UPDATED WITH SARONIC STATEMENT: 4,000 jobs? Council hears about Saronic plans

Is this a billion-dollar summer for St. Mary Parish?
On Wednesday, St. Mary Parish Council members heard about plans by Saronic, the Texas-based company that acquired the Gulf Craft shipyard on the Charenton Canal. Those plans have expanded beyond the already significant footprint in the original Saronic announcement in April. And more employer announcements are to come, officials say.
“Based on these projects ... by the end of the year, we’ll be able to say this administration is able bring in nearly $1 billion in new investment in St. Mary Parish," said Economic Development Director Evan Boudreaux.
Boudreaux said Thursday that Saronic is considering plans for investment and job creation beyond the scope of the original announcement. .
Estimates of construction jobs and “induced” jobs created elsewhere in the economy, according to economic impact models used by Boudreaux, could raise the new job total to 4,000 jobs.
“That’s just one company,” Parish President Sam Jones said. “We’ve got more to come.”
Jones has mentioned the possibility of new employer announcements at recent meetings but has yet to make anything public.
A statement from Saronic on Thursday didn't go beyond the original announcement about the company's economic impact here: "Saronic plans to invest more than $250M directly into the shipyard, which will encompass large facility upgrades to support a rapid capacity ramp-up. We also expect to create more than 500 new jobs over the next 3-4 years.
"As of today, we’ve doubled our headcount at the shipyard and plan to continue hiring throughout the year. We’re proud to be growing and deepening our commitment to St. Mary Parish."
The data presented Wednesday Councilman J Ina of Franklin to wonder how so many employees could be housed here. The parish’s most recent population count is at 49,406, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Boudreaux said the administration has been identifying potential sites for residential development
“We need to bow ourselves up,” Jones said. “We need to provide the things we need to provide, accommodations and all that. …
“People will come. They’ll live here if we’re inviting enough to them.”
Workforce training will also be a factor, Boudreaux said.
He recently toured a workforce development center in New Orleans, developed in an old high school. People are trained for workplace roles as diverse as cooking and metal fabrication.
“There’s no reason St. Mary can’t have something like that,” Boudreaux said.
Another factor had been discussed earlier at the meeting: the parish’s Uniform Development Code, the rules setting the standards that new construction must meet. The parish government is working on a slimmed-down, easier to use version of the code.
“If we can streamline the process for businesses coming in and make it easier, it makes us look a lot better, a lot more attractive to businesses,” Boudreaux said.
Another major economic development in St. Mary has been proceeding more slowly.
Plans for a tire distribution center in the Franklin area by Korean company Kumho may have to change to accommodate Saronic’s expanded plans, Boudreaux said. The company has also scaled back operations at other U.S. sites and now faces uncertainty related to tariffs.
Even so, Boudreaux said, the Saronic plans make St. Mary more attractive to businesses, even international businesses.
“There are a lot of exciting things happening in St. Mary right now,” Boudreaux said.
Saronic plans to use its new St. Mary facility as a prototype and production hub for the Marauder, a 150-foot autonomous surface vessel.

This story has been edited to reflect that Saronic's plans for expansion here are still under consideration and have not been finalized.