(The Center Square) – Shreveport leaders are waiting to see whether the $250,000 invested in Millennium Studios has resolved flooding issues sufficiently for Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s major economic development project to move forward.
Jackson’s plan for a multimillion-dollar renovation project in downtown Shreveport is at a standstill until the city’s drainage improvements are tested by a major rain event. The region remains in a drought but rain is expected this week, according to the National Weather Service.
A city engineer told the City Council Tuesday that he believes enough has been done to correct past issues. Jackson’s representative, Temple Williams, partially agreed but was unwilling to commit to starting the project.
“The steps that have been taken are materially better than what we had previously,” said Williams, an executive with Jackson’s production company, G-Unit Film & Television. “We just haven’t had a big storm the way we had in the past few years. We’ ve had several where there’s been standing water to the tune of 2 to 2 1/2 feet in that first parking lot.”
The city’s flood mitigation project added catch basins and trench drains. Further improvements would add detention basins or upsizing the whole system but “we don’t currently have construction funds for that,” said David Smith, a city engineer. “So we are in the planning stages for anything else.”
Upgrading the drainage pipe downstream from the studio is estimated to cost several million dollars, Smith said, money he’s pursuing through state capital outlay.
G-Unit signed a cooperative endeavor agreement with Louisiana Economic Development in January. The deal would reimburse G-Unit up to $50 million to redevelop two city-owned entertainment venues and build a third entertainment-style dome. G-Unit has committed to spending $74 million.
The Millennium campus, renamed G-Unit Studios, is a centerpiece of his plan. He envisions building a state-of-the-art facility capable of attracting major television and movie productions to the campus. G-Unit inked a 30-year lease with the city in 2025 for both Millennium and Stageworks, a planned entertainment hub located on Clyde Fant Parkway.
Both the city and G-Unit were aware of flooding, as it occurred during negotiations in 2023, according to statements made during the meeting. That flooding is believed to be the result of a clogged drainage pipe resulting from construction of the Bayou Grande apartments, which sit adjacent to Millennium.
“We found some obstructions in the pipe,” Smith said. “We believe that we’ve done the best we can to lower that risk” of flooding.
City leaders expressed concern over the stalemate, as well as interest in seeing the project start.
“If we get through this rainy season … would you have a problem moving on with construction?” council member Grayson Boucher asked.
“I believe so but I would need to talk to ownership and management,” Williams said. The property was released to G-Unit under the lease terms more than a year ago “as is.”
“If it’s ‘as is,’ then I’m accepting it and if there’s anything that needs to be repaired going forward, I fund it, not the city has to find money to fund it,” said council member Jim Taliaferro.
“That is correct,” said Marcus Edwards, the city’s attorney.
“We’re talking about putting millions and millions of dollars worth of technical equipment into these facilities,” Williams said. “We want to ensure that they’re not going to be damaged by flooding.”
After the meeting, Williams told The Center Square that he could not speak to the media because of a non-disclosure agreement.
The city purchased the Millennium Studios building in 2022 for just under $4 million from the Millennium Film Group.
