[StBernard] State of Louisiana Approves $11 Million for Recreation Center in Chalmette

[Westley Annis]

State of Louisiana Approves $11 Million for 
Recreation Center in Chalmette

BATON ROUGE, La. - The state of Louisiana has approved the release of $11 million in disaster recovery funds to build a recreation center at Val Riess Park in Chalmette, allowing the St. Bernard Parish Government to access federal Community Development Block Grant funds needed to implement the project.

All recreational facilities in St. Bernard Parish either were severely damaged or destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Since the storms, the rate of returning citizens indicates the parish will recover as a smaller community, with a changed pattern of land use. Keeping this in mind, parish officials decided to consolidate all recreational facilities into a single park.

The consolidated facility will be built on 33 acres of enhanced green space on East Magistrate Street at the site of the former Val Riess Park. It will accommodate 80 percent of the parish's sports, recreational and festival activities and will increase tourism by 15 percent.

Construction will occur in three phases. Phases I and II will use FEMA funds for roads, utilities, parking, restrooms, concessions, playgrounds, walking trails and baseball, football and soccer fields. 

The $11 million in CDBG funds will be used during Phase III of construction for a 45,911 square foot multi-purpose recreation center consisting of a gymnasium with four standard basketball courts that can accommodate basketball, karate, judo, wrestling, weight-lifting, aerobics and activities for all ages. The gym can be converted to meeting, convention and breakout spaces, and includes a concession area with full kitchen and serving area, office space, storage, equipment room and two meeting rooms. 

LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, "Val Riess Park is an essential element in the recreation and green space network of St. Bernard Parish. Families and children will benefit by the consolidation of the parish facilities into this single, centralized location, with its many playgrounds, picnic areas and hiking trails. I am pleased that CDBG funds will be used to build a multi-purpose recreation center at the park, helping to enhance the lives of returning citizens."

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro Jr. said, "Restoring Val Riess Park as a functioning part of the parish is one of our top priorities. This recreational facility will be an economic and social engine for the total community, just like the other improvements to our Recreation Department. Val Riess Park will provide a much deserved quality of life venue for our parish."

The funding comes from the Long Term Community Recovery Program, a pool of federal CDBG money set aside by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development to help local governments rebuild and implement long-term recovery plans.

The state's LTCR program supports implementation of local governments' long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in the state. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved LRA's request to reallocate $500 million in CDBG dollars to the program, bringing to $700 million the total amount of long-term recovery funding available to the parishes. Funds are distributed among the parishes through the LRA/Office of Community Development according to a formula based on estimated housing and infrastructure damages inflicted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

In total, the LRA has allocated $91,185,319 of CDBG funding to St. Bernard Parish Government for LTCR projects.

Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before. For more information about the LRA and its 17-member board, visit lra.louisiana.gov.

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