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Construction begins on the future Meta AI data center in Holly Ridge, La., Friday, July 11, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER<\/p>\n
There is reason to believe more is to come. Last summer, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta was just getting started in Louisiana and that Hyperion would eventually be the size of Manhattan. In October, when the company announced\u00a0its plans to finance the deal<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a joint venture with a private credit firm that will ultimately have an 80% stake in the project, giving Meta some protection should it ever walk away\u00a0\u2014 company officials said they would share more details about their expansion plans in the future.<\/p>\n In recent months, brokers working for Meta have quietly been optioning thousands of acres of farmland adjacent to the 2,600-acre site, setting the stage for that expansion to move forward. Though it’s too soon to say whether the buildout will ever rival the size of a New York City borough, it’s likely that 2026 will bring greater clarity about the future of the Hyperion project.<\/p>\n A big data center announcement is also likely in the near future in northwest Louisiana near Shreveport, where city planners recently approved plans for a $2.8 billion data center at an industrial park. Though the name of the end user\u2014 likely another big tech company\u00a0\u2014 is not yet public, an announcement is likely in 2026.<\/p>\n Ports and the Louisiana International Terminal<\/p>\n While AI data centers represent a new industry for Louisiana, the state is playing catch up in the maritime industry, one of its longtime legacy sectors, and 2026 could be a make-or-break year for whether things turn around.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past decade, New Orleans has steadily lost container market share to Gulf rivals, particularly Mobile, Alabama, as containerized shipping has come to dominate global trade. Reversing that trend hinges on a single project: the long-planned Louisiana International Terminal<\/a> in St. Bernard Parish.<\/p>\n The proposed $1.5 billion Louisiana International Terminal for St. Bernard Parish will look similar to the Port of New Orleans, photographed on Thursday, October 27, 2022, along Tchoupitoulas Street. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune) ORG XMIT: BAT2210271721140095<\/p>\n STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER<\/p>\n The multibillion-dollar terminal was expected to break ground in 2025 but remains stalled while awaiting a key permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Port officials now expect the Corps to issue its findings by the end of the first quarter of 2026, a decision that will determine whether construction can finally begin or face further delays.<\/p>\n In the meantime, costs have climbed, timelines have slipped and opposition in St. Bernard Parish remains fierce, with many residents worried about truck traffic, environmental impacts and quality-of-life disruptions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are continuing to work closely with the Army Corps of Engineers and all regulatory agencies, and we remain confident in the process,\u201d Port NOLA CEO Beth Branch said.<\/p>\n To navigate that political terrain, Branch will be relying heavily on Michael Hecht, the longtime CEO of regional economic development agency GNO Inc., who was tapped by Gov. Jeff Landry to help shepherd the project. Hecht\u2019s task will be to persuade skeptical parish leaders and residents that the economic benefits \u2014 jobs, investment, and regional competitiveness \u2014will outweigh the disruption that comes with a project of that scale.<\/p>\n The stakes extend well beyond New Orleans. Late in the year, Julia Fisher-Cormier was named executive director<\/a> of the Port of South Louisiana, a move that put women at the helm of the two largest port authorities in the United States. Fisher-Cormier played a central role in reshaping Louisiana\u2019s port strategy in 2025, helping broker an agreement that put the Port of South Louisiana in charge of building and operating a new deepwater dock to support Hyundai\u2019s $5.8 billion manufacturing complex in Ascension Parish.<\/p>\n The $25.5 million dock project \u2014 enabled by a new statewide ports commission designed to reduce parochial infighting \u2014 marked a rare moment of coordination among Louisiana\u2019s often-competing ports.\u00a0<\/p>\n Uncertainty around energy<\/p>\n For the state’s energy and petrochemical sectors, the outlook for 2026 is mixed due to continued uncertainty around tariffs.<\/p>\n While drilling activity in the Gulf and crude oil production have increased under President Donald Trump, fluctuating tariff rates and threats of further actions are making it difficult for businesses to determine if they should invest in oil and gas projects, said Tyler Gray, director of energy innovation at the LSU Energy Institute.<\/p>\n Crews build Venture Global LNG plant structures at the Port of Morgan City on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.<\/p>\n Chris Granger<\/p>\n The \u201cwild pendulum swings\u201d between the lax regulation and high tariffs supported by Trump and the Obama and Biden administrations, which sought to reduce dependance on fossil fuels and promote renewable energy, also has made it hard for businesses to do long-term planning, he said.<\/p>\n Compounding the regulatory uncertainty is the global glut of crude oil. The International Energy Agency said the amount of crude oil produced could exceed consumption by nearly 2.8 million barrels a day in the upcoming year. That would be a record, according to Bloomberg news.<\/p>\n Thanks to activity in West Texas, U.S. crude oil production is on track to hit a record of 13.9 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter and the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects it will remain at 13.5 million barrels a day in the upcoming year.<\/p>\n Forecasts call for crude oil prices to be below $60 a barrel in 2026, about the same as the current price.<\/p>\n “Hopefully, we won’t have another supply glut,” Gray said. The abundant supply of cheap crude oil, along with a drop in global demand is squeezing refineries, he said.<\/p>\n Louisiana has two advantages in navigating changes in the oil and gas sector during the upcoming year. The first is that the state is at the “front door” of the Gulf Coast for energy exports.<\/p>\n The second is massive gas deposits in the Haynesville Shale, which means natural gas can be produced in the northern part of the state, transported by pipeline to the LNG facilities on the coast, liquified, then shipped overseas by tanker.<\/p>\n “That’s a tremendous advantage,” Gray said.<\/p>\n Is this the year for big New Orleans developments?<\/p>\n Few things have frustrated New Orleans city leaders and residents more than the hulking shells of major buildings that have sat vacant since Hurricane Katrina or earlier, their unrealized potential looming over neighborhoods that have otherwise rebounded.<\/p>\n The sections of the lower floors of the Plaza Tower are being covered by signage for Super Bowl week. This display is from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Inc. Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Staff photo by John McCusker, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN MCCUSKER<\/p>\n The familiar list includes Charity Hospital, Plaza Tower, the former Lindy Boggs Medical Center in Mid-City and the River District along the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center\u2019s riverfront land. Together, they represent billions of dollars in potential investment and a chance to reshape large swaths of the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2025, there were signs that at least some of those long-stalled projects may finally be inching forward \u2014 aided by political intervention, new financing structures and a growing willingness by public officials to put substantial public money behind developments deemed too important to fail.<\/p>\n In 2026, that progress is expected to continue.<\/p>\n One reason for the optimism is Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, who pledged during her campaign to place real estate development at the center of her economic development strategy.<\/p>\n Another reason for hope are recent signs of progress. One recent breakthrough came earlier this month, when a roughly $300 million plan to redevelop the former Navy base in the Bywater finally closed<\/a> on its full financing package. The project, which has been pitched as a mix of \u201cluxury affordable\u201d housing, technology space and community amenities, is scheduled to begin construction in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n Graffiti photographed on the exterior at the former Lindy Boggs Medical Center in New Orleans, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER<\/p>\n Another turning point came in November, when voters approved a sweeping bond package<\/a> that unlocked funding critical to the future of the former Lindy Boggs Medical Center. The bond vote clears the way for the city to finance the demolition of the crumbling buildings and construct a large underground stormwater retention facility on the site \u2014 infrastructure that city officials say will significantly reduce flooding in surrounding Mid-City neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Graffiti photographed on the exterior at the former Lindy Boggs Medical Center in New Orleans, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER<\/p>\n Once that work is complete, site owners plan to pursue a $100 million mixed-use development.<\/p>\n New Orleans’ Charity Hospital was severely damaged by the floodwaters and strong winds of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Emergency responders like Ross Judice who were based in New Orleans used Charity as a go-to for emergencies as the hospital took care of mental patients, mothers birthing children and more. It was closed after the storm. Artist-photographers Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun documented what happened to Charity after the storm. 2020\u00a0<\/p>\n Artist-photographers Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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