LAKE CHARLES: Plans for a new worker village in Lake Charles are moving forward, but that’s not all the Port of Lake Charles has planned. The port owns roughly 350 acres of land between La. 397 and James Sudduth Parkway.
The port’s executive director, Bill Rase, said tentatively, 50 acres of land will be dedicated to South Korean company Dongsung Finetec. They will take over the former Spartech-Polycom facility. “That’s going to a production facility that’s going to produce insulation for the LNGs and all the products that are going to be developed in this area so that’s the first part of the puzzle,” Rase said. Approximately 100 acres will be set aside for the temporary worker village.
“I think it’s in the right place. It doesn’t displace anybody,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to house the people that are needed and when those people aren’t needed anymore, it gives us the opportunity to take the housing down.” That leaves just around 200 acres of port-owned property available for development.
“We have a tremendous opportunity here to develop something that will remain long term and of course, that would always be the goal,” Raise said. Since the land is already zoned for industrial development, the port wants to attract additional industries that will set up for the long haul.
“We still have a process to go but we have started and we feel like we’re on the right track to getting what the community will need in the long run,” he explained. “I still feel that 2017 is when the majority of most of these projects are going to be in full construction.” It will take time to determine which industries will actually move in but Rase said port commissioners want to ensure this long-term investment will be mutually beneficial.
“As we kind of take our time and go through this we hope to develop the right combination of relationships that allow the thing to be very successful and not be a detriment to the community,” he said. Once the temporary worker housing complex is gone, the port plans to convert that land into a permanent industry as well.