SULPHUR, La, Oct. 26, 2015 – West Calcasieu Port officials announced today that the port has completed the $1.5 million purchase of 11.5 acres of adjacent property to the facility on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
“The additional property will increase port acreage to more than 200 acres,” said Lynn Hohensee, West Calcasieu Port director, “and it will expand the port GIWW waterfront by more than 700 linear feet, which the port will make available for lease to prospective tenants.”
Hohensee noted that the port expansion would not have been possible without the financial assistance via a $750,000 capital outlay grant from the Louisiana State Legislature.
“Most of the credit for procuring the capital outlay grant goes to Sen. John Smith, Sen. Ronnie Johns, Rep. Mike Danahay and the rest of our Southwest Louisiana delegation,” he added. “We believe these elected officials recognize the importance of the port expansion to our regional economic growth.
“With the expansion of our facility footprint, the port’s leadership team is better able to address the region’s growing demand for industrial acreage and waterfront access,” Hohensee explained.
He also emphasized that accommodating additional tenants is not the port’s only priority.
“A portion of the new property will be set aside for construction of a new port entrance road, which will improve port access and ease the amount of industrial traffic traveling through a nearby residential area,” Hohensee said.
“To reach the port’s current entrance, tenants, suppliers and visitors must travel through our nearby residential neighborhood,” he explained. “With a new entrance road, most of that traffic will be diverted onto port property before reaching the residential area.”
The West Calcasieu Port offers waterfront property on the GIWW as well as more than 100 of its 213 waterfront access acres available for leased development.
