and inconvenience— including the impact of a 200,000- person increase in population as a result of the evacuation of New Orleans. The Federal-sponsored reconstruction of the hurricane-damaged areas led directly to the construction of the fi rst private- sector offi ce building in the downtown area in about 24 years. Announced in late 2006, II City Plaza offers 12 stories of offi ce and retail space, with retail and banking outlets at ground level. Altogether, April 09 www. bus- ex. com 93 Lemoine Company LLC W hen Hurricane Katrina blew into town in August 2005, with 175- mph winds and a record storm surge, it devastated New Orleans and cut a swathe of destruction across Louisiana and west into Texas. Quiet and calm Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana, was not as hard hit as its rambunctious neighbor, but it experienced power outages, some damage and a level of disruption The face and appearance of Louisiana is being renewed after the devastation of hurricane Katrina, and Lemoine Company is very much part of it, Ruari McCallion discovers the city Heart of