Gulf Coast Housing Partnership Apply for Townhome Permit; Construction Completed at $98M ULL Student Center

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Mid City Townhouses, the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership’s newest Baton Rouge project, is moving forward. According to a report by The Advocate, developers have filed a building permit for the $4 million residential complex.

The development will consist of four 32-story townhomes built at the corner of North St. and N.19 St. at the former site of Olinde’s furniture store. The townhomes will feature 11 two-bedroom units and 21 three-bedroom units. A pavilion featuring a basketball court, barbecue grills and water fountains will also be constructed at the site. Construction is expected to take a year, and can start immediately as the city-parish council approved plans for the residential development in March.

Gulf Coast Housing Partnership is forming a partnership with the Mid-City Redevelopment Alliance to offer counseling to potential buyers. The developers have stated that units will target households making $35,000 or less in lease-to-own type contracts.

In other news, The Advocate also reported construction completion at the last phase of University of Louisiana Lafayette’s (ULL) new $98 million student housing development project.

The ambitious projects saw the construction of four new dorms, increasing the university’s housing capacity by 50 percent, from 2,000 to 3,000 beds. The student residence expansion consisted of four new dormitories completed in the past 12 months. One of the major changes in ULL’s student residence structure is distributing students by class level.

Taft Street’s Baker and Huger Hall will house students at sophomore level and higher. Located in the “Rose Garden” area of the campus next to the Student Union, Bonin Hall and Coronna Hall will house freshmen. Legacy Park, the on-campus apartment complex will accept exclusively upperclassmen.

The development project also repurposed existing residences, such as Randolph Hall. The dormitory will house various student support services such as tutoring, and support classes. The former residence hall has also been redesigned to house a kitchen, a game room and a weight room.

Funding was provided exclusively by Ragin’ Cajun Facilities, the university’s third-party nonprofit corporation.

Photo credit: Billy Hathorn via Wikimedia Commons