City Of Lake Charles Investing In Affordable Housing For Seniors

Mayor Nic Hunter announced Tuesday, July 5, 2022, that the City will use funds from the Biden administration's Federal Home American Rescue Plan, to add some long-overdue housing to North Lake Charles. Even better, the new housing project is aimed at helping the city's oldest residents.

Hunter said the City of Lake Charles was investing $1.4 million of the federal funds to build 24 affordable housing units for seniors in need on the north side of town. He added, "this is a good day for the City of Lake Charles.” At press time Louisiana Sen. Jeremy Stine expressed the senior housing units are the first of many projects planned to take place throughout the Parish.

The new development set for North Lake Charles will reportedly bring additional units to the existing 41 already located at the Whispering Hope complex. The low-income senior living apartments are located at 2501 Griffen Street. The Mayor told KPLC that the city has to make housing available in order to encourage economic growth. He continued. “And we’re talking about a multi-million-dollar investment, which brings more economic activity to an area,” Hunter added. “If you have people living in an area they need services, and so sometimes it’s kind of the chicken or the egg conversation. But I can tell you that more people living in this area is a good thing for this area. That means we have a better shot of getting additional services into north Lake Charles.”

The "additional service" the mayor spoke about, is also something that has been long overdue for the North Lake Charles community. There are no accessible grocery stores, hospitals, or banking institutions let alone pharmacies or any other vital infrastructure necessities in this heavily populated community. There are a lot of elderly residents in North Lake Charles and a great number of them don't drive or own a vehicle. If they do drive, they have to travel outside of the community to get almost everything they need.

So, "additional services" is something the entire North Lake Charles community has been in need of for quite some time. According to reports, following a plan of action from the City Council and various public hearings, city officials say construction may get off the ground by this fall.