Building Stronger Homes in Storm-Prone Southern Louisiana

Enterprise Community – When back-to-back Hurricanes Laura and Delta struck Lake Charles, Louisiana, during the 2020 pandemic, Mildred Miller was living temporarily with a friend. The violent storms and flooding forced them to evacuate, leaving Miller alone and without shelter.

“I didn’t have any place to go and really didn’t know what I was going to do,” said Miller, 78. “I even slept in my car a few times. I can’t believe I lived through all of that.”

Miller, who worked for 28 years as a hairdresser, eventually moved back in with her friend but knew she needed a place of her own. An online search led her to the Woodring Apartments, brand-new homes in downtown Lake Charles. She applied, and on November 9, 2024, got word that her application was accepted.

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Person smiling short gray hair wearing a pink sweatshirt
Woodring resident Mildred Miller

“That was the happiest call of my life,” said Miller.

On a sun-drenched early spring day in March, complete with a light breeze that belied the devastation of the 2020 hurricanes, Miller joined other residents, supporters, and local and state officials to celebrate the Woodring’s grand opening.

The new-urbanist design blends a multifamily building and townhouse development of 110 mixed-income rental homes to create a picturesque community, almost Mr. Rogers-like in its harmony.

“I walk everywhere,” said Miller, noting that there’s a hair salon, a grocery, and flea market all nearby.

Downtown Revival

Located in downtown Lake Charles, the handsome development marks a striking transformation for a formerly barren block and a real commitment to rebuilding and revitalization.

“This $42 million investment in downtown Lake Charles was undertaken with intentionality specifically to stimulate economic development,” Josh Collen, president of HRI Communities, told the assembled crowd. “Ensuring that downtown was a priority for recovery efforts from the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Laura and Delta was paramount in why we selected this long-vacant, underutilized lot.”

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Facade of apartment building with blue sky in background

Today, that lot features lovely facades in coastal colors, abundant windows, and inviting stoops and balconies.

What’s not visible to the untrained eye at the Woodring are substantial disaster-resilient features incorporated to help the development withstand severe climate events. The development is certified to both Enterprise’s Green Communities and the Insurance Institute for Business Health & Safety’s Fortified GoldTM standard.

The Woodring’s green and resilient features include:

Incentivizing Resilience

Financing for both phases of the Woodring’s development included two rounds of critical funding made possible by Louisiana’s Piggyback Resilient Mixed-Income, or PRIME, program.

The competitive program, administered by the Louisiana Housing Corporation (the state’s housing finance agency), combines federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) dollars with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and bond-financed mortgage proceeds, while requiring developers to certify to both Green Communities and Fortified GoldTM.

This is not a fort. If evacuation is called for, we know the building will stand up to a storm better than others so residents will not be displaced and have a place to return home.
Christopher Clement, HRI Communities

The PRIME program was essential to the project’s success, providing $2 million in tax credits and $18 million in CDBG-DR funds, according to Christopher Clement, senior vice president of HRI Communities.

“The Woodring wouldn’t have happened absent the PRIME funding rounds,” said Clement. “Low-Income Housing Tax Credits form the cornerstone of the project’s financing. But PRIME coming in to fill the gap is absolutely the reason and impetus for getting the project started and completed.”

Hurricanes Laura and Delta caused an estimated $12 billion in damage. Statewide between 1984 to 2024, Louisiana experienced 106 weather or climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each. They included 10 flooding events, 44 severe storms, and 27 tropical cyclone events, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Clement said making sure the Woodring’s residents have a safe home before, during, and immediately after a major weather event is fundamental.

“Storms are the flavor of natural disasters here in southern Louisiana,” said Clement. He underscored that the Fortified and Green Communities best practices don’t make the homes invincible against a severe storm. Instead, they are designed to prevent destruction and minimize resident displacement.

Preventing Displacement

Immediately after a storm, the Woodring may not offer normal living conditions but emergency back-up generators ensure community spaces can be cooled or heated, providing respite for residents and keeping elevators and life-safety devices like fire alarms and smoke detectors operable.

Back-up generators will also provide basic electric power in each unit, with generator power specifically dedicated to keeping residents’ refrigerators running — an important benefit in the event they are forced to evacuate.

After Hurricanes Laura and Delta struck in the summer of 2020, both a powerful winter storm and intense spring floods followed. Officials estimate that Lake Charles lost an estimated 7% of its population, representing over 5,000 people who were permanently displaced by the climate events.

“This is not a fort,” said Clement. “It’s built as best and wisely as we can. If evacuation is called for during a storm, we want people to evacuate. And if we do need to evacuate, we know the building will stand up to a storm better than others so residents will not be displaced and will have a place to return home.”

Proof that this model works is evident in a development built with state funding from a program that predated PRIME. In 2021, Hurricane Ida — the fifth-strongest storm to make landfall in the U.S. — struck Louisiana, leaving newly constructed homes in Lockport largely unscathed.

Developed by Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, Les Maisons de Bayou Lafourche is also dually certified to Green Communities and Fortified. “It’s a notable success story for disaster-resilient housing,” GCHP said in a news release.

Affordable housing leaders are hopeful that proof showing buildings meeting best practices are stronger and more sustainable will provide the necessary data to help lower insurance costs for housing owners and operators.

Resilient Infrastructure Yields Energy Savings

For residents, the Woodring’s resilience and sustainability features offer another key benefit: lower utility bills.

“They’re usually higher everywhere else,” said Miller, who likes being able to control the temperature in her apartment. She even showed a neighbor how to set his. “He’s frail and knocked on my door and said, ‘I’m freezing, and I don’t know how to work the thermostat.’ So, I showed him on mine.”

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Alberta Davis Woodring resident
Woodring resident Alberta Davis with her grandchildren

Alberta Davis, 65, another Woodring resident, said her monthly utility bills are about 25% lower than in her last apartment.

Davis grew up a few blocks from The Woodring and raised her three children in the neighborhood. She remembers when it was once bustling with housing developments and five-and-dime retail and is happy to see the positive changes underway.

Davis spent 20 years managing a highway convenience store. She worked so many extended shifts that her late husband built her a small bedroom in the store’s back office. Long hours spent standing on cement floors took its toll on her legs and knees. After complications from knee surgery, she lost her left leg and is currently awaiting a prosthesis.

She moved to the Woodring after several failed efforts to attain an accessible apartment. Her new home accommodates her wheelchair and allows her to navigate outside and enjoy the Woodring’s pocket park with its majestic live oak.

Her dream is to one day to own an accessible van. “If I ever get one, I’m going to New York City to see the shows and the Statue of Liberty,” she said.

Right now, Davis likes that the community’s curb cuts give her the freedom to get around the neighborhood. “I went to all three Mardi Gras parades,” she said.

A Long Journey Home

For Mildred Miller, the spring ribbon cutting signaled how far she’d come since she was alone and without a home in 2020.

Outgoing and friendly, Miller said she talks to everyone. So it’s no wonder HRI’s community resources director tapped her to lead bingo at the Woodring.

“We all stick together,” she said. “It’s unbelievable. I didn’t think anything like this existed.”

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