Business

A co-working nonprofit organization in downtown Shreveport has received a $50,000 grant to help it relocate and become a permanent option for small business owners who wish to work in a shared space. CoHabitat Foundation executive director John Grindley said his lease is up in March 2013. He’s working to close a deal with the city to move CoHab and its 50 member businesses into a defunct restaurant in the Red River District.

“We need to work somewhere downtown that doesn’t force us to raise our member rates,” Grindley said. “We’re looking for a permanent home now.”

The North Louisiana Economic Development Partnership presented an optimistic view of job growth across its 14-parish region, during an event at Cohab in downtown Shreveport. NLEP's vice president of business development Liz Pierre told local businesspeople that she's tracking 67 active leads, largely in the manufacturing sector. The non-profit business development firm has offices in Shreveport and Monroe.

Neches Pines Golf Course in Diboll, Texas, is set to undergo a major renovation. The public golf course was the vision of the late forest products executive and philanthropist Arthur Temple. A $1 million grant from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation will help overhaul the golf course that dates back to the late '60s.