BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry has vetoed $18 million in state funding meant to help build the BLVD at Harding in North Baton Rouge, blindsiding developers behind a $50 million retail development in the area.

State lawmakers had approved the funding through the capital outlay bill. Landry had even attended the development's January groundbreaking and told developers he wanted to partner with them.

The planned 200-acre development on Harding Boulevard included a Harvest Fresh grocery store and was expected to create more than 250 jobs. More than 60,000 cars pass through the area each day from Central, Baker, Zachary and the Felicianas on their way to the interstate.

Residents say the area is missing something essential — a place to buy fresh food. Sharlene Stuart travels by bus from Scotlandville to the Cortana Walmart, about eight miles away, to buy groceries.

"It's a good distance from here," Stuart said.

Developer Trevor Bailey said the location made sense for the project.

"We've got the infrastructure. The need's here. The community needs it," Bailey said.

For developer Richard Preis, the project represented a long-overdue promise to the community.

"A lot of people have promised a lot to North Baton Rouge over the past 25 years, but nobody delivered," Preis said. "We've gotten this far, and we're not going anywhere."

Despite losing the state funding, developers say they are still committed to bringing a grocery store to North Baton Rouge. It is unclear whether the veto will delay the project, which is expected to wrap up in 2027.