Wednesday’s rain-interrupted ground-breaking ceremony for the first phase of the Mid-City Lofts near Lake and 18th streets will be one for the books. It wasn’t just the smell of barbecue that lured them in. Each person represented a public or private entity involved in the thousands of hours of work and millions of dollars involved in bringing the project to fruition. More than 100 people were present.

The first phase of the Mid-City Lofts Transformation will be a 46-unit apartment building that could be finished as early as next year. The redevelopment will have 562 new mixed-income apartments, amenities, retail space, streets and infrastructure, public parks and be a complete mixed-use community.

It is on the 37-acre tract that will include property that was Lloyd Oaks Lake Charles City Housing. Wednesday’s ceremony included a demolition of one of its condemned housing units.

Lake Charles and all of Calcasieu and Cameron parishes had the opportunity to create a world class 50-year resilience master plan after Hurricanes Laura and Delta, called Just Imagine SWLA. People overwhelmingly voiced the need for more resilient and affordable housing.

The application for a HUD CHOICE Neighborhoods Implementation Grant was a direct result of that community input and a collaborative approach to the application process from the Just Imagine plan’s Mid-City Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan.   

The city of Lake Charles was awarded the grant the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as $5 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recover funding from the state of Louisiana to improve infrastructure in the neighborhood.

The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury will match the city’s $5 million grant.

“The best part of the project is the miraculous commitment of its numerous partners,” Police Juror Brian Abshire said.

Other funding sources include an allocation of 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Louisiana Housing Corporation and a $3.5 million CDBG-DR loan from Louisiana Housing Corporation in partnership with the Louisiana Office of Community Development.

“This area of the city, geographically, is smack dab in the middle of the city. We’re making an impact on the heart of the city, which will have a ripple effect, part of a string of projects that are coming to fruition,” said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter.