Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans

In December 2021, Davon Barbour was unanimously appointed President & CEO of the Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans. He is an enthusiastic urban advocate, possessing more than twenty years of progressive leadership in inclusive economic and community development. His areas of expertise include public/private partnerships, retail revitalization, economic development, and community development. He has worked for the private sector, public sector, and non-profit organizations revitalizing urban communities across the nation including Baltimore, Miami, Orlando, and Los Angeles.

Davon led the Community & Economic Development Division of the Los Angeles County Development Authority for where he oversaw the county’s redevelopment initiatives, revolving loan portfolio, construction administration, and the nation’s largest urban county district Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. He played a lead role in developing and administering more than $150M in COVID-19 economic recovery programs such as business microgrants, loans and childcare. Additionally, Davon led the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore to win an Award of Excellence in economic development for “TechConnect”, a business attraction program, from the International Downtown Association (IDA).

Early in his career, Davon oversaw the development of a master plan and urban renewal legislation for an ambitious $2 billion mixed-use redevelopment project that features the two million square feet Life Sciences + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins, new mixed-income housing, park space and local employment opportunities to revitalize neighborhoods that encompass the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital in his hometown of Baltimore, MD.  As Director of the City of Hollywood, Florida Community & Economic Development Department, he led the city to win three (3) consecutive annual awards from the National Community Development Association.

Davon has served in numerous volunteer leadership roles throughout his career. Locally, Davon is on the Board of Directors of UNITY for Greater New Orleans, a non-profit dedicated to ending homelessness. He is a member of the IDA Board of Directors and a former Vice Chair. Davon has been also extensively involved in ICSC where he currently serves on its Board of Trustees and is a past Western Division P3 Public Chair, past Eastern Division P3 Public Sector Chair, and former faculty member of its University of Shopping Centers. Davon has also contributed to advisory/technical panels for both the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and IDA. Finally, his writings have been published by ICSC, IDA, and ULI.