Ashley Wolf

The Lake Charles City Council entered into a cooperative endeavor agreement on Wednesday with MorganField Development — a mixed-use community underway near East McNeese Street and Corbina Road.

A one-cent sales tax, a condition of the agreement, will take effect Jan. 1 in the commercial parts of the district. According to the agreement, the sales tax may only “assist in the construction, development and operation” of public projects as determined by the council, which will govern the MorganField district. 

Robert Daigle, managing partner of MorganField, said the agreement comes at “no cost to the city.” 

He said the penny tax will pay for public infrastructure without using funds from the city’s existing sales and property taxes.

“It enables developers to go in and develop retail and generate economic development activity that would not be happening but for the statute,” Daigle said. “It’s a no-lose situation.” 

MorganField includes four neighborhoods in various stages of development on 373 acres annexed by the city in 2013 and 2015. Developers expect to complete 1,600 homes and 450 multi-family units in area.

One of the neighborhoods, the Village at MorganField, will include office space, restaurants and retail shops. Daigle said the developers plan to host concert series and wine and art festivals at the Village.

In addition to the four neighborhoods, Daigle said, more neighborhoods are planned for the surrounding area as the city approves more annexations.

He said a first-class restaurant, Romacelli Bistro e Vino, will open in the Village within the next six months. The group also plans to host social events in the Village within the year.

Attorney Charles Landry said agreements like this are happening all over the state. “Communities realize that they need to create certain incentive to get very progressive high-end projects like MorganField,” Landry said.