City HallFriday, November 6
Lake Charles council approves phase three of the Mid-City housing project
The Daily Lake Charles team
If you follow Mid-City's rebuilding, the City Council took a big step Wednesday night. Members voted unanimously to approve phase three of the Choice Neighborhood Initiative, near Lake Street and the new Mid-City Avenue.
Phase three brings 62 apartments and a $180 million investment
- 62
- mixed-income apartments
- 3,600 sq. ft.
- of ground-floor retail space
- $1.5 million
- city loan, to be repaid over 55 years
- $180 million
- total investment, officials said
Sources: American Press, kplctv.com
The city's share is a loan, and Mayor Marshall Simien said it will come out of the General Fund. HRI Communities president Josh Collen told the council “it is a long-term loan, but it is a loan and not a grant.”
- City loan: up to $1.5 million at 0% interest
- Former residents: 22 units marked primarily for Lloyd Oaks
- Bigger picture: part of replacing 240 units Hurricane Laura destroyed
- Grant: $40 million Choice Neighborhood grant
The city's loan is set to be paid out in three steps
- Dec. 2026Financial closing is estimated, with $150,000 of the loan disbursed.
- JanuaryConstruction is set to begin.
- July 2027$675,000 is estimated at 50% construction completion.
- Feb. 2028$675,000 is estimated at 100% construction completion.
Sources: American Press, kplctv.com
Councilman Matt Young has backed the project since the housing authority first applied for the grant. "It's sad that it's taken us four, five, six years to get the first units back up," he said.
Sources: American Press, kplctv.com