The Research Park Corporation, which runs the Louisiana Technology Park on Florida Boulevard, posted an operating loss of nearly $472,000 in 2008, largely because it no longer receives state appropriations. However, the corporation has a little more than $2.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, which board member and former Tech Park president Eddie Ashworth says should be enough to run the park for the next four to five years without dipping into the investment portfolio. Which is a good thing, since the value of those investments dipped more than 26% in 2008 to about $13.6 million. The Tech Park has nearly $17.3 million in total assets, according to a statement presented to the board today.
In 2008, the Tech Park incubator hosted 13 companies with 83 employees and about $4.6 million in payroll, an average of about $55,400 per worker, interim president Stephen Loy says. There are 10 companies in the Tech Park now; Loy says he’s talking to four companies that are interested in possibly moving in. Loy says 89% of companies that have come into the Tech Park since it opened in 2001 are still in business.—David Jacobs
