New Ascension Parish economic development head gears up in new role – The Advocate

Kate MacArthur estimates she's met three to four people a day, from public office, industry, real estate, tourism and just about every association in the parish, in her first 30 days as the head of the Ascension Economic Development Corp.

"It's helping me understand the pulse and the needs of the community and how everyone works together," said MacArthur, who began on March 20 as president and chief executive officer of the economic development group.

Her takeaway so far: "Everyone is working on making Ascension grow. They're all focused on the same mission."

MacArthur, who has previously worked with the Zachary Chamber of Commerce and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, replaces Mike Eades, who left last fall for a new position in South Carolina.

Kate MacArthur, the executive director of the Zachary Chamber of Commerce, has been named pr

The nonprofit Ascension Economic Development Corp. is funded by the Ascension Parish government, the city of Gonzales, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and the Industrial Development Board of Ascension Parish to help promote and assist business development.

One of MacArthur's first goals, she says, is to develop a strategic marketing plan for 17,000 contiguous acres of undeveloped land on the west bank of the parish with more than nine miles of Mississippi River frontage.

The Ascension Parish Council has created an industrial overlay district for the land that enables heavy, medium and light industrial uses, along with limited commercial and residential uses, for the 17,000 acres collectively called the River-Plex Mega-Park of Louisiana.

With a dock and rail feasibility study already in hand, funded by the AEDC, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and the Louisiana Economic Development department, the next step is marketing, MacArthur said.

"We'll be putting together an international marketing plan" over the next few months, she said.

MacArthur came to the AEDC from the Zachary Chamber of Commerce, which she headed for four years. Before that, she was director of business intelligence for five years for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, recruiting and retaining businesses in the nine-parish metro area.

A native of the Philadelphia area, with a master's in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MacArthur has also worked with the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. in South Carolina as director of marketing and existing industry and as a business analyst for the Area Development Partnership in Hattiesburg.

In Ascension Parish, MacArthur said, she's learned that one of the top concerns for officials and residents is traffic specifically, La. 30, the mostly two-lane state highway off Interstate 10 that's home to numerous industrial plants as well as the Tanger Outlet shopping center.

"We will keep trying to figure out how to get this higher on the DOTD (Department of Transportation and Development) list" of highway improvement projects, she said.

The Ascension Economic Development Corp. will also be closely following the legislative session, which opened April 10, to "monitor anything that might have an economic impact," MacArthur said.

A top concern of local industry leaders is the tax climate of the state and "what's going to shake out" of the legislative session, she said.

"Businesses that are looking to move to Louisiana are also concerned" about what may be coming down the pike as the state seeks to solve its budget problems, she said.

"We hope we'll have some direction by the end of the year," MacArthur said.

Follow Ellyn Couvillion on Twitter, @EllynCouvillion.

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New Ascension Parish economic development head gears up in new role - The Advocate