New Orleans City Council Approves Omni New Orleans Zoning
New Orleans City Council Approves Omni New Orleans Zoning
Approval Marks Major Step Forward for Louisiana and New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS – The following is a statement attributable to Jim Cook, President and CEO, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Today’s City Council approval of the Omni New Orleans Headquarters Hotel is a major win for our city, our state and the regional hospitality industry. It sends a clear message that New Orleans is open for business and that our city will continue competing for major conventions and events at the very highest level.
The Authority would particularly like to recognize and thank District B Councilmember Lesli Harris and her staff for sponsoring this legislation and skillfully managing what has been a complex series of steps to achieve this successful outcome.
The Omni New Orleans project is shovel-ready, and today’s approval allows us to move confidently toward construction start in the near term. We thank Mayor Moreno, the City Council, and the multiple municipal committees and staff members involved for their thoughtful review and for recognizing the catalytic importance of this project.
This is a project New Orleans has needed for decades, and today’s vote clears the way for a $600 million investment in our community that will create hundreds of jobs, add tens of millions to the state and local economies and strengthen New Orleans’ position as a leading destination for major meetings, conventions and events. The approved overlay, including height and zoning, ensures a path forward for a project that will directly benefit businesses, workers and residents across the city and Southeast Louisiana.
In a related action, the New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Economic Growth and Development District approved an important resolution during a special meeting related to the headquarters hotel project.
The approval authorized a term sheet agreement for a real estate tax stabilization program for the Headquarters Hotel Subdistrict. In coordination with City Council leadership, specifically District B Councilmember Lesli Harris, Council President JP Morrell and Council Vice President Matthew Willard; the agreement includes commitments by the hotel development team related to local hiring, payment of property taxes at levels comparable to a defined set of peer hotels, and participation in small and emerging business opportunities consistent with the Convention Center’s Small and Emerging Business (SEB) Program goals.
Since 2024, the Convention Center and Omni have worked closely with community leaders, residents, small business owners and City officials to gather input and refine the project. More than 450 people participated in public meetings that culminated in the Neighborhood Participation Program earlier this year.
Community feedback and rapid responses from City departmental leadership played an important role in shaping the project. Suggestions and recommendations from neighbors assisted designers as they refined the building’s exterior look while shifting the hotel away from the Mississippi River Heritage Park. We believe preserving this vital green space while maintaining full headquarters hotel programming demonstrates a commitment to balancing community priorities with economic opportunity.
The hotel is expected to open in 2030.
###
About the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans is Built to Host! With 1.1 million square feet of prime exhibit space on one level, all under one roof, NOENMCC is tied for the sixth-largest convention center in the United States. NOENMCC is a 2025 Exhibitor Magazine Centers of Excellence recipient and is consistently named a regional top workplace by The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. A recent LEED Gold certification makes NOENMCC the largest LEED-certified project in Louisiana and the largest convention center project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance, as well as the first convention center in the worldto be awarded initial certification under LEED Gold v4.1 O+M. A leading contributor to the city’s robust tourism economy, NOENMCC event activity has produced $93.2 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening.
About the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority
The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority’s (Authority) exclusive mission is to finance, construct, and operate facilities in order to attract and conduct conventions, trade shows, and other events that support and expand the economy of both the State of Louisiana and the New Orleans region. The Authority is composed of a 13-member Board of Commissioners, with ten members appointed by the Governor of Louisiana and three appointed by the Mayor of New Orleans. Since 1985, event activity at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has produced $93.2 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening, including $6.2 billion in new tax revenue for state and local governments.
New Orleans City Council Approves Omni New Orleans Zoning
Approval Marks Major Step Forward for Louisiana and New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS – The following is a statement attributable to Jim Cook, President and CEO, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Today’s City Council approval of the Omni New Orleans Headquarters Hotel is a major win for our city, our state and the regional hospitality industry. It sends a clear message that New Orleans is open for business and that our city will continue competing for major conventions and events at the very highest level.
The Authority would particularly like to recognize and thank District B Councilmember Lesli Harris and her staff for sponsoring this legislation and skillfully managing what has been a complex series of steps to achieve this successful outcome.
The Omni New Orleans project is shovel-ready, and today’s approval allows us to move confidently toward construction start in the near term. We thank Mayor Moreno, the City Council, and the multiple municipal committees and staff members involved for their thoughtful review and for recognizing the catalytic importance of this project.
This is a project New Orleans has needed for decades, and today’s vote clears the way for a $600 million investment in our community that will create hundreds of jobs, add tens of millions to the state and local economies and strengthen New Orleans’ position as a leading destination for major meetings, conventions and events. The approved overlay, including height and zoning, ensures a path forward for a project that will directly benefit businesses, workers and residents across the city and Southeast Louisiana.
In a related action, the New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Economic Growth and Development District approved an important resolution during a special meeting related to the headquarters hotel project.
The approval authorized a term sheet agreement for a real estate tax stabilization program for the Headquarters Hotel Subdistrict. In coordination with City Council leadership, specifically District B Councilmember Lesli Harris, Council President JP Morrell and Council Vice President Matthew Willard; the agreement includes commitments by the hotel development team related to local hiring, payment of property taxes at levels comparable to a defined set of peer hotels, and participation in small and emerging business opportunities consistent with the Convention Center’s Small and Emerging Business (SEB) Program goals.
Since 2024, the Convention Center and Omni have worked closely with community leaders, residents, small business owners and City officials to gather input and refine the project. More than 450 people participated in public meetings that culminated in the Neighborhood Participation Program earlier this year.
Community feedback and rapid responses from City departmental leadership played an important role in shaping the project. Suggestions and recommendations from neighbors assisted designers as they refined the building’s exterior look while shifting the hotel away from the Mississippi River Heritage Park. We believe preserving this vital green space while maintaining full headquarters hotel programming demonstrates a commitment to balancing community priorities with economic opportunity.
The hotel is expected to open in 2030.
###
About the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans is Built to Host! With 1.1 million square feet of prime exhibit space on one level, all under one roof, NOENMCC is tied for the sixth-largest convention center in the United States. NOENMCC is a 2025 Exhibitor Magazine Centers of Excellence recipient and is consistently named a regional top workplace by The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. A recent LEED Gold certification makes NOENMCC the largest LEED-certified project in Louisiana and the largest convention center project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance, as well as the first convention center in the worldto be awarded initial certification under LEED Gold v4.1 O+M. A leading contributor to the city’s robust tourism economy, NOENMCC event activity has produced $93.2 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening.
About the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority
The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority’s (Authority) exclusive mission is to finance, construct, and operate facilities in order to attract and conduct conventions, trade shows, and other events that support and expand the economy of both the State of Louisiana and the New Orleans region. The Authority is composed of a 13-member Board of Commissioners, with ten members appointed by the Governor of Louisiana and three appointed by the Mayor of New Orleans. Since 1985, event activity at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has produced $93.2 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening, including $6.2 billion in new tax revenue for state and local governments.