Port of Vinton announces new tenant
Published 12:32 pm Saturday, May 21, 2016
Special to The Leader
VINTON, La., – The Port of Vinton Board of Commissioners voted (4-1) at last Tuesday’s monthly port board meeting to accept a contract with Mossville Lodge, LLC, that will create a $60 million 2,200-bed worker village to be constructed on 42 acres at the port.
“Not only will this project help alleviate a critical housing shortage for temporary construction workers over the next several years, but it also will provide a strong revenue stream needed to meet infrastructure development at the port and a boost in local jobs for Vinton-area residents,” said Jerry Merchant, Port of Vinton board president.
Merchant noted during the board meeting that Mossville Lodge has one year to line up client contracts with construction contractors and sub-contractors under the company’s arrangement with the port
“The Port of Vinton’s newest tenant comes onboard at critical time for the economic expansion of our parish and region,” he continued. “More than 19,000 temporary construction workers will need housing within the next year or two, and this project – if developed — will greatly help in alleviating the housing shortage.”
The port’s lease agreement with Mossville Lodge requires the tenant to construct utility facilities to meet its own water and wastewater treatment needs.
“These infrastructure improvements as well as other permanent site facilities will become the property of the port once the tenant lease expires, which will occur when demand for temporary construction workers in Southwest Louisiana and/or Southeast Texas no longer exists,” Merchant explained. “The modular residential units where the workers will actually be housed will be able to be relocated after the need for the workers is past.”
Merchant said he expects construction work on-site to begin as soon as front-end engineering and permitting steps are completed and Mossville Lodge signs client agreements.
The Vinton Harbor & Terminal District (Port of Vinton) was created in 1956 when the Louisiana Legislature passed the Navigation and Shipping Act 466 for the purpose of stimulating economic growth in Western Calcasieu Parish. Since then, the port has expanded and today encompasses more than 800 acres of land geared to support private investment and development along the northern reach of the Vinton Navigation Channel.