Lake Charles is growing (New Orleans, Shreveport: apartment, house, casinos)

[annie_himself]

Who's talking about banks?

Who's sick of big cities if they're growing again?

[JimLFT]

Originally Posted by NobodyJones

Lake Charles could have had a population around 130,000 instead of 72,000 like it has now, if Lafayette didn't hog all the jobs and Lake Charles wasn't poorly run in the late 70's early 80's. Because from what I can recall Lafayette in the 70's was much smaller at a population between 30,000 and 40,000 while LC was about 77,000 (in 1974) and growing. LC lost a lot of people at the turn of the decade in the 80's when the economy took a turn for the worst.

Lafayette now has a population of 120,000 which is incredible considering it used to be fairly small, around 40,000 people, a little smaller than Alexandria now. That's like a 300% increase in population within 40 years.

I believe Lake Charles is the best city in Louisiana and definitely has potential to become a big city. Plus as a bonus we're only 140 miles from Houston.

According to a recent article in the Daily Advertiser, the economic forecast for Lake Charles looks pretty good:

And much like the national picture, job growth will be uneven. The Lake Charles region will be the fastest-growing area by percentage, while New Orleans will see no overall job growth next year followed by a loss in 2013, the forecast said.
The forecast, which is issued on an annual basis, was written by Louisiana State University economists Loren Scott and James Richardson.

Weak job growth forecast for La. | The Advertiser | theadvertiser.com

[pandorafan5687]

I believe Sasol is building a plant out in Westlake, and I'm looking to see what kind of development we will see in LC once McNeese Street and Corbina Road are extended.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by SBCmetroguy

No need to be offended,Moderator cut: c'mon, SBC. And give me a break, Shreveport is a much larger city than Lake Charles. Lake Charles has 1 or 2 buildings making up its skyline. Shreveport's skyline is dominated by banks, investment firms, and casino hotels. No comparison to Lake Charles' skyline, which has one bank building and one casino hotel making up its skyline.

But for the record, here is a list of skylines in the nation, LARGER THAN LAKE CHARLES OR SHREVEPORT, that I know are dominated by banks:

Atlanta
Austin
Birmingham
Charlotte
Los Angeles
Phoenix

Even the second-tallest building in New York City, which is now under construction, is a bank building (Bank of America.) And the second- and fourth-tallest buildings in Miami, which is rapidly becoming the New York City of the south, are bank buildings.

New Orleans' and Houston's skylines are a mix of banks and energy companies, just like Shreveport's. And for the record, before you get your panties in a bunch again, Houston's two tallest buildings are bank buildings. (JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.) Money makes the world go 'round, which is why so many cities' skylines are dominated by banks.

Moderator cut: rude

I live in Austin and the tallest buildings are condos not banks:
1. Austonian (tallest residential building west of MS River)
2. 360 Condominiums
3. Frost Bank Tower
4. W Austin Hotel and Residences
5. Spring (Residential Tower).

[pandorafan5687]

Lake Charles Postcards
Calcasieu Parish Postcards
Lake Charles Louisiana Vintage Postcards & Images
The Fire Walk - Script for the Third Stop: The Site of The Majestic Hotel
History of Southwest Louisiana
LOUISiana Digital Library : Search Results

It's really sad, to look at what was once a thriving area, and when you think about what LC could have been, it's just like "damn". It's quite depressing as you look through old postcards and documents to see what we've gone from to where we are now. It's like we went backwards.

[annie_himself]

You can say that again, but to all of our cities.

[pandorafan5687]

Atleast other cities are taking some initiative. We still have not recovered from the sub-par mayor that we had in the late 60's and 70's. Had it not been for that, LC could have easily had twice its current population.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by pandorafan5687

Atleast other cities are taking some initiative. We still have not recovered from the sub-par mayor that we had in the late 60's and 70's. Had it not been for that, LC could have easily had twice its current population.

I believe Louisiana is learning from Texas. Lake Charles is taking initiative, isn't the port expanding or something? If it weren't for all of Louisiana collectively, we could be a much better state.

[Innotech]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

You can say that again, but to all of our cities.

I would say that Lafayette is doing many of the right things actually.
I'm really proud of my city.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by Innotech

I would say that Lafayette is doing many of the right things actually.
I'm really proud of my city.

So are a couple others but it could always be better.