Looking for a place to live? New East Carroll Parish housing development in Lake Providence

A new affordable housing option is finally coming to East Carroll Parish. 

The Lakeshore Family Homes is a new low-income housing tax credit community in Lake Providence that will serve as replacements for blighted residential properties in the area. 

The development, located at 1311 Sparrow St., is a subsidized redevelopment effort between the East Carroll Parish Section 8 Public Housing Agency and their development partner BGC Advantage.

The development has taken almost three years to complete, according to Executive Director of East Carroll Parish Police Jury Section 8 Housing Jackie Folks.

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"Our town has always been a small rural, poverty area," Folks said. "No one ever wanted to do a development deal so once we got on the same page and they talked to me about one way of having safe, decent affordable housing in East Carroll Parish, and after talking to my bosses [HUD], which is over the Section 8 program, I convinced them that this what we needed and this is what's going to help housing in East Carroll Parish and it did." 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Monday at 1 p.m. on the tennis courts near the community clubhouse. Guest speakers will include state officials as well as Lake Providence officials and community members. 

The project will include 45 single-family, two- and three-bedroom townhouses with modern and energy-efficient features. In addition to the clubhouse with computer and exercise rooms, the outdoor amenities include a playground, tennis court, walking trail and a picnic area with fixed grills. 

The Section 8 program, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, allows private landlords to rent apartments and homes at fair market rates to qualified low-income tenants. 

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Tax-credit rental rates will range between $525 for a 1-bedroom unit and $750 for a 4-bedroom unit. Residents with Project-Based Vouchers will pay $650 for a 2-bedroom home and $725 for a 3-bedroom unit.

Lakeshore Family Homes was awarded 9% tax credits in 2018 and additional credits were awarded in 2020 by the Louisiana Housing Corporation. The total cost of the development is $10 million. 

The development will include community space whereby resident support services, including enhanced residential opportunities for self-sufficiency, will be provided. The education programs will help renters become homeowners. 

It will also include outreach to minority and women contractors and Section 3 businesses and individuals. The development will contribute 170 construction jobs and three permanent jobs to the community.

Additional information and renderings are available at bgcadvantage.com.

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There is currently no additional housing in East Carroll Parish to place residents, Folks said. Folks said the residential properties that are currently there are mostly old and dilapidated. 

"These are with the public housing," Folks said. "They have their buildings and their partners there, but Section 8 had nothing. We had nothing to choose from, so therefore, a lot of times, I'm pulling them out to other places because we have nowhere for people to stay. That's the main thing: nowhere for people to live." 

Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinsonand on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.

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