Find out about the latest news in Madisonville, Louisiana as well as St. Tammany Parish. We will keep you “tuned in” to all of the information about Southeast Louisiana as well as the real estate industry in general. Many new home buyers are concerned about the market, mortgage information, and builder trends. We plan on keeping you as up to date as possible on these and many more topics. There is a lot going on in the Greater New Orleans area, so you will have plenty to read!

New Homesites In St. Tammany Approved

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St. Tammany is a growing parish where residents enjoy the slow small town feel close to the big city of New Orleans. On February 12, 2019,  St. Tammany Planning Commission approved 153 more homesites that will be located in three subdivisions in the parish.

Bedico Creek, a premiere master planned community in Madisonville, will get 60 new lots. The lots at Bedico Creek, Parcel 13 are set on 21.5 acres on the north side of LA. 1085, just south of I-12 west of Mandeville. This Conservation Community offers homes from the $230’s all the way to $1 million+ and lots from the $40’s to the $250’s.

Lakeshore Village in Slidell will add 43 lots on 6.8 acres in Phase 3-A-1. Located just south of Slidell off the Oak Harbor exit, this subdivision is perfect for outdoor living. Homes in the community start in the $200’s.

The Landings of Cross Gates just east of Slidell will add 50 lots to the community. The lots will sit on 29.5 acres east of LA. 1090, north of I-10. This neighborhood close to the Old Pearl River, features homes from $199,900 and up.

Left out of the approval were 9 lots in Whispering Forest and 53 lots in Maison Trace. The reason for the delay were several issues with subdivision plans.

“It’s part of this commission’s responsibility to see that everything is done that we need to have done. We do not like to see these long punch lists,” Commissioner Dave Doherty said.

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St. Tammany Schools To Start Construction Projects At Three Schools

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Madisonville Elementary, Mandeville High School and Covington High School are getting some much needed TLC. The St. Tammany Parish School Board will accept close to $28 million in construction bids for the work.

Over $14 million plans to be allocated to Mandeville High. The project includes a three-story building which will add more than two dozen classroom, labs, office space and more. A new HVAC system will be added along with additions to the school’s locker rooms. Thompson Construction Co. will head the work. Mandeville High will be able to get rid of 28 of their on-site modular buildings.

Madisonville Elementary will be given $13.35 million with the work being done by Voelkel McWilliams Construction, LLC. The work will include new classrooms, a new gymnasium and an expansion to the cafeteria. Thirty modulars will be removed from the school.

Covington High School will be getting more handicapped accessibility which will be completed by CDX Construction, LLC. The project will cost approximately $167,000.

St. Tammany Schools will also be getting new text books. A $3.4 million dollar contract will include science text books for students across the parish. McGraw-Hill will publish science materials for kindergarten through fifth grades, sixth grade and eighth grade, and high school physical science, anatomy and physiology. Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt will provide environmental science and chemistry I materials, Pearson will provide environmental science AP, biology I, II and AP, chemistry AP, physics, physics AP and forensic science and Goodheart Wilcox will provide health sciences I and II.

These three schools have seen a huge spike in student population in the recent years and will greatly benefit from these projects.

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New Growth To Come To Madisonville

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The Madisonville Town Council was busy with many requests for various projects throughout the town at the council’s last meeting.

DeZaire Marina will soon have a new restaurant. The Blind Tiger will seat up to 130 diners. The approval will allow Tony Zolenka, DeZaire Marina’s owner, to lease 3,000-square-feet to Shane Waller. The family friendly restaurant will be a great addition to the marina.

The new mixed-use project located at the old Friends restaurant will now have additional parking located on the residential lot at 406 Main Street. The owners Greg Lala and Stephen Guidry were pleased with the approval. They were concerned there currently was not enough parking for patrons and employees of the restaurant that will be one of the businesses of the mixed-use development. The purchase of the residential lot will allow an additional 26 parking spaces for employees. The one condition for approval was that the lot had to be gated and fenced in a design that would be compatible with the neighborhood.

As for now a new restaurant at Sawmill Docks Marina and the possible annexation of property north of town were postponed for approval.

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Two St. Tammany Parish Schools To Get New Classrooms

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Many of St. Tammany Parish Schools are reporting large increases in enrollment within the past few years. The area is growing and the schools need to have room to accommodate new students. St. Tammany School Board’s Business Affairs & Administrative Committee approved a $14.6 million addition for new classrooms at Mandeville High School and a $13.3 million addition for new classrooms at Madisonville Elementary School.

The money for the projects stems from the $167 million bond issue that was voted in and approved in 2008 for construction cost across the St. Tammany Parish School system. The school board allotted $31.8 million for the addition of new classrooms at the two schools.

At Mandeville High School, Thompson Construction Co. will build a three-story building that will include 40 classrooms. The company will also complete renovations to the gym. The $14.6 million project will take about 2.5 years to complete and will begin this summer.

Madisonville Elementary’s $13.3 million project includes a new two-story building, new gym and an expansion to the existing cafeteria. The project is slated to begin this spring and will take Voelkel McWilliams Construction approximately 2.5 years to complete.

With the surge in enrollment both schools have added modular and portable buildings. Louisiana Department of Education reported that Mandeville High School has the district’s largest student population at 1, 967 and Madisonville Elementary currently has 969 students enrolled. The projects will eliminate a good portion of the modular and portable classroom buildings at each school.

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Roadwork To Begin In St. Tammany Parish

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Those that commute from St. Tammany Parish will be affected by a new project for roadway improvement that started on January 31, 2019. The $1 million dollar project which is part of the $16.4 million capital works budget that will be dedicated to roads and bridges will cover streets in the Covington and Madisonville area.

The road improvement project will include work on Dummyline, Lalanne and Keys road. Work which includes milling, overlaying and repairing will take about 45 days and will span 5 miles of roadway along these three roads.

Detours will take motorists to alternate entrances of Dummyline, Lalanne and Keys road along Louisiana 21 and Louisiana 1077.

“Our primary goal in infrastructure maintenance is to improve the safety and convenience of travel for our residents. Projects like these are an excellent example of taxpayer dollars being invested well,” said Pat Brister, St. Tammany Parish President.

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St. Tammany Parish Schools Thrive Under New State’s Performance Score System

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Louisiana is using a new rating system for school’s performance. The previous student performance metrics included state test results, graduation rates and college credit attainment. The new system will not only base results on the mentioned above but will now include how students progressed from the previous school year.

According to Gary Jones, president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, , “this year’s results are based on more comprehensive information on student growth and achievement than ever before.”

John White, state Education Superintendent, believes this year’s score is an “important step” in Louisiana’s success in statewide schools. The results will help guide each school’s yearly improvement plan. There are 1,338 schools in the state and St. Tammany Parish maintained a B letter grade in the new system.

St. Tammany Parish School District maintained a B Grade under the new formula which is an 85.2. Within the parish, eleven schools received an A grade. The schools with a grade of A include Mandeville High School with a numerical score of 98.7, Pontchartrain Elementary School with a numerical score of 97.8, Mandeville Junior High School with a numerical score of 97, Fontainebleau High School with a numerical score of 96.6, Northshore High School with a numerical score of 95.5, Pearl River High School with a numerical score of 94.7, Mandeville Elementary School with a numerical score of 94.6, Lakeshore High School with a numerical score of 94.4 and Woodlake Elementary School with a numerical score of 91.5.

The scores are not only important for measuring the school’s progress but also schools can receive extra funds for improvements based on ratings.

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