Madisonville Shipyard to Reopen

Madisonville, Louisiana is rich in boat and ship building history. In fact, the U.S. Navy built their vessels and repaired them in Madisonville during the War of 1812. Today plans were announced to reopen an unoccupied barge manufacturing plant on the Tchefuncte River in Madisonville.

The 230-acre plant was the home to a Trinity barge-manufacturing plant which closed its doors in

2015 when Trinity Marine Products announced the “demand for larger tank barges that transport oil is currently soft.”

“Due to encouraging conditions in the barge construction market, we are pleased that Arcosa Marine is restoring the Madisonville barge facility to full operation,” Arcosa Marine president Thomas Faherty said. “Arcosa Marine is preparing the facility to produce barges for customer delivery in 2019.”

Arcosa Marine Inc. will begin a $7.5 million renovation on the project and will hire approximately 149 employees. Gov. John Bel Edwards said the state will give them an incentive package that will include a workforce training program and Arcosa will also use the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. They plan to install new equipment and upgrade the plant in order to produce barges.

“We are excited to welcome back the manufacturing operations of a marine mainstay in the St. Tammany Parish economy,” Edwards said in the news release. “Manufacturing jobs generate great economic activity and a high number of supporting jobs throughout the area. We’re encouraged by the return of barge manufacturing in Madisonville and hope that this new investment by Arcosa will lead to greater growth in the future.”

This is a great boost for the St. Tammany area economy. There will be an additional 236 indirect jobs for the region. The average annual salary for new jobs will be $51,400 plus benefits.

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Port Marigny Development Will Be Built In Mandeville

The huge lakefront residential-business development in Mandeville called the Port Marigny Development has been in front of the City Council since 2015. Mandeville City Council originally

nixed the plans for the development in 2017. The 77-acre site that was once a concrete plant will be allowed to be the future site of the Port Marginy Development under a new Mandeville City ordinance.

The former Pre-Stressed Concrete abandoned industrial site sits along Lake Ponchartrain at Monroe Street. Drs. Michael and Marcus Pittman own the property and proposed the $180 million residential-commercial project. The project is the largest development that has ever been planned in Mandeville.
“Port Marigny will be a good thing for the city and for the people of our community,” said Dr. Michael Pittman, who with his brother has owned the site for more than 30 years.


Port Marigny Development originally planned to include businesses, a hotel and over 400 residences. Under the new city ordinances the development can only have a maximum of 350 residential dwellings under certain conditions laid out by the Mandeville Planning and Zoning Commission and a maximum of 36,000 square feet of commercial space which can include restaurants. The highest building can be 65 feet high but the majority of the buildings will only reach 35 to 48 feet high.

Mandeville Planning and Zoning Commission will allocate where the taller buildings will be allowed.

The two brothers will have five years to get a city building permit and plan to start construction on the project in a couple of years.

City Councilman David Ellis believes its a win win situation for the developers and those residents who have opposed the development since its conception. Many residents voiced their concerned about about density, traffic and potential flooding of its lower elevations.

“There’s going to be some arguments,” he said. “But I think it’s a win for all.”

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Lower Than Expected Mortgage Rates

Homebuyers have better than expected lower rates this Spring. For the first of the year many potential homebuyers called it quits with rising house prices, low inventory and mortgage rates above 5%.

“It was somewhat of a surprise to see the degree and intensity of the pullback,” said Robert Dietz, National Association of Home Builders. “Five percent at those pricing levels was enough to take the wind out of sails of the housing market.”

chief economist of the

The current 4.5% rate is predicted to not rise much for the remainder of the year which means several positive outcomes for the homebuying market.


To begin, there will be more buying power. Lower mortgage rates along with rising wages gives homebuyers more leverage in the current residential real estate market. Current 4.5% rates make a $200,000 30 year-fixed mortgage $71 cheaper than at 5% which means total interest savings over the life on the loan would total $21,699.

“While folks might not have hit the bottom of the rate cycle – no one can perfectly time markets – on the historic side, these are still very attractive rates,” said John Pataky, executive vice president, chief consumer and banking executive at TIAA Bank.

Sellers will want to take the gains and run. According to evidence move-up buyers are purchasing more. The average mortgage balance for purchases has reached record levels. This is also good news for homebuyers in the lower priced home market. The move-up buyers will open up inventory in lower priced homes.

“It’s a musical chairs game,said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “You need someone in the higher end to move, and it works its way down the ladder, eventually opening up an entry-level home.”

Potential homebuyers cannot control the Fed or rising home prices but there are several factors they can control when it comes to determining the interest rate they will get on a mortgage. Homebuyers can reduce their rate by the amount of money they put down. The larger a down payment the lower the rate giving the homebuyer more risk than the lender. The higher your credit rating the better the rates. For example a person with a high credit score (760 – 850) would get a 4% rate while a person with a credit score of 660 to 679 would receive a 4.5% rate on a $216,000 price with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

“While folks might not have hit the bottom of the rate cycle – no one can perfectly time markets – on the historic side, these are still very attractive rates,” said John Pataky, executive vice president, chief consumer and banking executive at TIAA Bank.


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Is Madisonville A Town Or A Village?

This is the question many are pondering since Madisonville’s population is just over 800 residence. According to Louisiana Lawrason Act in order to be considered a town you must have 1,001 inhabitants.

In a report issued this week by the state legislative auditor it states, “Because Madisonville had only 748 residents as of the 2010 federal census, it appears that it should be classified as a ‘village’ under

its charter.”

This is a serious issue posed on the town as it even says in Madisonville’s own charter that the governor must be notified of a change in the town’s population. There will be several recommendations the town must follow from changes to the number of town board members to refining policies.

Many residents and leaders alike are not happy with the change in board members from the current five to three.


“I kind of like five people,” Brad Haddox, who serves on the Town Council said. “That’s five different considerations. … With more varied people, you have more varied viewpoints.”

How did this oversight occur? According to Haddox it was an innocent oversight. The Madisonville Charter list many governmental responsibilities that just don’t apply to today. Examples include regulating taxes on corn doctors, pet bear exhibitors, exhibitions for pay, fortune tellers, ten pin alleys etc.


Madisonville has only had a population of at least 1,001 residents in two U.S. Census reports. One in 1910 with 1,028 inhabitants and in 1920 there were 1,103 residents. Since then the town has seen a drop with the lowest population in 1990 at 659. Currently the population sits at an estimate of 831 residents.

“I don’t think we’ve been at 1,000 for 40 or 50 years,” said Mayor Jean Pelloat.

As of February 1, 2019, Governor John Bel Edwards has been notified via letter of the town’s current

population. Madisonville also sent a copy of the town’s charter and additional information the Governor requested to review.

The Mayor and town officials are waiting to hear back on his decision.

As for the name town or village, many residents believe a label does not define a community.
“We are such a small town,” said Stephen Marcus, president of the Madisonville Chamber of Commerce. “We’re in a pretty small area; we kind of call ourselves a tiny little village … there’s no stigma.”


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