Mandeville Development May Soon Be Used for New Homes

 

The housing market is booming and inventory is still low. Developers want to take advantage of this on some wetlands just west of Lewisburg Estates close to Mandeville. The wetlands are located at the mouth of the Chinchuba Bayou flood plan that is made up of marsh grasses and cypress trees.

The current landowners have applied for a coastal use permit through St. Tammany parish. This coast permit would allow them to fill in the wetland site and lake bottom. Their plan is to add a bulkhead and a private road. This would be the first step in developing the land for future homesites.

Many in the community are distraught about the thought of future development on the wetlands. Filling the lake in would lead to flooding and change the ecological landscape that could hurt the community.

According to John Lopez, a coastal scientist who reviewed the permit for the development for the Lewisburg Civic Association, says that it could cause flooding in the Mandeville area. He confirmed that the wetlands are healthy enough to allow cypress trees to grow but should not be developed.

He reported that if the wetland is developed, the filled land would slow down the water’s exit from the Bayou Chinchuba watershed into Lake Pontchartrain. A bulkhead could also exacerbate erosion in adjacent areas.

State environmental agencies also report a negative impact. The filled land would replace 2.5 acres of shallow intertidal habitat that is home to submerged aquatic vegetation and where Indian manatees also call home. The Indian manatee is a threatened species already.

The state Department of Natural Resources did a biological investigation report for the project. Their findings indicated that there are plenty of other lakefront properties that are available to develop in the same area.

“Each little slice of shoreline, marsh and productive waters taken away hurts the lake, the aquatic culture, and the birds and animals whose lives depend on this type of habitat," David Lawton, a Lewisburg resident communicated.

This piece of wetland has been in discussion for decades. Many developers have wanted to develop the property but have not gone through the plans due to opposition from residents, environmental groups and local and state officials.

“Everybody wants a piece of paradise. There ain’t enough paradise to go around anymore so you got to create paradise out of the wetlands and the marsh,” Ted Ralph, a nearby resident and retired federal engineer, said as he pointed out the site of the proposed development from his fishing boat.

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Pat's Rest A While a New Restaurant in Mandeville

 Chef Pat Gallagher is one of the most accomplished restauranteurs on the north shore. He is known for Gallagher's Grill with the original location in Covington and two additional locations in Slidell and Mandeville and Band's Grocery, a sandwich shop in Mandeville. Now he has opened Pat's Rest A While in Mandeville.

This unique spot opened its doors in January 2021 and has different buildings and interconnected areas — from the cypress-lined main dining room, across the broad open-air
deck, into one cottage turned into a private dining area and to another turned into a cozy, club-like bar. The view from each area of the restaurant is a picturesque scene of Lake Pontchartrain. The lake is definitely the unifying characteristic of this restaurant that serves dishes that you can find at a laid-back beachfront hut to a refined white tablecloth restaurant.

The restaurant is housed in several 19th-century buildings that have been refurbished. Originally the Frapart Hotel, the property became known as the Rest A While when it turned into a summer camp for needy families and orphans.

Unfortunately, when Hurricane Katrina hit, the property was severely damaged. Jill and Barrett McGuire, local real estate developers, purchased the property and raised the elevation on the buildings. When they purchased the property, they pictured it as a restaurant and this came to fruition with the help of Pat.

This unique restaurant has many personal touches and intimate spaces. In the main dining room, there is a beautiful tapestry of local cypress and oak. The bar has a clubhouse feel under open rafters and there are room numbers along the walls throughout that show where the structure was once divided into different rooms. An old toboggan-like sled that used to be on the lake is displayed as well as a photo of a group of women who used to work at the Rest A While.

Patrons and pets alike can enjoy this Mandeville spot. This July an open-air bar opened with water bowls for visiting pets. Come by 2129 Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville and enjoy some local seafood and drinks.

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A New Levee for Lake Pontchartrain

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) and Army Corps of Engineers shows an abundance of hurricane activity along the Southern Shore of Louisiana.  In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers created a map of potential stillwater elevations for a storm surge from a hurricane with a 1% chance

of occurring that has a possibility to hit the New Orleans area in 2070. The 100-year storm would be a devastation to all areas surrounding Lake Pontchartrain if proposed new levees are not built.

Congress has before them $100 billion dollars in various flood protection projects that the corps plan to build nationally. Many of the projects would greatly help and reduce tragic loss during hurricane season in the Greater New Orleans area. Fortunately, in 2014, Congress approved the 2014 Water Resource Bill which was the first step in the process of authorizing a levee to be built. Due to an emergency supplemental appropriation that is linked to the recent devastation from hurricanes and floods, the West Shore levee has been approved and fully funded. The West shore project makes up only 1 % of the $100 billion in projects before Congress.

According to U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, the fast pace of the Congressional approval and funding for projects such as the West Shore levee is unheard of. Graves believes funding projects such as this should be the norm.  It is reported that the nation spends billions on restoring homes,

businesses and infrastructure loss due to hurricane flooding. If the nation spent just millions on flood projects beforehand many of the devastation could have been avoided. “This project pays for itself,” Graves said. “Think about the cumulative money spent picking up the pieces from Hurricane Isaac,” he said. “We cannot continue to spend billions in the aftermath of disasters. We have to spend millions in advance.”

The West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane levee project is set to be completed by 2023 hurricane season. The $760 million-dollar project includes 17 miles of levee and a mile of concrete T-wall. It will mostly be located in St. John the Baptist parish which will include berms around Gramercy and Lutcher, a separate berm around Grand Point North and smaller berms around other smaller non-residential buildings. The 17-mile levee will separate populated areas west of I-10 from storm surges moving inland from Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas and adjacent wetlands.

The New Orleans Army Corps of Engineers’ office announced the project will begin construction by early 2021. According to Col. Michael Clancy the project will be divided into 11 smaller projects and will be under the local sponsor, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. According to the federal law, the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will pay 35% of construction cost, however the Army Corps of Engineers will pay construction cost upfront and will allow the local sponsor to repay them over a 30-year period upon completion of the project.

Once the project is complete the Pontchartrain district will control and operate the levees. St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom looks forward to what the future holds for this project.  She feels it is the parish responsibility to allow its residents and business owners to participate in the $760 million-dollar project so the dollars spent will stay within the parish.

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