Development could bring senior apartments, hotel, restaurant to Mandeville lakefront

MANDEVILLE (WVUE) - A new development could be on its way in Mandeville, bringing senior apartments, a boutique hotel, restaurant and a marina to prime lakefront real estate.

Sucette Harbor still has hurdles to overcome, but developer Bill Hoffman with Woodward Interests said he is confident it could become the crown jewel of Mandeville’s lakefront.

“What we wanted to do was put a low-impact development that would fit into the ambiance of the Mandeville and Northshore communities,” Hoffman said.

The planned development would be constructed on 15 vacant acres in the Mariner’s Village area, right off the Causeway.

Sucette Harbor, as planned, would contain 201 apartments for adults ages 55 and up, along with an 82-room boutique hotel, restaurant, an event venue and a marina.

“It’s available to house an aging population, those who meet the requirement where they can stay in the city, next to their families, and still enjoy the qualities of life that the city of Mandeville and the Northshore has to offer,” Hoffman said.

Traffic and parking were issues brought up in the city’s planning and zoning commission, which voted 4-3 to pass the project along to the council. Hoffman said a traffic study has been conducted and has found the proposed project to have minimal impact on traffic in the area.

Now that it has passed planning and zoning, the Mandeville City Council will have final say on whether to give the project the green light.

“Something should be developed there at some point, I think that we just have to have a responsibility have a responsibility to make sure that it’s done right,” said Rick Danielson, Chairman of the Mandeville City Council.

Danielson said creating and maintaining lakefront public access is crucial for the project.

”The big priority throughout Mandeville is for additional connectivity for pedestrians, runners, bicyclists,” he said. “This would be a great opportunity to do that.”

The property is owned by the LSU Health Foundation and leased to Woodward Interests. 60 percent of the money raised through leasing costs will go to cancer research.

“There is significant economic benefits to the surrounding area,” Hoffman said, noting that estimates show the property will generate $500,000 annually in property taxes and $700,000 annually in sales taxes.

“At the same time, it’s bringing in a development that is not going to add children to the school system, not going to overburden the traffic in the area.”

Sucette Harbor will go to the Mandeville City Council for its first reading on May 11, and public comment on the proposed project will be heard at the May 25 council meeting.

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