A newly dedicated 411,000-sq.-ft. Marine Forces Reserve headquarters building has officially opened as the first anchor tenant of the 200-acre Federal City complex in Algiers, LA, located across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans.

The state-funded project--part of the "Federal City" master-planned community-will retain 1,600 jobs, create 400 jobs in the short term, and attract thousands of future jobs, say officials.

Officially named The Joseph J. McCarthy Building (after a World War II Medal of Honor winner), it will retain the headquarters of the U.S. Marine Corps reserve command overseeing about 100,000 marines at 186 reserve centers nationwide and overseas.

A few years back, when the Department of Defense's BRAC process recommended closing the Naval Support Activity in Louisiana and eliminating thousands of jobs, the state quickly committed $150 million in state funding to secure the site and protect those jobs. Of those monies, $125 million came from the Mega-Project Development Fund and $25 million from a state bond issuance.

Federal City is a mixed-use development. When fully built out, it will consist of over 1 million square feet of office space, 375,000 square feet of retail, 350,000 square feet of civil/municipal buildings, 150 hotel rooms and 1,400 dwelling units. Federal City broke ground September 2008; the entire development process will take about 15 years. Federal City is considered by some in both the public and private sectors as a global model for small- to mid-sized military installations set in urban settings.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said the new Marine headquarters is not only vital to growing the state's economy, but also "the beginning of a Federal City that will become a hub of development for other federal agencies looking to locate here and bring even more jobs." More importantly, he said the project continues Louisiana's "strong tradition of supporting our brave military men and women as they defend our freedom."