On Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, representatives from MGM Development Group were joined by Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter and other elected officials to break ground on Calcasieu Heights, a $19.1M hurricane resistant retirement community.

Site work is underway for the development, located at 1709 Fitzenreiter Rd., between Riverside Park and Combre Fondel Elementary School. Calcasieu Heights will be a 72-unit, gated, hurricane and flood resistant, certified green retirement community.

“Mayor Hunter and his team have been great to work with and together we are partnering to improve the quality of healthcare and recreation in Lake Charles. Calcasieu Heights will be a state-of-the-art retirement community in a beautiful location,” said MGM Development Partner Jeff Glover.  

The ripple effects of this investment are significant. Calcasieu Heights is expected to generate nearly a $50M overall economic benefit to the Lake Charles economy.

“Calcasieu Heights is a tremendous win for the City of Lake Charles, and we thank MGM Development for their interest in bringing this quality project to this beautiful, undeveloped riverfront property,” added Mayor Nic Hunter. “Seeing economic activity in every corner of our City has been a commitment of my administration, and this announcement is yet another tangible result of that commitment. The addition of this multi-million-dollar community, next to Riverside Park will be a catalyst for additional growth.” 

“This is a great win for the entire City of Lake Charles, especially District A,” expressed District A City Councilman Ronnie Harvey. “We are thrilled to see dirt turning at this site, a tangible sign of a development becoming a reality and are thankful to MGM Development for their investment in the community. We look forward to seeing this project come to fruition and welcoming residents to their new retirement home on the scenic Calcasieu River.” 

MGM Development is working with additional partners to offer several unique amenities at Calcasieu Heights.

“We plan to offer free WiFi service in the common areas throughout the development and we hope to partner with McNeese and local medical providers to deploy remote medical monitoring technology and other healthcare initiatives in Calcasieu Heights,” said Glover.