Eligible homeowners urged to take part in elevation project

Published 6:41 am Friday, July 25, 2025

Eligible homeowners are being encouraged to take part in a state-managed property elevation project and raise their homes.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a public meeting on Thursday to update homeowners on the Southwest Coastal Home Elevation Project.

The goal of the project is to reduce hurricane storm surge damage risks by elevating and/or floodproofing thousands of residential and business structures in Calcasieu, Cameron and Vermillion parishes while prioritizing environmental and ecosystem restoration.

The pilot project, funded at the state and federal levels, is authorized to spend about $1.8 billion to raise about 3,000 properties, said Darrel M. Broussard, senior project manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. On average, it costs about $250,000 to $300,000 to raise a home to the 100-year flood elevation on average.

They are currently working with a pool of $455 million to elevate 800 to 1,000 structures to the 100-year base flood elevation and anticipate having these funds obligated by 2028.

The initial investment is funded 65 percent through federal government grants; The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) provides a 35 percent cost share.

The partnership between the USACE and the (CPRA) began as a flood control project to mitigate coastal storm flooding that involved levees. But, levees would not have been feasible for the area, he said.

“We looked at putting levees around this area. … It’s so flat. It’s so spread out. The cost to put a levee to surround everything was just not cost-effective.”

By elevating individual homes, the project is non-structural, meaning utility infrastructure does not have to be installed.

A total of 3,462 properties were identified as eligible structures through a 2016 feasibility study. Eligible structures were broken down into priority groups. Properties were prioritized based on how low the structure sits and the socioeconomic status of the area.

A total of 300 people have signed up so far, and USACE has already begun to elevate eligible properties. One elevation has already been completed in Lake Charles.

The first contract for home elevation construction was awarded to Wingate Engineers LLC of New Orleans last year for $4,997,880. Broussard said the second contract should be finalized by the end of the year for home elevations beginning in February 2026.

The Southwest Coastal Home Elevation project is voluntary and covers the cost of raising homes three to 13 feet, depending on the property’s initial elevation, and the utility and structural adjustments. Temporary relocation for property owners, upgrades and hazardous material remediation are not covered.

Homeowners of eligible properties were sent letters by the project team, but eligibility can be confirmed online at www.mvr.usace.army.mil/SWCoastal.