Project Build A Future’s purpose is to provide housing so that local families can create homes.

That was the message Tuesday as the organization unveiled its newest project Kingman Crossing at the corner of Fitzenreiter Road and Pear Street across from Combre-Fondel Elementary School.

The 18-home neighborhood will be made up of fortified, resilient structures designed to stand against severe weather such as high winds, hail and hurricanes.

“This neighborhood has been a long time coming,” said Executive Director Charla Blake. “The property was acquired in 2015, so for 10 years Project Build A Future held on to this land waiting for the perfect project to come to fruition.”

She said the team approached the city in 2023 with a resilient neighborhood concept following on the heels of Hurricanes Laura and Delta a year prior. Once they were given the green light, the team spent all of 2024 flushing out their plans, meeting with architects and engineers, and being purposeful in their design to create an inviting neighborhood that looked “organic and not cookie cutter.”

Blake said the total investment when Kingman Crossing is complete is expected to be about $8.2 million through funding from the city of Lake Charles, Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, Skyline Foundation and Cox-Colbert 217 Fund.

Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana President and CEO Sara Judson said the money for the project has come from all over the world.

“Right before Hurricane Laura was making landfall, people from all 50 states and 10 other countries started to send contributions to the Community Foundation’s Hurricane Relief and Recovery Fund,” Judson said. “Ultimately over 4,000 contributions and over $7 million was given to help the people in our community.”

Judson said their board has been “very strategic” in how it distributes those dollars.

“We gave money immediately to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and then, over time, different nonprofits that were rebuilding houses and putting roofs on homes,” Judson said. “We strategically decided that we wanted to partner with Project Build A Future to put resilient features in these homes. We wanted to put dollars that people gave to build a stronger and more resilient future in this neighborhood.”

Project Build A Future was the brainchild of the Rev. Henry Mancuso and Willie King — who on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, were meeting to discuss creating the organization when the Twin Towers were attacked.

“While we were exploring how to rebuild a part of America, another part of America was being torn down,” King said.

Nearly 25 years later, the pair serve as volunteers on the board they founded.

Kingman Crossing is named in their honor from the first few letters of their last names combined.

Mancuso said the first four houses in Kingman Crossing will be built on Pear Street and once they are completed, contractors will have the opportunity to review and update the plans for the next 14 based on issues that may come up during the first phase of construction. He said 1,000-gallon tanks will be buried under the homes to catch rainfall from their gutters and alleviate any potential drainage issues. That water can be used for such things as watering lawns and gardens and running sprinkler lines for children at play.

The smallest home will be 990 square feet and the largest home will be a 2,000-square-foot two-story with four bedrooms and five baths.

“A cul-de-sac will be built in the center and we want to make a special effort to reach out to teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, medical techs —people who are giving so much to the community — for special deals for lease to purchase,” he said.

Mancuso is hopeful bids on the project will be received in April and construction will begin in May.

“This neighborhood will have a life, I pray, long after we are gone from here,” Mancuso said.