UPDATE: 154-room Hilton hotel, new amphitheater planned for lakefront
Published 10:31 am Saturday, December 7, 2024
Local residents take a look at renderings for the new Hilton Garden Inn, convension center and amphitheater that is planned for downtown Lake Charles on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, at the Civic Center. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Local residents take a look at renderings for the new Hilton Garden Inn, convension center and amphitheater that is planned for downtown Lake Charles on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, at the Civic Center. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Gene Thibodeaux, a parter with ReNew Lake Charles, speaks on Friday at the Event Center about the new Hilton Garden Inn, convension center and amphitheater. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Kyle Edmiston, Visit Lake Charles President/CEO speaks on Friday at the Event Center about the new Hilton Garden Inn, convension center and amphitheater. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Mayor Nic Hunter announced plans for a lakefront hotel, conference center and amphitheater Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, at the Event Center. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Expect more development on the lakefront and in downtown Lake Charles.
On Friday, Mayor Nic Hunter and partners from ReNew Lake Charles announced plans for a lakefront hotel, conference and convention center and new state-of-the-art amphitheater.
Hunter began the announcement with the Victor Hugo quote, “There’s nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come.”
The quote was a nod to decades of talk about lakefront development, including the need for a hotel and convention center. Finally, it’s more than just talk. Port Wonder will open soon. Lakefront Crying Eagle will follow in six to eight months.
“This community loses out on multiple statewide and regional conferences and conventions due to the layout of the Event Center and the lack of a dedicated hotel to service the Event Center,” Hunter said.
Kyle Edmiston, Visit Lake Charles President/CEO, said Lake Charles is down 1,000 rooms after Hurricane Laura. 100 conferences went somewhere else because space wasn’t available or it didn’t meet needs. Running out of room at a casino property for an international conference could have cost the area as much in future $500,000 in a future booking.
“There will be spillover into other hotel properties around town, other restaurants,” Edmiston said. The economic impact will be spread around.”
The 154-room Hilton Garden Inn, slated for construction north of theLake Charles Event Center will feature a full-service restaurant, lounge and second-story pool overlooking the lakefront.
ReNew Lake Charles will build, own and operate the hotel. The city of Lake Charles will maintain ownership of the land.
ReNew Lake Charles principal partners are Gene Thibodeaux, retired Chief Judge Third Circuit Court; Keith DuRousseau, Keiland Construction; Blake Jones, New Orleans hotelier and Bill HIndman, a principal investor of the former Maison Blanche Building into the Ritz Carlton, New Orleans.
Thibodeaux said the group started with the intent of revitalizing the lakefront and the downtown area. Plan A was to rehabilitate the Capital One tower into a multi-purpose building that included a hotel.
“We spent hours and hours, and after one meeting, it became evident that the owner would not cooperate,” Thibodeaux said.
Plan B was to design a project that would fit into the layout of the Event Center grounds.
Additional conference and convention center space, designed with the needs of modern meetings and events in mind, will be built and owned by the City of Lake Charles.
City to buy property for new amphitheater
The city has also entered into a purchase agreement with the owners of the former Capital One tower site. Plans are to construct a state-of-the-art amphitheater where the tower was, the mayor said. (The American Press reported incorrectly earlier in the week that this is where the new hotel would be built.)
The new amphitheater will have a capacity of 3,500, and was included in the LC Rebound Bond proposal. The city hopes to buy the parking garage, as well. Council will have its say on the property purchase and development proposals Dec. 18.
“The parking garage will help support the new hotel and increase parking needs for the Lake Charles Event Center, neighboring amphitheater and downtown in general,” Hunter said.
The cost to build a new garage would be $15 million, not including land costs. The city’s purchase agreement for the Capital One tower site and the parking garage/land – 6.3 acres – is $2.9 million, less than the appraised value.
