St. Mary complex moving ahead

The St. Mary Community Action Agency is in negotiations to become a managing partner of a $12 million residential gated community, hoping to spark interest in workforce and economic development housing.

The group’s plan calls for a gated 80 apartment luxury complex to be built in Garden City – between Patterson and Franklin. The property is located at the corner of La. Highway 182 and La. Highway 3125.

If the project moves to fruition, it will be the agency’s first upscale housing project. The Community Action Agency currently boasts a resume that includes low and moderate income housing, said Jeff Beverly, director of housing.

The agency dedicated its second residential subdivision – Morgan City Heights – in April. Four first-time buyers and their families occupy the site, according to Beverly.

The project was handled in partnership with the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA). St. Mary Community Action Agency CEO Almetra Franklin said the gated community project will be as well.

“This gated, safe and family-friendly project will help us in completing our dream – to provide housing to all residents of St. Mary Parish,” she said.

“Faith Place,” the agency’s first program, was opened in Patterson in 2000. It afforded 15 first-time homebuyers a fresh start.

“When people buy into communities, it makes the quality of life better for everyone,” Beverly said.

Wendell Bogan, who chairs the CAA’s board, is hopeful the agency continues to develop housing.

“We get to reinvest in our communities though this partnership,” he said. “Hopefully, this will be another example of what happens when state and local government and local agencies work together.”

Franklin said she has received marketing information from companies interested in locating jobs to the area. The latest project – the gated community – is intended to draw more people and employment opportunities to St. Mary.

The St. Mary-based agency would serve as the 51-percent managing partner in the project, and units would range from $1,000 to $1,300 for one- and two-bedroom apartments, she explained.

“We’re here to get this project off the ground, and we’ve got the financial connections through [Housing and Urban Development] and the LHFA,” Franklin said. “We have the resources and the developers.”

The St. Mary Parish Council approved a resolution in late July giving the agency its blessing to pursue the project.

“I’m glad to see us have gated communities besides prisons,” council chairman Albert Foulcard said.

Councilman Gary Duhon echoed that sentiment, noting that a safe, upscale community would only help the parish.

“There are between 22,000 and 25,000 jobs in St. Mary Parish,” he said. “We’re looking for that number to grow. We can bring more white-collar residents here with this project.”

Investerra LLC Contractors first pitched the idea of building a gated community in Garden City last year.

Project manager Frank Alcaraz and general contractor Mick Wick envisioned building a solar- and environmentally-friendly complex. Phase one would have included 156 one-bedroom apartments and 12 two-bedroom units.

St. Mary’s economic development director Frank Fink said he’s banking on the new housing complex to be the answer to the parish’s housing problems. Likewise, the project will grow business. “Rooftops mean retail, more people living here.”

Investerra’s plan has cleared a number of land issues with the state and parish.

“We’re just going to manage it, because we’ll be securing most of the funds,” Beverly said.