With the news that Mardi Gras floatmaker current studios will expand to New Orleans East, area leaders see it as yet another sign of the East’s growth and revitalization.
Carnival float builder Kern Studios recently announced its expansion to New Orleans East, purchasing two warehouses that will store 150 floats and house part of its float-building operations.
District E Councilman Oliver Thomas, whose District includes New Orleans East, save the move is a another sign that the area is receiving the attention it is due.
“Congratulations to New Orleans East and Kern Studios,” Thomas says. “I am congratulating the East because we’re finally getting the attention and investment our community has always deserved, and Kern Studios because the CEO and President said what many of us have always known. It’s the only natural area where our City can GROW. The assets, affordability, and strategic location offer what serious CEOs and open-minded businessmen and women can plainly see! From Bayou Sauvage to two of America’s most important Waterways and resource-rich populations we are glad to feel like we are not only a part of New Orleans geography but part of New Orleans past, present, and future!”
The Kern Studios expansion to the East is just the latest boon for the area which was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.
More than $24 million has been earmarked for the redevelopment of Lincoln Beach. Additionally, Bayou Phoenix has recently submitted its master plan for the redevelopment of the former Six Flags site, which will include indoor and outdoor water parks, a sports facility, a movie studio, hotels, retail and restaurant outlets and more.
Meanwhile New Orleans East Hospital continues to grow as well, opening a new Maternal Fetal Medical Clinic earlier this week.