By Kerri Cooke
If you drive down I-10 east towards Iowa, right before exit 36, the Chloe exit, you will see a billboard announcing a new housing development called Sugarcane Townes. The billboard bears the slogan “Iowa is getting sweeter,” and an image of a small, happy family.
The cheerful image is emblematic of the lifestyle Mausan Development wants to offer to you in their new project in Southwest Louisiana. The sweet life is something every single one of us wants to taste over and over again.
Mausan Development, a branch of Mausan Investments, began work on Sugarcane Townes in summer of 2017. The construction team is in phase one of development — the groundwork stage in which drainage is installed and foundations of soil built up in preparation for the concrete, asphalt, and grass that will soon rest on top. Mausan plans to have the first structure erected in the second quarter of 2018.
The development and construction of Sugarcane Townes has a price tag of a whopping $200 million. The community will consist of 600 structures, which will include both single family and multifamily homes.
Sugarcane Townes is being created on more than 200 acres of land that has traditionally been used for sugarcane farming. In fact, the name “Sugarcane Townes” was chosen specifically to pay tribute to the history and importance of the natural resource in the area.
The future home of Sugarcane Townes is located on 7719 Hwy. 3258 in Iowa. The location is easily visible from I-10 just west of the city limits of Iowa and approximately 15 minutes away from the heart of Lake Charles.
The site is in an ideal spot for any family that wants to be close to their jobs or stores in Lake Charles or Westlake while also being located in and around a much smaller community. Sugarcane Townes will be perfect for those who wish to escape city life while not being too far from it. The Iowa schools are only a few minutes away. The community is also good for families with children who want to place their kids in a good yet small-scale school.
Sugarcane Townes is providing the opportunity for local families to have upscale yet affordable housing. Its location outside the city limits helps keep prices lower than they would otherwise be in a metropolitan area. Sugarcane Townes is meant to be for people who want something more than average without paying exorbitant or unreasonably high prices.
An increasing standard of living is something that Sugarcane Townes seeks to bring about. It will have a very well organized community, with carefully planned landscaping — over 15 ponds, a sports club and a 6,000-foot-long walking path. The community will be very quaint, with many desirable features for enjoyable days and nights.
Also, there will be empty land around Sugarcane Townes for future development. The potential for opening businesses nearby is something that will surely be realized quickly.
Anyone who’s interested in seeing layout specifics can view the development planning map on sugarcanetownes.com.
The houses that will be built for Sugarcane Townes will be reminiscent of Acadian- or French-style homes. That’s part of an effort to preserve and celebrate Louisiana’s cultural and agricultural history. The structures will have a plantation-like appearance; inspiration has been drawn from famous properties around Louisiana, such as Oak Alley Plantation near New Orleans.
The aim of these housing designs is to “pay homage to history,” while adding a traditional aesthetic value to a new development. Plantation-style homes can be seen occasionally in Southwest Louisiana. But the homes are often old, drafty, riddled with problems and run down. Sugarcane Townes will help revive the old way of building and the unique features of Louisiana homesteading. A modern-day plantation-style community sounds pretty appealing and really stokes the imagination.
The fact that the land being built upon was cultivated for sugarcane in the past adds to the plantation image.
Sugarcane Townes is about pride in the great building tradition of Louisiana culture. Most people in Southwest Louisiana would love to live in a large house with a large verandah wrapping around the body of the house; a verandah where they could sit in rocking chairs and take in a beautiful view.
The concept of living in Sugarcane Townes sounds a bit like a scene out of a Kate Chopin short story. If the development stays true to the Acadian style, then residents can buy into an ideal in which they can lie down on a hammock on a massive porch and listen to the wind coming through the oak trees while reminiscing about the simpler days gone by.
Sugarcane Townes will honor Louisiana in another noticeable way by naming the local roads after various areas in Acadiana. For example, some of the road names are slated to be “Breaux Bridge North,” “St. Martinville South” and “Homa Towne.”
Sugarcane Townes is a brainchild of Mausan Developments. The genius of it makes you wonder why nobody has realized the potential of such a thing before. Trends always come back around. We are seeing that principle manifested in local housing.
Mausan has realized the need for affordable luxury in a housing market that’s currently feeling the stress of growing pains and trying to expand at an exponential rate. I think they have a winning formula that will keep Sugarcane Townes successful for many years to come. It’s wonderful that a group of individuals, passionate about our roots, had the idea to stay true to the Louisiana spirit and come up with a plan to build a community using architectural patterns unique to the area.
Nowadays, innovative or beautiful designs are quickly disappearing in America due to production and labor costs and short construction deadlines. It will be nice to bring the art of beauty, and not just efficiency, to our homes.
If you’ve have always dreamed of acquiring an antebellum style home, then Sugarcane Townes is worth looking into when the homes hit the market — or before if possible. Lagniappe will keep you abreast of any further developments as construction progresses.
More info : http://bestofswla.com/2018/01/18/sugarcane-townes/