New Orleans Downtown Development District picks new CEO | Business News

The New Orleans Downtown Development District, a state agency that oversees some of the security, beautification and economic development efforts in parts of the Central Business and Warehouse districts, has tapped longtime New Orleans public servant Seth Knudsen to be its new president and CEO.

Knudsen, who was most recently head of strategy, programs and projects at the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, replaced Davon Barbour, who resigned in January to take a similar role in Austin, Texas after three years in the job.

The district has an annual budget of about $12.7 million, most of which comes from a share of the property taxes raised in the district, which is bounded by Iberville Street to the north, the Pontchartrain Expressway to the east, Claiborne Avenue to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west.

Chris Ross, who chairs the district’s 11-member board, said they had conducted a national search to fill the CEO position, with the help of an independent headhunter consultant. The job pays $255,000 a year plus benefits and a potential bonus, he said.

“Seth’s deep roots in New Orleans, combined with his proven leadership in public investment, make him the right person to lead the DDD into its next chapter,” Ross said in a statement announcing Knudsen’s appointment. “His vision, experience, and collaborative approach will be key to advancing our mission of creating a cleaner, safer, more inclusive, and economically resilient Downtown.”

Ross said Knudsen had been chosen from a short list of about 10 candidates.

Knudsen had worked for 13 years at the redevelopment authority, a city agency that partners with developers and invests in projects to revitalize neighborhoods and support economic development.

He is a Tulane University graduate in urban planning and worked for City Hall and the Housing Authority of New Orleans earlier in his career. He also earned post graduate qualifications from the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Core mission

Knudsen said in a telephone interview that the core mission and priorities of the district will remain his main focus. Chief among those is providing enhanced security and beautification services for the district, as well as broader economic development goals.

On the latter, Knudsen said the agency will be looking to partner with other city organizations to ensure the long-delayed Charity Hospital rehabilitation project can move forward, as well as other developments like the 1010 Common Street project that is converting a former office building to a residential and hotel use.

He said he also wants to work, as Barbour did, on revitalizing lower Canal Street. And he wants to be part of an “all hands on deck” strategy to alleviate the city’s homelessness problem.

The Downtown Development District was the nation’s first assessment-based business improvement district when it was founded in 1974. The relationship between the district and City Hall has occasionally been fraught, and Barbour’s predecessor successfully sued the city to gain more control of its tax funds.

A law that took effect last year, Act 520, changed the terms of selecting the board, effectively reducing the number of appointees chosen by the Mayor of New Orleans from nine to five and reducing the time those members serve on the board.