by Malcolm Butler
Ruston is the place to be.
At least in 2024 and in the near future.
While many cities are struggling in today’s times, Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker is a firm believer that his city is prospering.
And when people look around town, the proof is in new developments.
“Right now, we have 17 companies that are currently building in our city,” said Walker. “Everything from what’s happening at (the old) Ruston Country Club to Chase (Bank) to Origin (Bank) to Texas Roadhouse to Excalibur to (Delta Biscuit Company) to lots of apartments.”
And the best part of this news? Most of the development dollars are from outside of Lincoln Parish.
“Of those 17 companies, 15 of them are developers from out of town or out of state,” said Walker. “Total development is $137 million. For a town our size to have that much outside development is unreal. People see Ruston as the place to be. If you want to invest money in a good solid place in North Louisiana, it’s Ruston.”
Much of the buzz around Lincoln Parish over the past 18 months has been about the announcement that Ruston will be home to the first Buc-ee’s ever built in the state of Louisiana. With it has come plenty of envious eyes from around other parts of the state.
And along with the Buc-ee’s franchise will come even more out-of-state development dollars as the nationally-renowned travel center is a magnet for other business.
So what is the reason for Ruston’s success? What makes our home in north Louisiana so attractive?
“We have spent $194 million on infrastructure over the last eight years,” said Walker. “If you don’t have good infrastructure, you won’t get companies to come to your city.”
Walker said that over the past eight years, those millions of dollars have been used for things such as water, sewer lines, electrical capacity and transmission, roads, sidewalks and bike trails. And he feels that has elevated the city when it comes to the opportunity for growth.
“Companies look for places that people want to live,” said Walker. “And Ruston is a great place to live.”
Brandon Norris, VP at Louisiana National Bank and current treasurer for the Ruston CVB, cites a team effort throughout the city as to a big reason for its current state.
“Cooperation and coordination between the City of Ruston and the Lincoln Parish Police Jury has led to increased economic development in our area, especially when partnered with Louisiana Tech, Grambling State University, and local business leaders,” said Norris.
“By aligning their efforts, they have really joined forces to achieve common goals: economic growth and an improved standard of living within our community. This shared focus has allowed for additional business expansion, a highly-educated workforce, and local employment opportunities.”
Lincoln Parish Police Jury president Glenn Scriber agrees. Despite some tumultuous, divided times on the police jury in 2022 and 2023, the new regime that took over in 2024 has made it a point to work as a team to help move the parish forward.
“I can’t overstate how important it is to have a healthy, professional, working relationship within particular the city of Ruston, but of course all municipalities,” said Scriber who was elected as president of the LPPJ in January. “When we mesh our talents together it creates positive relationship for not only the jury and the city, but also the citizens and that can only move our great parish forward.”
Another benefit to Ruston’s success is the fact Lincoln Parish is home to a pair of Division I universities, something that is a huge benefit to the quality of life and an attraction to new residents and new businesses.
“Let’s face it. Having two universities here helps us tremendously,” said Walker, who cited the fact Tech boasts back-to-back record size freshman classes. “We don’t have an overabundance of industry, but we have enough to help us along with the education system we have.”
Drake Mills, Chairman, President and CEO of Origin Bancorp, Inc., believes the people of Ruston and Lincoln Parish and their outlook and mindset have led to the growth and improved quality of life.
“Ruston-Lincoln Parish has always been a desirable place to build and conduct business, raise a family, and be part of an incredible community,” said Mills. “This has been magnified because of strong leadership and an entrepreneurial spirit that is so prevalent.
“What’s so impactful is that people in our community are willing to act on that entrepreneurial spirit, creating new business and economic opportunities. The partnership between the city, Louisiana Tech, Grambling, and the business community is stronger than ever and it has generated a high-level of excitement about the future of Ruston and Lincoln Parish.”
Despite the business growth within Ruston, Walker did say that he doesn’t believe the population within the city limits will increase much due to lack of available residential space.
“You won’t see the population of Ruston grow much because we don’t have any room left in town for subdivisions,” said Walker. “We grew a little bit this last year, but the parish as a whole will grow much faster than within the city limits.”
Walker pointed to a recent study that showed that only 15 of the 64 parishes within the state of Louisiana showed population growth over the past year, including only Lincoln, Bossier and DeSoto Parishes in the northern part of the boot.
“We just have a really, really good mesh of quality of life stuff that people want their city that they live in to have,” said Walker. “That’s a vibrant downtown. We have lots of bike trails and sidewalks now. We have an incredibly good farmers market. Recycling is a big deal. The sports complex is a big thing. Two universities where people can continue their education if they choose. And inexpensive utilities.
“These are all things that we found when we researched to see what people were looking for in a place to live. We are very fortunate in Ruston. We attract great families and great people and great new businesses.”
