Over on Winnie Street, a quaint white house with green trim and brick features is getting an upgrade. The building will be elevated about seven feet to make it more resilient.

On Wednesday, federal, state and local officials broke ground on a Southwest Coastal Louisiana Storm Risk Management and Ecosystem Restoration project.

A partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the Southwest Coastal Project aims to reduce hurricane storm surge damage risks by elevating and/or floodproofing thousands of residential and business structures in Calcasieu, Cameron and Vermillion parishes.

Micki Meier, senior project manager, USACE, Rock Island District, called Wednesday a day of celebration for the “profound impact” the project will have locally and nationwide.

“This project is a testament to the power, collaboration, innovations and shared vision for a more resilient future.”

Senior Project Manager Darrel Broussard said the project will take about three to four months to complete. The contractors will dig trenches around the perimeter of the house and use push piles to lift the home and permanently elevate the structure.

The estimated cost of a home elevation is $200,000. Homeowners do not pay out-of-pocket for the elevation process, but lodging and living arrangements for the two to three weeks they are displaced are not covered.

Eligible homes were identified during a 2016 feasibility study. The structures that qualified were all at or below the 2025 0-25 year base flood elevation. Col. Aaron Williams, USACE, Rock Island District, said the project is a non-structural approach that results in a one percent reduction for hurricane and storm damage.

Over the summer, USACE and CPRA began to connect qualified homeowners to a pool of $455 million to elevate 800 to 1000 structures to the 100-year base flood elevation. They anticipate having these funds obligated by 2028. The initial investment is funded 65 percent through federal government grants; CPRA provides a 35 percent cost share.

During this stage, they will also construct about two miles of stabilized shoreline along the coast.

The long-range goal is to elevate or floodproof 4,000 structures and invest $6 billion in Southwest Coastal Louisiana. Money is being flooded to the area because of its environmental susceptibility to natural disasters, he said.

“We need to look back no further than 2020 with Hurricanes Laura and Delta to see Southwest Louisiana’s low elevations, high terrain and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico make this an area of high risk to flooding and resulting in tidal surge and waves.”

Homeowners interested in the project can attend an open house from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, October 17, at Central Library, 301 W. Claude St.

The project team will be on deck to help the public learn more about the project and determine their eligibility.