Nearly five years after Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated Southwest Louisiana, the heavily damaged Purple Heart Recreation Center has never been far from the mind of Lake Charles City Council member Luvertha August.

Though she never personally served in the military, five of her uncles did.

“One did not come back; he was killed in the explosion at Fort Chicago in California,” she said. “Another one came back, but he was not the same person. He was functional, but he was not the same person.”

August said the more she researched her family’s military ties, the more she wanted to learn about the history of military service in general and what “military action actually meant.”

The Purple Heart, America’s oldest military decoration, was originally referred to as the “Badge of Military Merit” and was established by then-Gen. George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

“It wasn’t actually a medal then so what they did was they cut a piece of purple cloth into a heart shape and then pinned them on wounded soldiers or those who were killed,” August said. “Knowing that, I had to champion on behalf of the Purple Heart Center and what it means to our veterans.”

With August by his side, Mayor Nic Hunter on Wednesday announced the city’s plan to purchase the former location of the Golden Arms Senior Living facility on 3rd Street and build a new state-of-the-art Purple Heart Recreation Center in its place.

“It’s in the central part of the city, very close to downtown Lake Charles, close to residential areas and we believe this is going to be a game-changer for this area of the city,” Hunter said. “An asset like the Purple Heart Recreation Center is needed.”

Hunter said with the help of the city’s Federal Emergency Management Agency consultant, their team was able to look “holistically” at the center’s previous location across from Chennault International Airport and consider if that was actually the best location for the community’s needs now.

It was not, he said.

The new center will be centrally located among walking trails, Cougar Stadium and a community swimming pool.

“You basically have a recreation complex right here in this area already,” August said. “There’s plenty to do here.”

Michael Castille, the city’s director of community services, said the previous center offered a basketball court, full-scale workout room and an aerobics room.

“Those things will come back and at a higher level,” he said. “When we get our estimates back, there could be even more. Our goal is to make this meet not only today’s but future designs. We’re going to bring back what Purple Heart was and grow it.”

The plan is also for the center to host basketball leagues and sports camps, Castille said, and it will include an indoor mural that honors Purple Heart recipients.