A ‘major economic development project’ is coming to central Louisiana

On Tuesday, May 26, Gov. Jeff Landry, Louisiana Economic Development and local and regional partners will announce a “major economic development project” coming to central Louisiana.

Officials say the project will “further accelerate Louisiana’s unprecedented economic growth.” The announcement will be made at 11:30 a.m. at the England Airpark Community Center in Alexandria.

No official word has been given on what the project might entail, but as Daily Report previously reported, Applied Digital, a digital infrastructure developer based in Dallas, appears to be positioning a site in Rapides Parish for a large-scale data center project.

In December, Applied Digital purchased a 672-acre piece of land near the town of Boyce, west of Alexandria. And in February, the England Authority—the Rapides Parish economic development district—approved the creation of England District Subdistrict No. 4, an overlay district that encompasses that 672-acre piece of land. Applied Digital has also posted job listings for positions in Alexandria, including listings for a director of site operations and data center subject matter experts.

Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark, told Daily Report in March that Applied Digital was in talks with a potential hyperscaler tenant for the proposed data center. Read more here.