Madisonville Gets a Grant For Park Improvements

 Madisonville officials announced that the city will receive a $350,000 federal grant that will go towards improvements to the town park.  Another $350,000 will also go towards the park from the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant.  The park is located between Pine and Main Streets which is located in the heart of Madisonville. 

The money will go toward new playground equipment and a splash pad for children. “This is great news,” Councilman Brad Haddox said.  “And it’s a long time coming,” added Councilman Keith Dennis.

The grant was originally applied for in 2021 so it has been a long time coming.  Improvements should begin within the next three months and the entire project is projected to take around a year to a year and a half.

Madisonville Park and Playground is in the middle of downtown and is a great area filled with swings, slides, and green space.  It is under huge oak trees that give plenty of shade.  The green space has a net for soccer and there are two lighted tennis courts along with a pavilion. The pavilion is a perfect gathering spot for large groups and is just a great spot to cool off in the shade.

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Coquille Parks and Recreations Is Growing Along With Its Community

 St. Tammany has seen a big growth spurt with the current housing market trends. The growth in the

area has also brought many new residents. Coquille Parks is expanding along with the community growth.

"This area has seen over 5% growth for the last five years," Richard Bentley-Smith, executive director at Coquille Parks and Recreation said. "We really are just trying to keep up with the growth of this area off La. 22 and U.S. 190 as much as possible, so we can offer a place for every kid to play. And not just baseball or football or volleyball, but we want as many kids in the area to come to our splashpad or playgrounds and not be overcrowded."

"The key to running a recreation department, no matter where you are, is listening to your community," Bentley-Smith said. "What Madisonville, Goodbee, Covington and the District 14 area wants may not be what Baton Rouge or even Slidell wants. So you have to really listen to your taxpayers and build to suit their needs."

This summer the center hosted a cheer camp for over 100 kids for the first time. In fact, organized program participation has grown 750% since 1999, when the recreation district was established. St. Tammany Recreation District 14 began with Little League ball fields in 1999  which consisted of 46 acres that were purchased by the Madisonville Youth Boosters. Currently, Coquille Park includes 130 acres fields, gyms, multipurpose facilities, tennis courts, playgrounds and outdoor exercise areas.

A bond that was passed at the beginning of 2021 will give the park the opportunity to focus on upgrades and maintenance. Bentley-Smith also hopes for additional funding in order to purchase additional land. The negotiations and funding are in the works for 35-acres of land next to the park.

A new baseball complex is slated to open next month. The park is also looking into purchasing outdoor fitness equipment and building a disk golf area as well as miniature golf courses. That's not all on the list of what is to come. A dog park is planned to open in the early spring of 2022, new trails are to be built through the wetlands area, and a campground with an accessible ball field will also be added.

"We listened to the public requests," Bentley-Smith said. "We build facilities based on what the public requests, and that includes the bond dollars. We heard the public, and we want to put those funds to the best use possible."

The new park will be for all residents from toddlers to senior citizens. Bentley-Smith gives the credit to the town of Madisonville where the two fields started out on Pine Street. The citizens and St. Tammany have come together to help the park continue to grow to meet the needs of the community.

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Madisonville Town Council Looks at Allowing Golf Carts Permission To Use Town Streets

 

The Madisonville Town Council wants to discuss allowing golf carts and other low-speed vehicles to cross La. 22 where it runs through Madisonville. Louisiana Transportation Department gave a third ruling that will not allow golf carts or other low-speed vehicles to cross La.22.

Town attorney Bruce Danner introduced the letter that was signed by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Deputy General Counsel Jason Bruzik at the council's May 12, 2021 meeting. The letter does confirm that the District 62 office located in Hammond ruled not to allow golf carts or low-speed vehicles to cross the highway for safety reasons.

The federal and state law defines low-speed vehicles as four-wheeled motor vehicles that have a top speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour. Danner will research whether this is official without a public hearing and comment period. If he finds the public is allowed a hearing, it will then go back up for discussion.

In other council news, an agreement to assign leasing rights for the next 50 years to a disclosed company to Madisonville's cell tower was also discussed. Danner was assigned to come up with the agreement that will in turn give Madisonville a lump sum payment of around $701,000 from the disclosed company. This is good news for the town since the tower brings in around $38,000 a year in revenue.

The majority of the council agreed to the lump sum over an annual payment for 50 years. They want to take the lump sum and turn it into grant matching funds to further help with capital improvement projects. Danner believes this is a good idea given that there is some uncertainty in a stream of revenue would continue at the level it is currently generating. Corporate consolidations and technological changes that are taking place in the cellular industry.

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Buy a New Home on the Northshore at Bedico Creek Preserve

When relocating to the Greater New Orleans area, you may want to buy a new home on the Northshore at Bedico Creek Preserve.  If you are considering relocating to the tight knit area of West St. Tammany Parish, you can enjoy the ambiance of downtown Covington, LA, which is located approximately 7 miles from Bedico Creek Preserve.  Living in Madisonville, Louisiana, at Bedico Creek gives you easy access to shopping, entertainment, and dining at the many locations of the two shopping areas Colonial Pinnacle at Nord Du Luc and Stirling Covington Shopping Center off of Highway 21.  In addition to the prolific shopping at mall stores such as JC Penny, Belk, and Lane Bryant, Colonial Pinnacle at Nord Du Luc and Stirling Covington Shopping Center also showcase box stores such as Academy Sports, Kohls, Best Buy, Marshalls, Target, Hobby Lobby, as well as the Hollywood Stadium 14 movie theater.  This Covington, Louisiana shopping area also features restaurants such as Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel, and Panera Bread Company.  For faster food and service, you can visit Steak & Shake, Firehouse Subs, and Dickeys Barbeque Pit.

Bedico Creek Preserve offers lots and homes for sale in its masterplanned community in St. Tammany Parish.  Lots for sale start in the mid $40’s, and new homes for sale begin in the $230’s.  If you are interested in building your own new, custom home or if you are looking to relocate to one of our existing homes for sale, you can find any lot or home in a selection of different neighborhoods in this St. Tammany Parish subdivision.  Contact Bedico Creek today to schedule your tour.  Call 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Builders & Buyers Enjoying Robust Real Estate Market

Builders and buyers alike are optimistic that the recovery of the real estate market nationwide is here to stay as new home sales increased 18% year-over-year in June, 2015 compared to 2014, and new home inventory also increased by 3.4%.  Builders are discovering that bank construction loans are easing slightly on credit requirements and equity, and also with the increasing number of new home sales, builders are “turning over” the new homes that they are building so they are freeing up capital to invest in new lots for sale in traditional as well as master planned developments.

However, all of the great news regarding the real estate market was tempered by a slight drop in sales from May to June, 2015, for a total drop of 6.8%, down from 517,000 in may to 482,000 in June.  However, the summer months sometimes experience a lag because of school getting out, and potential home buyers going on vacation in the early part of the summer.  Overall, new home sales have been increasing both incrementally and expotentially since 2012.

Good news for builders is that there is an increasing demand from new home buyers for homes to purchase. This demand has not tapered off or decreased since the housing market started its recovery.  This trend has especially been noticed in the new, master planned community of Bedico Creek Preserve in St. Tammany Parish which features 11 Neighborhoods of new homes for sale, lots for sale, and new homes under construction.  Buyers living on the Northshore already find that this new home community is convenient to the cities of Mandeville, Madisonville, Covington, and Abita Springs in West St. Tammany Parish.

New lots are constantly being developed as new neighborhoods within the subdivision are opening with available lots for those new home buyers interested in building their own custom home.  There is no shortage of new homes to buy and new lots to buy at Bedico Creek in the Greater New Orleans area.  Contact Bedico Creek to schedule a tour of this Conservation Community by calling 985-845-4200 or E-mailing Info@LiveBedico.com.

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More Homes Are Being Built to Supplement the Housing Inventory Shortage

A shortage in homes and a strong job market in the Greater New Orleans area definitely strengthened the housing market, especially in new home construction and the advent of new subdivisions. Solid hiring in the job market, low mortgage rates and easier credit conditions have driven the demand for new home buyers to purchase a new home for sale. The Greater New Orleans area alone represents 20% of the new jobs that have been created this year in the state of Louisiana which has led to the strong home sales on both the north shore and the south shore.

West St. Tammany Parish has seen a decrease in housing inventory making the average sales price increase.  The housing market in general is leaning more towards a seller’s market because of the lack of supply of homes for sale.  This lack of inventory in homes priced from $190,000 – $300,000 is causing a bidding war pulling the average sales price for metro New Orleans up by 7.8% from $197,300 to $212,610. New Orleans has seen an increase from 21,954 homes sold annually in 2010 to 30,322 in 2014. Homeowners are starting to realize that this is the time to sell, and for home builders now is the time to build new homes for sale in St. Tammany Parish on the northshore.

On the flip side, home buyers will not have long to wait because more homes are being built which means the inventory problem will start to correct itself. According to Richard Haase, president of NAI/Latter & Blum, who reported at the UNO/Latter & Blum Economic Outlook & Real Estate Forecast Seminar for the Northshore Region, which was held at the Clarion Inn & Suites Conference Center in Covington, ”There’s a lot of pent-up demand,” he said, because tight lending standards have kept potential buyers out of the homebuying market, even as the economy recovered. ”For the next one or two years, I’m extremely optimistic about housing prices and housing affordability,” Haase said. ”We’re in a very healthy supply-and-demand market.”

Bedico Creek Preserve in Madisonville, Louisiana, offers new homes for sale that could plug the dearth of homes priced from $190,000 – $300,000.  Two neighborhoods being built in this master planned community in St. Tammany Parish offer new homes for sale from the $230’s – $300’s. 

These two neighborhoods are called Cypress Crossing and Deer Park.  Also, if you purchase one of our lots for sale in the Garden / Courtyard section of this St. Tammany Parish subdivision, you can build a home starting from the $290’s.  For more information about our homes for sale, Contact Bedico Creek at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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