.

Guidry also said the authority had partnered with Fletcher Technical Community College and the Terrebonne Parish School Board on an early-college/business-incubator effort and that the authority will occupy and manage space on the third floor of the Whitney Bank building to support a business incubator run with Fletcher.

Councilmembers responded with praise: Councilmember Domino commended Guidry and the authority’s board for diversifying the parish economy, and Councilmember Bevin called several of the projects “very exciting,” singling out the sugarcane-byproduct pilot for its potential to address local waterway blockages.

Guidry also said the authority contracted Tulane University’s Dr. Tony Weiss to perform a Mardi Gras economic-impact study; Guidry said Tulane would gather parade-season data and expected a report by September 2025.

The presentation was informational; no formal council action was taken on the report itself during the Feb. 12 meeting.