[StBernard] City of Lake Charles Launches First Long Term Community Recovery Project

[Westley Annis]

City of Lake Charles Launches First Long Term Community Recovery Project

Sears Building demolition marks start of downtown revitalization

LAKE CHARLES, La. (August 19, 2008) - The state of Louisiana has approved the first allocation of Long Term Recovery Program funds for the city of Lake Charles to demolish the old Sears Building. Today LRA Executive Director and Lake Charles native Paul Rainwater joined Mayor Randy Roach in the parking lot of the structure as it was demolished, signifying the commencment of Lake Charles' downtown revitalization project, which citizens identified as their top long-term recovery project in the days following Hurricane Rita.

The $338,000 demolition is the first project approved from Calcasieu Parish's $5.6 million allocation and will jumpstart its plans for downtown Lake Charles. The demolition of the Sears Building is an economic development project for the city, which will work to place a business on the location.

"The LRA realized early on that hurricane recovery was a regional process. The city of Lake Charles was proud to be included in the regional planning effort," said Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach. "The LRA produced a redevelopment plan for southwest Louisiana centered around a remodeled Downtown/Lakefront. Once the plan is fully implemented, it will anchor long-term economic development for our entire region."

"This demolition in Lake Charles is the culmination of months of planning that began after Hurricane Rita and allowed the community to identify the downtown area as its top long term priority for the city," said Paul Rainwater, Executive Director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. "As the old Sears Building crashes down and new businesses sprout up, we can all be proud of this citizen-led rebuilding in southwest Louisiana, which is exactly what we'd hoped for when we started planning for our state's future."

The LRA approved Calcasieu parish's long term plan in September 2007. Under the Long Term Community Recovery Program, parishes submit projects to the Office of Community Development for review. Once projects receive state approval, local governments can begin drawing down funds.

Parishes underwent months of planning with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's ESF #14 Long Term Planning Division and Louisiana Speaks, the LRA's long term planning initiative. 

"We're pleased to have played a small enabling role through our early long term recovery staff planning efforts," said Jim Stark, acting associate deputy administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Gulf Coast Recovery Office. "We commend the people of Lake Charles and Mayor Roach on their success and look forward to the continued partnership in recovery efforts."

The state's Long Term Community Recovery Program provides funds to support implementation of local long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in the state. In February, the LRA approved reallocating $500 million to the program, bringing the total amount of funding that will be available to the parishes to $700 million. Funds from this program will be distributed among parishes in the most heavily impacted areas of the state according to a formula that is based on estimated housing and infrastructure damages inflicted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This is the same formula which was used to distribute the original $200 million to the districts.

For a by-parish breakdown of proposed funding, click here <http://lra.louisiana.gov/assets/docs/searchable/APA19LTCRAllocations.pdf> .

The Action Plan reallocating the $500 million has been approved by the Legislature and the LRA and is pending final approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.



Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 17-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

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