HOUMA, La (press release) – On Dec. 19, HRI Communities (HRIC) announced the financial closing of its latest project, West Tunnel Lofts, a resilient multifamily housing development located at 1368 W Tunnel Blvd in Houma. This $16.3 million project will bring forty new residential units to the region, promoting sustainability, resilience, and affordability. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately, with completion targeted for January 2026.
Revitalizing a long-vacant parcel along the otherwise vibrant W Tunnel Blvd, the new construction project will feature 34 one-bedroom and 6 two-bedroom apartments, with eighty percent of the units designated as affordable/workforce housing. This includes two permanent supportive housing units with Louisiana Housing Authority Project-Based Vouchers (PBVs), as well as units reserved for households earning sixty percent of the area median income (AMI) or below. West Tunnel Lofts deepens HRIC’s long-standing commitment and presence in Terrebonne Parish, where HRIC currently owns and manages a multi-phase 215-unit community known as Bonne Terre Village and Barataria Station Apartments in downtown Houma.
“This project demonstrates our commitment to creating vibrant, inclusive, and resilient communities,” said Josh Collen, president of HRI Communities. “West Tunnel Lofts will not only provide high-quality housing but also set a new standard for environmentally sustainable and storm-resilient construction for Terrebonne Parish.”
“The announcement of our first multifamily development in Terrebonne Parish since Hurricane Ida gives our residents affordable housing options. The West Tunnel Lofts community will not only offer modern amenities but also includes storm protections for industry-leading sustainability as we face future weather events in our region. We are committed to partnerships with organizations like HRI that improve quality of life opportunities for our residents,” said President Jason Bergeron.
“We are proud to embark on our first development project with HRI Communities, where we share a vision of leaving the communities we serve better than we found them,” said Iam Christian Tucker, President and CEO, ILSI Engineering. “With the involvement of Integrated Logistical Support, Inc. (ILSI Engineering), we are dedicated to enhancing the resilience and sustainability of Houma through the West Tunnel Lofts project. By harnessing local knowledge and prioritizing community needs, we aim to create a lasting positive impact that reflects our commitment to building vibrant, inclusive neighborhoods.”
Key project highlights include:
- West Tunnel Lofts will be one of the first apartment communities in Terrebonne Parish to adhere to industry-leading sustainability and disaster resilience principles that will enhance residents’ experience. The property will be built to the Institute for Business and Home Safety’s Multifamily Gold Standard and will achieve Green Building Certification under Enterprise Green Communities.
- Residents will enjoy a fitness center, community room, and an outdoor picnic area.
- Integrated Logistical Support, Inc. (ILSI), a New Orleans-based minority- and women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE), holds an ownership share in the Managing Member of West Tunnel Lofts along with HRIC. ILSI is also serving as the civil engineering firm on the development, including designing a robust stormwater management system.
“The West Tunnel Lofts will provide new construction, mixed-income housing built to the highest industry standards of resilience and sustainability,” Louisiana Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery Executive Director Gina Campo said. “This development will not only revitalize a vacant lot on a vibrant commercial corridor, but it will also provide 40 units of multifamily housing with desirable community amenities to Houma’s most vulnerable residents. Developer HRI Communities is leveraging Low-Income Housing Tax Credits administered by the Louisiana Housing Corporation with a $6.35 million CDBG-DR loan sourced from the Louisiana Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery and supplemented by investments from Terrebonne Parish Government. This shows what we can accomplish when local, state and private entities work together to build a better Louisiana.”
“The Louisiana Housing Corporation is focused on growing a resilient housing supply and in many spaces to restoring existing housing stock to a certain standard of resiliency measures to weather the next storm,” said LHC Executive Director of Governmental Affairs Jarvis Lewis. “Living in Louisiana, disaster recovery isn’t a foreign concept. West Tunnel Lofts represents a prime example of the work LHC aims to continue to implement in areas impacted by storm devastation.”
West Tunnel Lofts was awarded a $6.35 million PRIME 3 Program loan that will be administered by Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) and sourced with Disaster Recovery Community Development Block Grant Funds from the Louisiana Office of Community Development. LHC also provided a competitive allocation of $10 million of 9% Housing Tax Credits that generated equity investment in the project. The Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government has pledged a combined $1 million in soft loan commitments and operating subsidy to facilitate the creation of new, quality, workforce housing opportunities on the long-vacant property. The Houma-Terrebonne Public Trust Financing Authority is the issuer of a PILOT property tax abatement.
Additional financing partners include U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance as the Housing Tax Credit and 45L Tax Credit investor, investing approximately $8,600,000 of equity into the project, and Legacy Bank & Trust as the first mortgage construction and permanent lender.
West Tunnel Lofts is a successful public-private partnership that delivers high-impact community benefits. The project is part of a larger effort to address housing needs in Terrebonne Parish while adhering to resiliency and sustainability design standards.
“We believe everyone deserves a place to call home,” said U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance Business Development Officer John Lisella. “We are pleased to help finance West Tunnel Lofts to provide more affordable housing in Houma.”
“I’m honored to be working again with my long-time client, HRIC, to introduce them to Legacy Bank & Trust, a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) based in Springfield, Missouri” said Ken Overshiner, Senior Vice President at Legacy Bank & Trust. “Having financed multiple HRIC developments in Houma and across Louisiana, I knew that this would be a great fit for both organizations. Our construction to permanent loan product and flexible underwriting is what HRIC was looking for. HRIC has always developed exceptional communities, and West Tunnel Lofts will be no doubt be a place the residents of Houma will be proud to call home.”
