Could Monroe experience a dramatic comeback?

[dimebag1980]

Hopefully the automotive plant site the Gov is marketing will work out for them

That, in itself, could be the light at the end of the tunnel for Monroe. Auto plants pay good wages and offer excellent benefits. This is exactly what that area needs right now.

[Rardy]

I found this today in a May article from the Real Estate Business Online Journal:

O&S HOLDINGS TO DEVELOP MONROE MARKETPLACE

MONROE, LA.

[tombarnes]

It would be much better for the city if the development were downtown. Still, I suppose it's good to see that something is moving forward in Monroe.

[JPKneworleans]

The city of Monroe is about 54,000; Thibodaux is around 18,000. Monroe MSA, though, is significantly smaller than the Houma-Thibodaux MSA.

Monroe MSA is smaller, but not that much smaller than Houma/Thibodaux....170,000 versus 194,000.

By the way, what is a "power center" (referred to above)? Another name for a shopping center, like "life style center"?

[SlidellWX]

Yes...a "power center" is a type of retail development. It usually is more akin to something like Elmwood here in New Orleans or the new development off Youree Dr. that I saw in Shreveport. Many big box retailers next to each other...but no traditional mall type stores. A "lifestyle center" usually includes mall type retailers.

[dimebag1980]

Yes...a "power center" is a type of retail development. It usually is more akin to something like Elmwood here in New Orleans or the new development off Youree Dr. that I saw in Shreveport. Many big box retailers next to each other...but no traditional mall type stores. A "lifestyle center" usually includes mall type retailers.

Boardwalk is a good example of a lifestyle center. Speaking of... I don't remember, did you say you did/didn't get to check out the Boardwalk while you were up here WX?

[SlidellWX]

Yes...I got to go the Boardwalk one day while I was up there. It's a very impressive development. A group of us went to a bar in the development and had a couple of beers after our training ended, but I can't remember the name of it now. We also lost some money at the Horseshoe.

[dimebag1980]

Echo.......echo......echo.....o....o...o..

Anyone alive in Monroe? I've heard NO news from there lately... anyone?

[jcasey]

Echo.......echo......echo.....o....o...o..

Anyone alive in Monroe? I've heard NO news from there lately... anyone?

I still have friends there and I was told they are about to open a Best Buy and some other big store next to Pecanland Mall. Unfortunately, there those kind of things are few and far between. Too bad for Monroe.

[dimebag1980]

I still have friends there and I was told they are about to open a Best Buy and some other big store next to Pecanland Mall. Unfortunately, there those kind of things are few and far between. Too bad for Monroe.

Hey, it's new development! I haven't heard anything from there in a while so I'm actually glad to see them getting something new. I need to get over to Ritz Camera soon anyway so I'll have to see how much Pecanland Mall and the surrounding area has changed since I was over there last.

[georgeglass]

I work for Chase in Lexington KY. They are shutting our site down and transferring about 230 jobs to Monroe. They are trying to fill these jobs internally with people transferring from Lexington. Who knows, I could wind up there. Most will pay in the 11-13.00 an hour range, but several will range in the 30Ks and higher.

The hiring manager has been here in Lexington pitching Monroe to the staff and trying to entice people to relocate. The bank is offering these people paid moving and 5,000.00 after taxes as an incentive. We have several people who are married and they would get 5k a piece.

I figured this was good news for Monroe. I doubt a ton of people will relocate, but it could be an influx some new faces.

[dimebag1980]

I work for Chase in Lexington KY. They are shutting our site down and transferring about 230 jobs to Monroe. They are trying to fill these jobs internally with people transferring from Lexington. Who knows, I could wind up there. Most will pay in the 11-13.00 an hour range, but several will range in the 30Ks and higher.

The hiring manager has been here in Lexington pitching Monroe to the staff and trying to entice people to relocate. The bank is offering these people paid moving and 5,000.00 after taxes as an incentive. We have several people who are married and they would get 5k a piece.

I figured this was good news for Monroe. I doubt a ton of people will relocate, but it could be an influx some new faces.

The pay isn't great, but by Monroe's standards it might be. I'm not sure what the pay scale is like in that area. Not that it's really high here. Anyway this could be awesome for Monroe, definitely something that city needs!! Georgeglass I think you would like it there if you had to transfer. It's really not a bad place and then you also have Shreveport-Bossier just 90 miles down the road if you want a bit of a change of pace from time to time.

Thanks for the update, man.

PS is that your real name or did you take it from that one show? I can't remember the show but there was a George Glass character.

[georgeglass]

The pay isn't great, but by Monroe's standards it might be. I'm not sure what the pay scale is like in that area. Not that it's really high here. Anyway this could be awesome for Monroe, definitely something that city needs!! Georgeglass I think you would like it there if you had to transfer. It's really not a bad place and then you also have Shreveport-Bossier just 90 miles down the road if you want a bit of a change of pace from time to time.

Thanks for the update, man.

PS is that your real name or did you take it from that one show? I can't remember the show but there was a George Glass character.

I took it from the Brady Bunch. It is a long story...basically a friend gave me the nickname and it stuck.

[dimebag1980]

I took it from the Brady Bunch. It is a long story...basically a friend gave me the nickname and it stuck.

The Brady Bunch! That's the show. I could picture the girl but I just couldn't name the show.

[richyb83]

May not be a dramatic comeback...but it is some good news; even if it's baby steps...

Monroe lands 100-job medical call center

Thursday, March 19, 2009

MONROE (AP) Computer Programs and Systems, Inc., which serves health care facilities and professionals, brings a call center to Monroe that will create 100 new jobs over the next three years.

Mayor Jamie Mayo told The News-Star that an area doctor tipped the city about the planned expansion project more than a year ago and the city, state and OEDC Land Corp. had been in negotiations ever since to make the deal happen.

CPSI, a Mobile, Ala.-based company, will begin its operation with 25 to 30 employees and increase it to 100 within three years.

http://www.businessreport.com/news/2009/ma...mic-development

[dimebag1980]

In recent days it has been announced that Monroe will be home to an auto plant which will produce a new product called the V-Vehicle. Great news for Monroe!

However, just on the heels of this wonderful announcement for northeast Louisiana, and the recent BusinessWeek.com article naming Shreveport-Bossier as number 15 on their list of the top 20 places to start over and find work, it was announced today that Shreveport's GM plant will be closing after all. The expected closure is planned for June 2012, if not sooner, according to The Shreveport Times. In recent weeks it was announced that Shreveport's GM plant would be staying open and expanding its Hummer H3 line, but now we know that this will not happen.

[fla_tiger]

Curse you Government Motors....take the money and run!

It angers me how these big auto companies promise whatever to get government support, and as soon as this happens, they announce thousands of layoffs... don't they and the politicians realize it is the taxpayers dollars, afterall, that they are handing out.

This is depressing news for SBC, but with other announced projects such as International Cyber Command Center coming on board, the area should hold its own.

[richyb83]

^Yes indeed...SBC should hold it own!

Monroe making some waves again!

JPMorgan Chase & Co. to add 250 jobs in Monroe

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is adding 250 jobs at the company's mortgage records center in Monroe. Company spokesman Greg Hassell says hiring began during the middle of July and will conclude in early August. JPMorgan Chase is northeastern Louisiana's second-largest private employer.

After the expansion, the company will employ about 2,100 people in Ouachita Parish, including 1,150 at the mortgage serving center, 750 at the company's call center (also in Monroe) and about 200 at retail and commercial banking branches throughout the market

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/dai...09/jul/27/1102/

[richyb83]

CenturyLink plans to add 350 jobs in Monroe

CenturyLink says it will keep its corporate headquarters in Monroe and add 350 jobs in Louisiana, following the telecommunication company's merger with Embarq. Gov. Bobby Jindal and CenturyLink officials made the announcement today. CenturyLink had been called CenturyTel before the merger this summer with Kansas-based Embarq. CenturyLink is the third largest local exchange telephone company in the U.S., and the state's third Fortune 500 company. CenturyLink has committed to increase its Louisiana workforce by at least 100 jobs in 2010, an additional 150 in 2011, and 50 in both 2012 and 2013, all with an average salary of at least $45,000 plus benefits. The jobs will stay on through at least 2019, the same period that CenturyLink has pledged to keep its headquarters in Monroe. The expansion is expected to lead to the creation of more than 520 new, permanent indirect jobs, Louisiana Economic Development officials say.

http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/latest/

[richyb83]

The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new $35 million Monroe Regional Airport Terminal is at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20111010/NEWS01/110100314/Opening-new-terminal-defining-moment-

[richyb83]

225,000 sq.ft. of additional space on top of 365,000...Monroe could have had a great looking Century Link high-rise tower along the downtown riverfront...instead of the 77-acre campus miles away

CenturyLink ready to grow...Technology-driven company plans major expansion

CenturyLink, one of Louisiana's brightest beacons of commerce, is about to grow even bigger at the company's Monroe headquarters on U.S. 165 North. The company announced Tuesday it will break ground on a 225,000-square-foot headquarters expansion in early 2013.

CenturyLink's building project was one of the commitments the company made last summer when it announced the company will create 800 local jobs by 2016. The expansion is expected to include technology research facilities as well as additional office and meeting space.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20120711/NEWS01/207110319/-1/NLETTER01/CenturyLink-ready-to-grow?source=nletter-news

[richyb83]

New 88 acre Master Planned Community to be anchored by IBM...on the northern edge of Monroe

 

CenturyLink gauging community for new development....Improving quality of life

 

It’ll be a city within a city, a development unlike anything seen in Ouachita Parish before.

 

An 88-acre parcel of land directly across from CenturyLink in Monroe will soon be the home of a thriving new lifestyle community developed by CenturyLink and Southern Lifestyle Development.

 

The proposed development will promote “smart growth” principles and include a complementary mix of residential, commercial and recreational uses.

 

Such communities typically include a mix of residential products from apartments and condominiums to cottages and estate homes, as well as commercial uses that range from professional office to lifestyle retail and restaurants, and recreational uses that include fitness and wellness centers, passive and active parks and walking paths.

 

Southern Lifestyle Development has developed a similar property in Lafayette called River Ranch, which is home to restaurants, banks, hotels, houses, condos and apartments. The Village of River Ranch was recently named one of America’s 14 best Urban Villages by Urban Land Institute in its publication Creating Great Town Centers and Urban Villages.

 

The announcement even got Gov. Bobby Jindal excited, saying the development will draw people from all over.

 

This is the latest chapter in the growth of CenturyLink from a sleepy local telephone company to a national powerhouse in the communications industry. And as the company grew, many worried that perhaps Monroe wouldn’t be big enough, that maybe CenturyLink would move to the “big city.”

 

*rest of article*

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/02/21/improving-quality-life/23811607/

 

 

IBM building 400-job application development center in Monroe

 

Nearly two years after Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM made its 800-job technology services center official in Baton Rouge, the company announces it will increase its presence in Louisiana.

 

Officials Monday (Feb. 16) announced it will open a 400-job IBM Application Development and Innovation Center partnering with Monroe-based telecommunications company CenturyLink as part of a 10-year agreement with the state of Louisiana.

 

The IBM center in Monroe will anchor a new 88-acre, mixed-use development employing smart-growth principles and will include a complementary mix of residential, commercial and recreational uses. The new development will be located along U.S. Highway 165 directly across from CenturyLink's corporate headquarters. Following a competitive selection process

 

*rest of article*

http://www.nola.com/business/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2015/02/ibm_centurylink_opening_400-jo.html