
Lake Charles, LA — The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) joined housing partners in Lake Charles to break ground on demolishing the Lloyd Oaks public housing site that will eventually transform into the Mid-City Lofts.
38 acres of land will provide high-quality, affordable, energy-efficient housing for mixed-income individuals and families. Mid-City Lofts will include 46 units within 3-story buildings designed under Enterprise Green Communities and FORTIFIED Multifamily Gold Standards. These resilient storm-related features will protect the structure of buildings while also keeping residents safe if there is a natural disaster.
Mid-City Lofts received an allocation of 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from LHC. The development also received $3.5 million through the PRIME-3 Program, a collaborative funding source from LHC and the Office of Community Development.
“The initial step of a groundbreaking is a true testament of progress to what will become a revitalization transformation,” said LHC Board of Directors Chairman Stephen I. Dwyer. “We are immensely proud of the Lake Charles Housing Authority and the City of Lake Charles for enhancing the quality of affordable housing that will incorporate disaster resiliency standards. We are also grateful to work alongside housing partners such as HRI Communities and the Office of Community Development to start projects like the Mid-City Lofts that will shape its communities and become a beacon of hope for low-income families and individuals. LHC is beyond excited to see where this project will go and what it will do in the future for Lake Charles.”
“Lake Charles is steadily recovering from the devastation of Hurricanes Laura and Delta,” Louisiana Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery Executive Director Gina Campo said. “Although the city’s infrastructure is coming back, available rental housing is scarce. We are especially proud to partner with the Louisiana Housing Corporation and HRI Communities to fund Mid-City Lofts, which will provide a much-needed mixed-income community that is resilient and sustainable. Along with the site preparation work at Lloyd Oaks, also partially funded with CDBG-DR, this marks the beginning of the transformation of the Mid-City Neighborhood.”
This redevelopment project is a part of the Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI), where the City of Lake Charles and the Lake Charles Housing Authority received a $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“HRI Communities is dedicated to transforming underserved areas that in turn generate economic development impacts and create sustainable, thriving communities. We are thrilled to officially begin construction on Mid-City Lofts and launch the reinvestment in the Mid-City Choice Neighborhoods as a whole. This project is a big momentum builder that will offer beautiful, new mixed-income housing opportunities with a priority on resiliency and designed to once again foster a true community,” said HRI Communities President, Josh Collen.
LHC is grateful to work alongside so many extraordinary housing partners who helped make this project a reality. The developer of this redevelopment is HRI Communities. The Builder is RNGD and the contractor for tearing down the Lloyd Oak public housing site is Alfred Palma, Inc.
Breanne Bizette
Public Information Officer, Louisiana Housing Corporation
PublicAffairs@lhc.la.gov