Land acquired for Houma sports park

Terrebonne Parish is moving to acquire the final swath of land for the Bayou Country Sports Complex.

The Parish Council approved a resolution for the Parish to use grant money to help acquire 44.8 acres of land from Danos Properties. If acquired, the land would bring the complex up to 158 total acres.

Chris Pulaski, zoning administrator, served as the senior planner for the park. He said that aside from providing much more space for park amenities, the additional land would also give the public a different access point.

“The nice thing about having [the land], not only does it give us the full, highest and best use of that property, but it also gives us 100 feet of frontage along Valhi [Boulevard],” Pulaski said. “So we have a nice entrance off of Valhi, so we don’t have to rely so heavily on the 311 side.”

The grant money the council approved is a $250,000 grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The grant will not cover the entire cost of the almost 45 acres, though. According to Terrebonne Parish Manager A1 Levron, the acquisition is expected to cost more than $500,000.

“We think we know [the cost] based on the market, but we have engaged an appraiser to do work on it now,” Levron said.

Using that $250,000 toward this land carries the requirement that the land must go toward public outdoor recreation in perpetuity, according to Levron. He said that if the 44.8 acres serve another use in the future, that land must be replaced in equal value and recreation use.

“By accepting this grant, this is what we’re giving up. It’s obligating

us and our future governing people to this burden on the property,” Levron said.

Terrebonne Parish has budgeted $600,000 of its own money to pay for the land acquisition, according to Levron. He said that this money came from the recent financial settlement between BP and the parish, with taxing agencies in Terrebonne receiving a total sum of $21 million.

While the parish is moving forward to finish the deal now, it is not in a threat to lose out on the property any time soon. According to Levron, the parish has an option to buy the land that lasts until 2017. Unless the parish outright declines the option, no other bidder could come in and purchase the land.

Work at the sports park is already ongoing, and is exciting to local recreational officials who can’t wait to make everything a reality.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held two weeks ago at the site of the project – an opportunity for local media and citizens to see the work that’s already been done.

Land has already been cleared to put the fields in place. Officials have said that they’ll build the project in phases as funding becomes available.

The Bayou Country Sports Park is located to the back of The Lakes Soccer Complex that’s already in place. Once completed, the facility will feature soccer, softball and baseball fields, as well as a wide array of other sports.

It’s expected to be a huge money-maker locally.

“This thing will pay for itself,” Pulaski said.