As part of an intentional and strategic response to meet the needs of vital communities during the pandemic, the New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA) and the City of New Orleans launched a joint program, the “RESILIENT CORRIDORS INITIATIVE,” in 2020. The transformational program provides much-needed financial support to small businesses in Algiers, Gentilly, Gert Town, Hollygrove, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans East, and Tremé, ensuring their ability to continue operations through COVID-19 and continue to be anchors for future economic growth within these key neighborhoods.

The Resilient Corridors Initiative also supports a variety of special projects that advance commercial revitalization efforts and build economic development capacity within the seven targeted neighborhoods. Businesses chosen to participate in the program received $5,000 in grant funding and customized technical support from a cadre of diverse experts and practitioners to help develop and implement strategies to sustain their presence through this period of economic downturn and recovery.

“What we’ve always known at NOLABA, but further proved during this pandemic, is that the work of economic development cannot be based solely in the Central Business District,” said NOLABA’s Assistant Vice President of Strategic Neighborhood Development Greg Lawson. “These seven critical corridors serve as the foundation for the unique culture of New Orleans but have been slowest to recover in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We cannot succeed as a city unless they do. Which is why we selected these neighborhoods as a focal point of this initiative and continue to prioritize and support them as part of our broader Strategic Neighborhood Development plan.”

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